Undercover Irish

Cover Art is a photo of the iconic "Muriel" painting by artist Jeanette Collins. Free Download: Get the free booklet here on Patreon , exploring the history of Cork Military Detention Barracks , "Cork's Kilmainham" ,and the extraordinary stories connected to the surviving site. In Cork's Kilmainham Ep. 6: Women of the War of Independence , we turn to the women whose work surrounded the detention b...

  Watch Davy Holden's excellent video on Cork Military Detention Barracks: https://youtu.be/MhgbDqtgB_o?si=RXX7LIzU5wv7SldP Cork's Kilmainham, Episode 5: X Marks the Cell On the evening of 27 April 1921, Diarmuid O'Leary noticed something on the two prison cells beside his own. Each door had been marked with a large X. His had not. By the following morning, he would understand why. In this episode...

Cork's Kilmainham continues. In Episode 4, the story moves into the darkest period yet for Cork Military Detention Barracks. Following the death of Terence MacSwiney and the introduction of martial law, the barracks moves to the centre of the conflict in Cork. Men captured across the county are brought here, court martialled here and, increasingly, condemned to death here. This episode tells the s...

Cork's Kilmainham Episode 3: The Chain, the Cell and the Hunger Strike In Episode 3 of Cork's Kilmainham , we follow the extraordinary story of Terence MacSwiney , from prisoner in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising to Lord Mayor of Cork , and finally back into British military custody at the Cork Military Detention Barracks . The episode begins in the shadow of Thomas Kent's execution in May 1916 ,...

When we think of the executions of 1916, we think of Kilmainham Gaol. But Cork has its own surviving 1916 execution site. In this episode of Undercover Irish, we return to Cork Military Detention Barracks and tell the story of Thomas Kent, the east Cork Volunteer executed there on 9 May 1916 and secretly buried within the military grounds. We trace Kent's life from Castlelyons to Boston, where he...

Show Notes After far too long away from the podcast, Undercover Irish is back with a new series exploring the extraordinary history of Cork Military Prison, a building I have come to think of as Cork's Kilmainham . Hidden in plain sight, this building has connections to the Great Famine, the Fenians, 1916, hunger strikes, courts martial, executions, the War of Independence and the Civil War. And n...

Support on Patreon Undercover Irish — Podcasts on Irish History, Language, Songs and Story. | Patreon What Irish Surnames Remember — Part 2: The Names That Came Ashore Irish surnames are not only a story of Ó, Mac, Ní and Nic . They are also a story of arrival. In Part 2 of What Irish Surnames Remember , we look at the names that came into Ireland through conquest, sea-roads, settlement, exile, wo...

Support the podcast: If you enjoy Undercover Irish , you can support the show on Patreon. Patreon helps keep the podcast going and supports the research, writing and production behind each episode. What Irish Surnames Remember — Part 1: Ó, Mac, Ní & Nic Irish surnames are not just family labels. In this episode of Undercover Irish , we look underneath familiar names like O'Brien, Sullivan, McCarth...

When Ireland Speaks in a Woman's Voice: From Ériu to Elmes Ireland was named after a woman. Most of us know that Ireland is called Éire in Irish, but far fewer know about Ériu, the mythological figure whose name survives in the very name of the country itself. In this episode of Undercover Irish, we follow the women hidden in Ireland's landscape. From Ériu, Banba and Fódla, to Boann and Sinann, fr...

Ireland's county names are more than simple labels on a map. They are records of invasion, settlement, religion, trade, conquest, resistance, and survival. In Part 2 of What Irish County Names Really Mean , we explore how saints, Vikings, colonists, and mapmakers left their mark on Ireland's counties — and how older Irish identities survived beneath those layers. Along the way we discover: Why Dub...

Ireland's counties feel ancient — but the county system itself is surprisingly modern. In this episode of Undercover Irish , we go back before the maps, before English colonisation , and even before Christianity to uncover the real meanings behind Irish county names. From pagan gods and forgotten tribes to marshes, forests, ridges, and sacred landscapes, many Irish counties preserve fragments of a...

Ireland has always faced the water. For thousands of years, the sea shaped life along the Irish coast — feeding communities, destroying harbours, carrying storms inland, and connecting the island to the wider world. But it also left something behind in the language itself. In this episode of Undercover Irish , we explore Ireland's long relationship with the sea through the stories hidden in coasta...

