Irish History Podcast

Irish funerals and wakes are one of the more famous aspects of our culture. Often taking the form of a celebration, it has been said we do death well. However the modern Irish funeral is not the timeless tradition we often imagine. In this episode of the Irish History Podcast I explore the strange history of Irish funerals and the lost world of 19th-century death customs. Drawing on folklore and f...

"Intercourse between Bolshevism and Sinn Féin" These were the words one British newspaper used to describe the relationship between the Irish Republican movement and the fledgling Soviet Union during the Irish Revolution. It was an unlikely pairing. Ireland became a deeply conservative, Catholic country where communism was viewed with suspicion and fear. Yet during the Irish War of Independence, a...

For Dublin's gay community, Irish Independence and the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922 heralded anything but freedom. While the new state promised change, the gay community faced decades of repression, arrest, and severe punishment. Yet despite this, they continued to build lives, relationships, and communities in the shadow of fear. In this episode, I am joined by historian Averill Earls...

“Keep handing it to the Micks. The Roman Catholic Irish are, and always have been, the only un-Americanised people in the United States.”   These words came from a supporter of Admiral William S. Sims, an ardent opponent of Irish republicans in the United States in the 1920s.  This episode of  Brothers in Pain  explores the crucial battle for American public opinion d...

At the outbreak of World War II, Ireland declared itself neutral. But neutrality didn't mean the country was untouched by the conflict. Known as the The Emergency, the war left people in Ireland facing invasion fears, severe rationing, and an uncertain future. Thousands of Irish men and women crossed the Irish Sea to serve in Allied armies and work in British wartime industries. The memories of Ir...

"There were spies, informers and degenerates of every kind and we were here to do business." These were the words an IRA activist describing his desperate, shadowy quest to source weapons for the IRA in Europe. But who were these people who traded weapons and information to support the IRA campaign in Ireland. \ In this episode of Brothers in Pain: The IRA in a Revolutionary World , Dr. Brian Hanl...

The Irish War of Independence often conjures images of guerrilla fighters on lonely mountainsides, on the run from the Black and Tans. While that is part of the story, Ireland’s struggle for independence unfolded against the backdrop of a world in total crisis. As empires frayed and global movements for equality surged, the IRA sought out their own 'Brothers in Pain' navigating a shadow world of s...

On March 17th, thousands of St. Patrick's Day Parades take place across the globe. New York's parade, dating back to the 1760s, draws three million people and reinforces the stereotype that the parade is an American invention. Yet parades have been taking place since at least the early 17th century. The real origins of St. Patrick's Day Parade are far more complicated, and far more contentious, th...

Éamon de Valera is one of the most influential figures in modern Irish history. Born in New York in 1880s and raised in rural Limerick, he rose from obscurity to become a central figure in the Irish Revolution. He played a major role in the 1916 Rising, became the most internationally recognised Irish figure during the War of Independence, and was central to the Treaty split that led to the Civil...

In the late nineteenth century the United States pushed west and its expansion unleashed devastating violence against Native Americans. Forced from their lands and herded onto reservations Native communities faced a relentless campaign of dispossession and massacre. Thousands of miles away in Ireland deep poverty drove many to enlist in the US Army and they became participants in these same fronti...

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, lions, tigers and even elephants toured towns and cities across Ireland. Long before modern zoos, travelling menageries brought wild animals from across the globe into marketplaces, fairgrounds and urban streets. For many people, this was their first encounter with creatures they had only ever seen in books or sermons. In this episode, I’m joi...

While the Roman Empire conquered much of western Europe and established a powerful presence in Britain, Ireland remained beyond its grasp. But why?  In this episode, I am joined by Dr Jacqueline Cahill Wilson to explore how Ireland interacted with the Roman world. It is a complex and intriguing story. Jacqueline reveals the considerable archaeological evidence that suggests Roman communities...

The Ulster Special Constabulary was one of the most controversial forces in modern Irish history. Formed amid the violence and uncertainty of the early 1920s, it was viewed by many nationalists as a sectarian militia, while in parts of the unionist community it was remembered as a force that defended order during a time of upheaval. As debates around Irish unification return to the center of polit...

