Groundbreakers

Duncan Bannatyne explores the life and legacy of Sir Thomas Lipton, from his family's humble Ulster Scots beginnings, to the heights of his international business success and how he earned the title 'The Man Who Charmed the World'.

Dr Saleyha Ahsan uncovers the story of Anne Acheson, the trailblazing Ulster artist and sculptor whose voluntary work during World War One changed the face of modern medicine. She discovers how Anne's innovative, creative mindset combined with her training in sculpting, led to the widespread use of plaster of Paris splints, still being used in hospitals 100 years on. Dr Ahsan travels from Ulster to London, to discover the remarkable story of how Anne Acheson combined art and medicine to leave her mark on history.

Adventurer and travel writer Leon McCarron retraces part of the 1856 voyage to the Arctic made by one of his heroes, Lord Dufferin. In June 1856, the 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, left his home in Bangor to travel across Scotland and on to the Arctic in a small sailing schooner. After travelling 6,000 miles in four months, Lord Dufferin published a best-selling account of his journey and in the process set the course for the rest of his life. He became the most outstanding diplomat of the Victorian era, a charming fixer solving international and domestic disputes everywhere from Canada to Burma. Leon McCarron recreates this seminal voyage by following the accounts written in Lord Dufferin's book, introducing us to some of the stories of this extraordinary man. Leon considers Dufferin's family background, his Ulster-Scots heritage, his drive for adventure and achievement, and explores the parallels with his own background and adventurous life a century and a half later. We reveal how the Scottish part of that first epic journey and his passion for Sir Walter Scott impacted Lord Dufferin's future, his Clandeboye estate, and the landscape of North Down as we know it today.

Best-selling author Kate Mosse reveals how Ulster-Scots writer Helen Waddell has influenced her, and uncovers the fascinating story of how Waddell's life and work intertwined. Helen Waddell's 1933 novel Peter Abelard was a bestseller, and she was feted by the literati, politicians, and even royalty. She was a pioneer of the type of historical fiction that is so popular, and respected today. Born in Japan, the daughter of a Presbyterian missionary, Helen was among the first wave of women to study at Queen's Belfast and Oxford University. She became an acclaimed scholar, translator, and novelist, but throughout her life she faced such adversity as bereavement, discrimination, complicated relationships and illness. Kate discovers how Waddell's fascination with the famous medieval lovers Abelard and Heloise had a profound and startling effect on her own romantic life.