Media Work

Ulster Historical Foundation has worked with numerous different media production companies on the preparation and delivery of television and radio programmes. These have covered a range of subjects and themes – biography, genealogy, emigration, local history, etc – and have been broadcast on outlets including the BBC, UTV and RTE, as well as online.

Our work on these productions has included the background research required to build the narrative, utilising both published and archival materials, identifying suitable locations for filming, and being interviewed on camera or by radio mic. Our services have been used by many independent production companies, as well as national broadcasters.

In 2012 our Research Director, William Roulston was the historical consultant on the BBC series Written in Stone which looked at the architecture of Ulster, and on several of the Brave New World series for the BBC – USA, Australia and Back Home, presented by William Crawley.

In 2018 he was the historical consultant on the BBC programme The Man Who Told The Truth, which explored the life of Charles Thomson from Co. Londonderry, who was the Secretary of the Continental Congress and designed the Great Seal of the United States.

In 2003-04, William appeared in a 12-week series on using graveyards to explore local history produced for BBC Radio Ulster. William has also been interviewed by Joe Mahon for his UTV series Lesser Spotted Ulster and has acted as consultant for Mahon's Way, also for UTV.

Our Research Officer Gillian Hunt has conducted research for several TV programmes into the ancestry of comedian Tim McGarry, actor Larry Lamb and radio and television presenter Stephen Nolan, appearing alongside them in their respective shows.