Each February Ireland celebrates St Brigid, one of the most beloved figures in Irish history. She is woven into the landscape, the calendar and the culture, yet a simple question hangs over her story. Did she ever really exist? You may recall a very short episode on this topic last year. Since then, I have rethought the evidence, changed my view and this episode takes a much deeper look at the his...

What was daily life in a medieval Irish castle really like? In this special episode recorded in Barryscourt Castle I explore the reality behind the myths. My guest Jamie O’Callaghan guides you through reconstructed rooms that reveal everything from deadly defenses to secret chambers to show how people lived and all too often died in a medieval castle. We also talk about food, entertainment and the...

This episode includes discussion of sex and is not suitable for younger listeners. Sex has always been a key part of Irish life. Yet given its intimate and private nature it often leaves little trace in the historical record. One rare exception comes from the Presbyterian Kirk Session, a church court that kept detailed accounts of behaviour it considered sinful. These records open a unique wi...

The forgotten story of the Irishman forced to work on Japan's Railway of Death which inspired the film The Bridge over the River Kwai. In 1942 Britain suffered one of its worst defeats when Singapore fell to the Japanese Army. Tens of thousands were taken prisoner including the Dubliner Don Kennedy. This began a brutal ordeal. Don was forced to help build what became known as Japan’s Railway of De...

In the final episode of this series we follow the 1798 rebellion into its most dramatic and desperate days. As fear grips Dublin and battles erupt across Wexford and Ulster the future of Ireland hangs in the balance. The story details the major clash on the Avoca River at Arklow and then finally brings us to the slopes of Vinegar Hill where the fate of the rising is decided. This episode also sees...

The Battle of New Ross was one of the bloodiest clashes of the 1798 Rebellion and within hours it was followed by the horrific Scullabogue Massacre. Together these events created a day long remembered for fire, terror and unimaginable suffering. In this episode we follow the rebels to New Ross, a strategically crucial town where the fighting would shape the course of the revolt. In the aftermath o...

As my series on the 1798 Rebellion returns, this is a great point to dive in to the story... In this episode we see major fighting break out as the south of Ireland erupts in revolt. Rebel forces sweep through the countryside in Co Wexford as loyalist strongholds fall one after another. However as the violence escalates carefully laid plans quickly unravel, and the first major battles left irish s...

In March 1844, the quiet community of Culdaff in north Donegal was rocked by the brutal murder of fourteen-year-old servant Mary Doherty. As the Great Hunger loomed on the horizon, Mary’s tragic death was soon overshadowed by famine and emigration, her story fading into fragments of local folklore. However, in recent years, historian Angela Byrne has brought renewed attention to Mary’s forgotten l...

In the early days of 1798, Dublin teetered on the edge of revolution. A shadow war raged between the United Irishmen and the British authorities, with the city’s fate hanging in the balance. This episode delves into the world of Edward Cooke, the spymaster at Dublin Castle, as he races to dismantle the revolutionary movement through a web of informers and secret agents. Meanwhile, leading rebels l...

This special episode of the Irish History Podcast is made in partnership with An Post. In Nazi-occupied Rome, the Irish priest Hugh O’Flaherty risked everything to save thousands from certain death. By running a secret escape line, O’Flaherty became a lifeline for those facing persecution so much so that he became a wanted man by the Gestapo. Despite the danger, he managed to save thousands from t...

This episode covers one of the most famous events in our history. It’s part of the 1798 Rebellion series, but you can dive straight in if you don't want the gripping backstory! In the closing months of 1796, Ireland was gripped by fear and uncertainty. This episode sees an invasion force of battle-hardened French veterans arrive off the Irish coast, inspiring hope and fear in equal measure. Meanwh...

This episode returns to the story of the 1798 Rebellion, but also stands alone as its own story. In 1793, war broke out between the British Empire and Revolutionary France. This episode explores what happened when a French spy, William Jackson, is caught in Ireland. After his capture, the authorities learned that Irish radicals in the Society of United Irishmen were in contact with Britain’s enemy...