Ireland's Darkest Placenames II: Memory in the Landscape Irish placenames are far more than simple labels on a map. They preserve memory. In this episode of Undercover Irish , we explore how Ireland's landscape became a record of history, folklore, trauma, spirituality, and collective memory — hidden inside names most of us pass every day without noticing. From ancient burial landscapes and famine...

Ireland is full of placenames that seem ordinary until you translate them. Places called: "The Hill of the Gallows." "The Ford of the Dead." "The Gate of Tears." "The Hole of Death." In this episode of Undercover Irish , Eolan Ryng explores the darker side of the Irish landscape — where placenames preserve memories of execution, famine, exile, mythology, colonial violence, and ancient fear. From t...

How Irish migrants shaped hockey, club names, and identity from Montreal through Toronto to Vancouver 🇮🇪 Episode Overview In this episode of Undercover Irish , we explore how Irish identity travelled across the Atlantic—and how it evolved through sport in Canada. From famine-era migration to the rise of hockey, from the Montreal Shamrocks to the Toronto St. Patricks (and eventually the Maple Leafs...

🎙️ London Irish, Boston Celtics & the Names We Carry In this episode of Undercover Irish , we follow a simple question— what's in a name? —and uncover a global story of identity, memory, and survival. From the fields of Ireland to the streets of London and the arenas of Boston, this episode explores how Irish identity has been carried, rebuilt, and reimagined through the names of sporting clubs an...

⭐ Enjoying the podcast? If you're liking Undercover Irish , please take a moment to leave a review on your podcast app—it really helps more people find the show and supports independent Irish storytelling. 🎧 Episode Overview Why is the town of Buttevant called Buttevant? In this episode, we uncover the story behind one of Ireland's most unusual place names—tracing its origins from the Irish Cill...

🎙️ Show Notes LINK TO POEM https://www.patreon.com/posts/155883354?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_fan&utm_content=web_share Cork vs Tipperary 1741 — The First Match Report Was A Poem in Irish This Sunday, Cork and Tipperary meet again. But their rivalry goes back much further than modern hurling. In 1741, one of the earliest recorded clashes between the two wa...

🎙️ Show Notes In this episode of Undercover Irish , we explore how the Great Famine didn't just reshape Ireland—it carried Irish identity across the world. From the streets of Liverpool to the foundations of clubs like Celtic F.C. and Hibernian F.C., we look at how Irish communities used sport to rebuild identity in exile. We examine how club names reflected memory, resistance, and belonging—and h...

🔒 Get Early Access to the Next One Listen to Episodes 2 of this mini series now on Patreon: 👉 https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-great-hunger-155619855?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link In this episode of Undercover Irish , we explore the hidden meaning behind GAA club names—and what they reveal about Irish identity, history, and my...

🎙️ Show Notes The Mountains of Pomeroy: A Love Song from a Broken Land At first listen, The Mountains of Pomeroy sounds like a simple love song — a quiet story of two people divided by circumstance. But beneath the romance lies something deeper. In this episode of Undercover Irish , we explore the world behind the song: The rapparees , outlaws shaped by dispossession and colonisation The story of...

🎙️ How One Town's Four Names Map Different Irelands 📝 Charleville isn't just one name. It's also An Ráth, Rathgogan, and Rathluirc — each one telling a different story about Ireland. In this episode, we follow those names through conquest, plantation, and revival, to see how one place can hold multiple pasts at once. 🎧 Support the Podcast If you're enjoying Undercover Irish , you can support the...

The Story Behind Óró, Sé do Bheatha 'Bhaile : From Jacobite Song to 1916 Rebel Anthem One of the most famous Irish rebel songs, Óró, Sé do Bheatha 'Bhaile , is closely associated with the Easter Rising and the revolutionary poetry of Pádraig Pearse . But the story of the song actually begins centuries earlier . In this episode of Undercover Irish , we explore how one melody travelled through three...

🎙️ Why Britain Still Owns Part of Cyprus — And What Ireland Has To Do With It When Cyprus appears in the headlines during a Middle East/West Asia war, most people ask: Why is Britain operating from there? The answer begins long before today's conflict — and it doesn't begin in Cyprus. It begins in Ireland. In this episode, we explore how Ireland's partition and the retention of the Treaty Ports in...

🎙️ From Vernon Mount to Vaucluse: Exile, Empire & What Remains Undercover Irish – Episode 2 Henry Browne Hayes was sentenced to transportation for life. But exile did not humble him. In this second part of the series, we follow Hayes from Ireland to Australia — from convict ship to colonial estate — and examine how power adapts even when it is supposedly punished. Along the way, we encounter Irish...