Mr Ulster 
What I do
I am a peace journalist, because I believe in transforming conflict-driven narratives. I am editor of Shared Future News, which reports on peacebuilding in Northern Ireland. I am a co-founder and editor of FactCheckNI, Northern Ireland's first fact-checking service, which works improve civic discourse. I also support the conflict resolution work of the Forum for Cities in Transition in Belfast.
My interests include Northern Ireland, peacebuilding, photography, and politics. You can also read my work at Northern Slant and Slugger O'Toole.
Book review: Great Thinkers (The School of Life)
Great Thinkers is a compilation of 60 short essays — about 1,500 to 3,000 words each — published by The School of Life, which dedicates itself to “developing emotional intelligence through the help of culture”. It describes the book as a volume of some of the most important ideas of Eastern and Western culture, drawn […]
Book review: Anna Lo: The Place I Call Home
Book review: Anna Lo: The Place I Call Home by Allan LEONARD 15 August 2019 Anna Lo writes with a crisp and concise manner, demonstrating her fine skills in English that she makes reference to in her memoir. The Place I Call Home is a chronological story, from her childhood to current retirement. It gives […]
The role of media in conflict: A Féile discussion
The role of media in conflict: A Féile discussion by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 8 August 2019 Hosted by Féile an Phobail, the campaign group Time for Truth organised an event to examine the role of the media in conflict and to listen to the account of those journalists in the front line […]
Shared housing and integrated education: Building good community relations
Shared housing and integrated education: Building good community relations by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 7 August 2019 A panel discussion on how shared housing projects and the integrated education movement are contributing towards good community relations was held at St Mary’s College, Belfast, as part of the Feile Festival. The panellists were Deborah […]
Reporting the Troubles: A swirl of emotions
Reporting the Troubles: A swirl of emotions by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 6 August 2019 As part of the EastSide Arts Festival, the editors read from Reporting the Troubles, their book compilation of stories of the Northern Ireland conflict. Deric Henderson (former Ireland Editor of the Press) and Ivan Little (UTV, ITN, Belfast […]
For Northern Ireland: Parity of esteem and reconciliation
For Northern Ireland: Parity of esteem and reconciliation by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 1 August 2019 As part of the 31st annual Féile festival, Jim Gibney (a member of the Féile Debates and Discussions Committee) welcomed the audience of a couple dozen attendees of a panel discussion on what parity of esteem, reconciliation, […]
Post-Agreement identity narratives: A photographic essay
The 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement gives legal recognition to the coexisting and overlapping national citizenships in Northern Ireland, entitling those born in the jurisdiction to be British, Irish, or both. The devolved administration codifies the traditional political identities of “Unionist” and “Nationalist”, as well as an opportunity for “Others”. The accord has also pledged greater […]
“In my imagination, it was true”: Margins of Excess exhibition talk by Max PINCKERS
“In my imagination, it was true”: Margins of Excess exhibition artist talk by Max PINCKERS by Allan LEONARD 14 June 2019 As part of the Belfast Photo Festival, Belfast Exposed is hosting an exhibition of Margins of Excess, by Max Pinckers. The artist gave a talk about this project in the gallery, describing how he […]
Belfast Exposed exhibition talk: Post Truth: The new normal of the undefined, abstract, and make believe
Belfast Exposed exhibition talk: Post Truth: The new normal of the undefined, abstract, and make believe by Allan LEONARD 30 May 2019 Belfast Exposed is hosting a group exhibition displaying the work of graduate students of the MFA Photography programme at Ulster University (UU). The theme is “Post Truth”, which aims to explore how we […]
