Yarn | A Story Podcast

• Hotel on the edge of Europe

  [Documentary]Take a trip to Inishbofin island off the west coast of Ireland. A beloved family-run hotelis making some changes.What will their regular guests think?-I've been going to Inishbofin, with a group of friends every Easter for years. It's our annual secular pilgrimage to the island, where we stay at Ireland's most westerly hotel—The Doonmore, or Murray's, as the locals call it, named after the family who have run it for over half a century. During the Winter months, changes have been afoot at the hotel. There have been rumours the hotel has made some major renovations, and today will be the first time the general public will experience the new and improved Murray's Doonmore hotel. Come with us as we explore the hotel and the island. We'll delve into the linked history of both. We'll ask the question; what keeps people coming back year after year, generation after generation? And we'll meet some of the characters that make up the customers and staff of The Doonmore Hotel.-Produced and narrated by John Roche Thanks to Andrew Murray, Declan Shaw, Róisín Lafferty and all the guests and staff who talked to us.-Special thanks to Des Kavanagh for  the specific music made for this episode. As well as a musician, Des makes and restores musical instruments. Check him out at Kavanagh’s Irish Instruments on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kavanagh.irishinstruments/-The rest of the music in the episode was recorded live at Murray's Bar, Inishbofin courtesy of YouTube via:Andrew Murray @doonmore1Owen Murray @owenmurray6472Trad TG4 @tradtg4Lugh the master craftsman @fultonHousesNYCPascal Jouneau @pascaljouneau3608LiveTrad @livetrad-Clips courtesy of RTÉ archives:https://www.rte.ie/archives/-Full transcript available here:https://mrjohnroche-42475.medium.com/yarn-29-hotel-on-the-edge-of-europe-f11834c6bbf9-Comments and feedback very welcome!Instagram: @YarnStoryPodemail: yarnstorypodcast (at) gmail.com-Murray's Doonmore Hotel website:https://www.doonmore.com/Roisin Lafferty website:https://roisinlafferty.com/Declan Shaw instagram:https://www.instagram.com/solar_bones/

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• Judy's callers

  [Short form interview with immersive audio]2025 marks the 55th anniversary of the Samaritans’ presence in Ireland. Lucy’s grandmother, Judy, dedicated 30 years as a volunteer with the organisation, offering support through their phone line. Although Lucy has always been curious about her grandmother’s experiences on those calls, Samaritans volunteers are bound by a pledge of confidentiality regarding their callers. However, there was one call Judy could share with Lucy—and the reason why will soon become clear.Produced and narrated by Lucy Nuzum.Edited by John Roche.Cover artwork by Ed Taylor.Music: Epidemic Sound.-Comments and feedback very welcome!Email: yarnstorypodcast (at) gmail.com.Insta: @YarnStoryPod-Struggling to cope and need someone to talk to? Samaritans Ireland: email [email protected] or call on 116 123.

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• Escape from Madrid

  [History documentary]  Pablo De Miguel tells the little known story of how Turkish diplomats saved the lives of 1,000 refugees during the Spanish Civil War’s longest siege. It involves espionage, international negotiations and murder but above all else it's a story about the will to survive and fight to get home. Pablo's research website:zurbano21.comSpecial thanks to Martin and Sofía.--Clips taken from: British Pathé films British Movietone While at War (2019) The Spanish Civil War (1983) The Spanish Earth (1937)Music: Epidemic Sound---Full episode transcript available here:https://mrjohnroche-42475.medium.com/escape-from-madrid-the-untold-story-of-how-turkish-diplomats-saved-the-lives-of-a-thousand-cadf2f156e4b---Yarn is produced and edited by John Roche---Comments and feedback very welcome!Email: yarnstorypodcast (at) gmail.com.X: @YarnStoryPod

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• The Highest Cyclist in the World

  [Sports documentary]In 2007 the legendary Scottish track cyclist Sir Chris Hoy set out to break the 1km time trial world record. The record and then only sub one minute 1km time was set by Hoy's longtime rival; Arnaud Tournant. Hoy was determined to go sub one minute himself and even more determined to snatch the record away from the French cyclist.Hoy embarked on a journey to the most remote cycling venue on the planet; The Alto Irpavi Velodrome, high in the Bolivian Andes. The fastest track on earth. Hoy's attempt pushed the boundaries of what his body could take. Throw in the very real risks of altitude sickness, a shoestring budget, an extremely tight deadline, unpredictable weather conditions, malfunctioning airplanes, some very curious locals and join us as we revisit the circus atmosphere that surrounded Chris Hoy when he became the highest cyclist in the world.To help us along with this story we talk to kilo track cyclist; Eamonn Byrne and to an expert in high altitude training; Nick Hart.Featuring original music score by Drembot.References:Heroes, Villains and Velodromes: Chris Hoy and Britain’s Track Cycling Revolution - Richard Moore (Author).Chris Hoy: The Autobiography of Britain's most successful ever olympian - Sir Chris Hoy (Author).Arnaud Tournant: le phénomène - Pascal Sergent (Author).Eamonn Byrne is a coach at blacklinecoaching.comNick Hart is a performance specialist at altitudecentre.com---Full episode transcript available here:https://mrjohnroche-42475.medium.com/yarn-26-the-highest-cyclist-in-the-world-78333e6b3fd1---Yarn is produced and edited by John Roche---Comments and feedback very welcome!Email: yarnstorypodcast (at) gmail.com.Twitter: @YarnStoryPod

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• Yarn Drama Hour

  [Audio drama collection]We've released 25 and a bit stories for Yarn. To celebrate we're going to take a look back in this omnibus episode. Lately most of our episodes have been documentaries so I decided to dig out some of our fiction stories and pull them together into a neat bingable collection for your listening pleasure. I've selected 4 stories and recorded new introductions for each. Episodes include:The Absence of GaryLeftyChancin' me ArmBrick Lane---Comments and feedback very welcome!Twitter: @YarnStoryPod

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