Bell, Sam Hanna (1909–1990)

Scottish-born writer and broadcaster. Bell moved to Strangford Lough, County Down, Northern Ireland, as a child and then to Belfast in 1921. Opposed to traditional Unionism, he co-founded the socialist journal Lagan (1943) with the Belfast playwright John Boyd (1912– ) and Bob Davison. He worked extensively with BBC Northern Ireland as a documentary script writer and producer. Much of Bell's radio work dealt with folklore and folk music, and he also wrote about Ulster culture. His short stories and novels include December Bride (1951), subsequently made into a film; and Across the Narrow Sea (1987), a study of the effects of plantation in 17th-century Ulster.