Irish History Podcast

This history of Dunmore cave is mysterious and gripping. Around the year 930 the Vikings massacred large numbers of people in a battle fought around the cave. By the 18th century some of the earliest explorers found large numbers of human remains scattered across this extensive tunnel system. While this may be evidence of a brutal Viking massacre, recent archaeological excavations and analysis hav...

I have exciting plans for 2020. Amongst other things I will be starting a major series on the Irish War of Independence. However I need your advice on what shape this wil. Tune in to find out whats coming up in the next few months and how you can help me design this new series. www.irishhistorypodcast.ie/survey Become a supporter & access dozens of exclusive podcasts Patreon www.patreon.com/ir...

When creating episodes I normally try to tell wider events in Irish history by focusing on the lives of an individual person. This podcast takes a different approach. I interview Dr Mark Clinton about the history of one specific place - Carrickmines Castle. Mark lead the excavations that unearthed the ruins of the castle destroyed in the 17th century. By focusing on this castle we were able to hav...

In July 1936 Peadar O'Donnell, a veteran of the Irish war of Independence and civil war travelled to Spain on holiday. He was among those caught up in the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War. He witnessed the chaotic opening phase of the conflict providing gripping eye witness detail. As this podcast reveals O'Donnell was in Barcelona and was both inspired and horrified by what he saw. The cit...

In this episode we continue the story of the Irish people who fought in the Spanish Civil War. Our focus turns to the life of Bob Doyle. A member of the IRA and later a communist his life explains why people went on to fight against fascism in Spain. Beginning with his early childhood set to the backdrop of grinding poverty in Dublin slums, the podcast is an evocative and fascinating journey throu...

This is the second episode in the series Partisans - Irish Stories from the Spanish Civil War. In this podcast we meet our first partisan Aileen O'Brien, a 22 year old Irish American who moved to Ireland in 1935. O'Brien was always a mysterious figure - her contemporaries were never quite sure what to make of her. Some considered her a fascist, others thought her a naive catholic while intelligenc...

This is the first episode of Partisans, a new weekly series created by myself and Stewart Reddin. While the series focuses on the experiences of Irish people in the Spanish Civil War, this episode sets the scene. It explains the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, the crisis that consumed Spanish politics in the 1930s and the far reaching implications of that conflict not least for people in Irelan...

This bonus show looks at a famous event that haunts Irish history - the Four Courts Explosion. In June 1922 during the opening phase of the Irish Civil War, the Public Records Office was destroyed in a massive explosion that rocked Dublin City Centre. Several centuries of Irish historical records had been stored in the building, most of which were incinerated. In this episode I explain the backgro...

On November the 18th my new podcast series 'Partisans' begins. Created by mysef and Stewart Reddin it looks at the fascinating stories of Irish people who fought in Spanish Civil War. Tune in to find out more... Thanks to Keith Hynes for the Artwork Badges available at www.irishhistorypodcast.ie/shop Become a supporter & access dozens of exclusive podcasts Patreon www.patreon.com/irishpodcast...

The Mater Hospital in Dublin first opened its doors in 1861. It has a fascinating although often forgotten history. From using cocaine as pain relief in the 19th century to treating the wounded of the 1916 Rising, the hospital has always been a fascinating place. Strange as it sounds, it is also where I first came up with the idea to start podcasting. In 2010 having been diagnosed with Crohn's dis...

Muriel McSwiney is a fascinating if tragic and forgotten figure in Irish history. Born in 1892 into one of Cork's wealthiest families, she rejected the privilege this life offered her. She first became a radical republican playing a key role in the War of Independence before becoming a communist in the 1920s. This podcast tells her story. -----------------------------------------------------------...

'Winners & Losers' looks at the how the Great Famine came to an end. It's set to the backdrop of a News Year's Eve Ball held in Kilkenny Castle on December 31st 1850. The castle was home to the Marquis & Marchioness of Ormonde, who had invited what was considered the elite of Kilkenny to the ball.  However behind the finery and wealth on display we will see how the Great Famine contin...

