Podcast
Yarn | A Story Podcast
Hosted by John Roche · EN
Documentaries and dramas. Spinning yarns and unraveling them, Yarn is a podcast dedicated to storytelling at its finest.
We have 29 different stories now, each in a different style. Most episodes are standalone but some bigger stories are part of a series. We've done a 3-part doc series on the history of disability, a 2-part docu-drama about a German spy in Ireland during WW2. We've taken listeners on a trip around the Chernobyl exclusion zone, on a ride-along with a New York police officer and into the bizarre palace of a corrupt dictator.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Yarn’s Ultimate Kilkenny City Walking Tour
Oct 701:15:50Tap to summarize[Walking tour of Kilkenny City, Ireland]Discover Kilkenny’s Epic History on Your Own Terms! This self-guided audio walking tour is the perfect way to explore The Marble City.15 Historic Stops: Cover all the key landmarks, from St. Canice’s Cathedral to Kilkenny Castle.Go at Your Own Pace: Pause the audio anytime to explore, eat, or drink.Gripping Stories: Hear incredible tales of witches, Vikings, Norman knights, and Cromwell’s conquest.Listen Anywhere: Walk the route in person or enjoy the tour as a podcast from home.Open the Route Guide Map:https://tinyurl.com/yarn-tour-Stop 1: steps of St. Canice’s Cathedral in Irishtownhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/tFB9grWxn7gVxd7u9[00:01:54]Stop 2: Abbey quarterhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/nqrtQVyH9juBD71d6[00:12:10]Stop 3: The Ringhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/LfSKybo1bHGMyuKZ9[00:16:13]Stop 4: Black Friars Gate / Black Freren Gatehttps://maps.app.goo.gl/iJ2cRVPpNBpN51vX6[00:18:14]Stop 5: Black Abbeyhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/F43fb1BYyvnhEVrJ8[00:20:32]Stop 6: St. Mary’s Cathedralhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/NpqB9g3cnwjRsqaW6[00:24:14]Stop 7: Kyteler’s Innhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/CpX21wgjC4AaioMg9[00:30:20]Stop 8: The Tholselhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/bpfhWW76A7kuoDnPA[00:42:37]Stop 9: Mary’s Lanehttps://maps.app.goo.gl/jQfkkdeozmWAwr2B9[00:44:38]Stop 10: Bateman Quayhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/z4x79au6ByLF1cCz8[00:50:16]Stop 11: Rose Garden at Kilkenny Castlehttps://maps.app.goo.gl/qWcKBhcKy1xnWa6G7[00:56:10]Stop 12: Kilkenny Castle (Park side)https://maps.app.goo.gl/rP14FGfGyvsJJQEA9[00:59:52]Stop 13: Design Centrehttps://maps.app.goo.gl/bh21R3usFu6FRZQr5[01:04:02]Stop 14: Hole in the Wallhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/eZvU4toZJeMWGd647[01:07:56]Stop 15: Courthousehttps://maps.app.goo.gl/uJ3xiVbTqjSNXeMP6[01:10:26]-Produced and narrated by John Roche -Comments and feedback very welcome!Instagram: @YarnStoryPodemail: yarnstorypodcast (at) gmail.com
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Hotel on the edge of Europe
May 1, 202501:11:44Tap to summarize[Documentary][Signal Awards Winner 2025: Best Indie Podcast - Individual Episode - Bronze]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
Apr 2, 202500:09:52Tap to summarize[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 jo@samaritans.ie or call on 116 123.
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Escape from Madrid
Jan 11, 202500:42:54Tap to summarize[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
May 1, 202300:50:05Tap to summarize[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
Apr 22, 202200:50:25Tap to summarize[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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The Stalker
Mar 30, 202200:22:21Tap to summarize[Documentary] "I had no contact with this man. All I ever said was hello to him. It's stalking. And it builds and builds." These are the words of my mother, Eileen Byrne. She’s going to recount her ordeal with a stalker. I was just a kid at the time. I knew very little about it, until lately when she started talking about the incident. It was a recent Irish news story that triggered her memory. The murder of Aisling Murphy in broad daylight, sparked a national conversation not just about violence against women but also about the level of harassment and intimidation women are forced to endure on a daily basis. Aisling’s murder added fuel to a prominent campaign to make stalking a criminal offence in Ireland. For more information about this campaign see Stalking.ie Full episode transcript here: https://mrjohnroche-42475.medium.com/yarn-25-the-stalker-3399f983ff0 --- Yarn is produced and edited by John Roche --- Comments and feedback very welcome! Twitter: @YarnStoryPod
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Kyiv Calling
Mar 2, 202200:27:31Tap to summarize[Special Interview] On Day 6 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine I talked to an old friend of the podcast, our tour guide from the Chernobyl episode. He talks about the Russian takeover of the Chernobyl exclusion zone and what it's like to be staying put in Kyiv during the invasion. If you would like to support Ukrainian refugees and aid organisations working in Ukraine or get protest information here is some information: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/ways-to-help-ukraine-conflict/ If you would like to donate directly to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defenсe of Ukraine you can use the details here: https://war.ukraine.ua/donate/ If you would like to support our friend specifically from this episode please email me and I will pass on his payment details. Any contribution size is very welcome. Produced by John Roche Email: yarnstorypodcast (at) gmail.com
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Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury
Oct 12, 202101:28:59Tap to summarize[Documentary] Inside stories from the jury room. I wanted to see inside this secretive world and get a sense of what it feels like to serve. I talked to 7 former jurors about their 7 separate trials. I also talked to a practicing criminal law barrister for his thoughts on the jury system. We’ll explore the selection process, the characters in the courtroom and the atmosphere in the deliberation room. Then we'll do a deep dive into a few cases and hear them told from a juror's perspective in their own words. --- Thanks to Barrister Seamus Clarke SC --- Produced and edited by John Roche --- Comments and feedback very welcome! Twitter: @YarnStoryPod
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Lone Actor Terrorism
May 14, 202100:59:18Tap to summarize[Deep Dive Interview] The Oklahoma City bombing of 1995… The 2011 Norway attacks… The 2016 Nice truck attack… The 2019 Christcurch, New Zealand shootings… What do all these attacks have in common? They were all formulated, planned and executed by a single individual. The popular fear of lone actor attacks is that they are completely unpredictable and so almost impossible to prevent. We speak to Dr. Francis O’Connor, an expert on lone actor radicalisation. Dr. O’connor and his colleagues have been funded by the EU Commission to research lone actor attacks. They have collected what they think is the largest dataset of lone actor attacks and attackers in the western world dating from 1990 until the present. Full Episode transcript available here: https://mrjohnroche-42475.medium.com/yarn-22-lone-actor-errorism-e651ee20d569 --- Dr. O'Connor's book is available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Insurgency-Popular-Support-Turkey/dp/1108838502 --- Produced and edited by John Roche --- Comments and feedback very welcome! Email: yarnstorypodcast (at) gmail.com. Twitter: @YarnStoryPod
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