Jack the Ripper brutally murdered five women in the Whitechapel area of London in the Autumn of 1888. While his identity remains a mystery, these murders have haunted our imaginations ever since. The case has spawned an entire industry with countless books, films and podcasts along with a disturbing and crass tourist industry in London. In spite of all this coverage, most of us know very little hi...

Divorce and sex magic are not things we associate with medieval Ireland. However for over one thousand years Irish society was governed by a unique and radically different legal system called Brehon Law. In this podcast I interview Dr Gillian Kenny (twitter.com/medievalgill) who explains what Brehon Law was and how it worked. She challenges widely held misconceptions and explains how divorce exist...

This subject needs little by way of an introduction. It is one of the most controversial debates in Irish history. It continues to overshadow relations with our nearest neighbour - Great Britain. In the 1840s one million Irish people died and another million famine refugees fled the island. The Irish population fell by 25% in less than a decade. Over the past 25 years calls for the Great Famine to...

(I am currently researching the final episodes in the Great Famine series. The next show on the Great Hunger is still two weeks away but in the meantime I have this pretty special bonus podcast.) ----- One of the things that makes medieval history so interesting is that the very basics of life are astounding and fascinating in equal measure. We are endlessly intrigued by What did people ate? Life...

During the Great Hunger over 250,000 people were evicted by their landlords. Most of these people were left destitute with little hope in an Ireland decimated by the Great Famine. In this podcast I look at the struggle that took place between tenants and landlords in the final phase of the Great Hunger. The show tries to understand why landlords and their agents acted in such a ruthless manner and...

In August 1849 Queen Victoria arrived in a famine ravaged Ireland. Contrary to what we might expect there were no protests and in many places the Queen received a rapturous welcome. However this only tells part of the story. This podcast takes you on a journey deep into one of Dublin's most notorious slums - St Michan's. There we follow the lives of a poor couple George and Bridget Shea. Thei...

This podcast (the second show on the town of Clogheen) introduces Richard Burke, a man who had a very unusual experience of the Great Famine. Between 1845 and 1848 he was the clerk of Clogheen Workhouse and Richard's life provide us with unique insights into this institution which was central to how the Great Hunger affected this community. The workhouse was where stories of kindness and cruelty p...

This episode is a return of the Great Famine Series. Focusing on the town of Clogheen in South Tipperary, this two part episode follows the lives of three individuals Robert Davis, David Keane and Richard Burke. Their stories delve into the fascinating yet often violent struggle for survival in Ireland during the Great Famine. While the show focuses on Clogheen the accounts are reflective of wider...

The Hellfire club is an 18th century ruin in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains. The building has a scandalous history and is considered by some to be one of Ireland's most haunted locations. A few years ago Neil Jackman of Abarta Heritage led an archaeological excavation on the site. This podcast is an interview with Neil. He reveals the history behind this building, where the folklore and myt...

When we think of Irish Emigrants in the USA, images of New York or Boston spring to mind. However on a recent trip to the US I visited friends in Nebraska where I found a very different Irish American history. Located in the midwest - the landcape and climate in Nebraska are pretty extreme - its very different from the large cities on the Eastern Coast. In this podcast I look at how Irish emigrant...

In 1892 Peig Sayers married & moved from Dunquin in West Kerry to the Great Blasket Island. Her life provides us with fascinating insights into what marriage was like in the late 19th century (a combination of a first date and moving in with your in laws!). Peig's later life also details how events like the 1916 Rising, the Great War and the War of Independence played out on this remote island...

When Peig Sayers died in 1958, she as regarded as one of Ireland's greatest storytellers and folklorists. Born in Dunquin in 1873 Co Kerry she grew up in the aftermath of the Great Famine in extreme poverty. However life in this remote corner of Ireland is both fascinating and at times unbelievable from a 21st century standpoint. Later in her life Peig would recall the intriguing details of what i...

In April 1894 Cincinnati's Irish Amercian community was rocked by a shocking and brutal murder. It was so scandalous that many newspapers in Ireland refused to even mention it, even though both the victim and the perpetrator were both Irish. In this podcast you will hear the extraordinary story of Mollie Gilmartin unearthed for the first time in over a century... Thanks to Muireann Hogan for her n...