Irish History Podcast

The city of Kilkenny was rocked by the notorious witchcraft trial of 1324 (covered in the last two episodes). These events took place seven centuries ago in the long distant past. To conclude the series on the trial embarked on my own witch hunt in the 21st century. I wanted to find if anything remained of the supposed witch Alice Kyteler who disappeared in 1324. I took a recorder and soon found m...

The series on the Great Hunger of the 1840s will finish in the summer of 2019, but I have been busy planning something new. Find out what it is in this major announcement.  I am visiting New York for the first time and speaking at the American Irish Historical Society on February 28th. You can get tickets at aihs.org Become a supporter & access dozens of exclusive podcasts Patreon www.pat...

This podcast continues the fascinating tale of one of the first witchcraft trials in European history. It took place in Kilkenny in 1324. This show picks up the story as the trial and surrounding scandal began in March 1324. This would see the Bishop Ossory clash with Alice Kyteler and her powerful but dangerous allies. The consequences would be devastating for those caught in the middle. Become a...

Growing up in Kilkenny I was surrounded by medieval history - its what drew me to study the past in the first place. One of the most famous or perhaps notorious incidents in Kilkenny's medieval history took place in 1324 when the Bishop of Ossory accused Alice Kyteler, a powerful merchant in the city, of heresy and witchraft. This sparked a lethal struggle in the town that would end in shocking br...

1848 was a year of revolt & rebellion across Europe and Ireland was no different. However unique to Ireland, the 1848 uprising took place to the back drop of one of the worst famine’s in modern history – the Great Hunger. While it has been overshadowed by the much larger 1798 rebellion and the 1916 Rising, the story of the Famine rebellion is a fascinating if forgotten history. In this podcast...

The history of the Great Hunger is rooted in stories of greed, racism and senseless suffering. This episode however sheds light on some of the amazing stories of compassion and solidarity that saved thousands of lives. While it can be difficult not to focus on the disastrous actions of the British Government, it is also important to remember the forgotten heroes of the Great Famine – the Victorian...

This bonus episode contains the first two shows in my podcast series 'This Week in Irish history'. These shows look at the life of Ireland's most famous highwayman and Cromwell's Siege of Wexford in 1649. Become a supporter & access dozens of exclusive podcasts Patreon www.patreon.com/irishpodcast Acast https://plus.acast.com/s/irishhistory 📢June 2023 Update - New Walking Tour 📢 I am thrille...

Many histories of the Great Hunger refer to the famine ending in 1847. It is true that the famine did start to ease in some parts of the island in the following years. However in the west the catastrophe was far from over - some of the darkest chapters lay ahead as 1847 drew to a close. This episode focuses in on one area – Clifden in Co Galway where the famine in 1848 was arguably even worse than...

On October 1st my new free weekly podcast series 'This Week in Irish History' begins. This short episode tells you want you can expect, what's in the first four shows and the simple step you need to take to make sure you dont miss out on Ireland's newest podcast.   Become a supporter & access dozens of exclusive podcasts Patreon www.patreon.com/irishpodcast Acast https://plus.acast.com/s/...

This week see the release of the first major movie set during the Great Famine. Starring James Frecheville, Stephen Rae, Jim Broadbent & Hugo Weaving Black '47 is one of the most eagerly awaited Irish films of 2018. Last Wednesday I got a sneak preview of the movie and in this podcast I review Black '47. Last Wednesday I got a sneak preview of the movie and in this podcast I review Black '47....

This week sees the launch of the movie Black '47 & my return to the Great Famine series. So whether you want to find out the history behind the movie or catch up on the series to date this is podcast for you. While it does summarise the series to date the show also includes lots of new information.  The episode tells the fascinating but forgotten story of Margaret Murphy. Margaret's life...

The Mulranny Police Conspiracy is a little-known story that took place in the west of Ireland at the turn of the 20th century. The setting is Mulranny – a stunning village along the Wild Atlantic Way but in 1900 it was something of a forgotten backwater. However it was here, on the shores of Clew Bay that this story of deceit unfolded. In what is at times a bizarre and tragic plot, the Royal Irish...

The Iniskea Islands are among the most remote places in Ireland. Although deserted today, throughout the 19th century the lives of the islanders were the source of bizarre rumours. Numerous outsiders accused the islanders of piracy & worshipping pagan gods into the 1870s. In this podcast I look at whether these Islanders were truly the last pagans and pirates in Ireland. The answers are supris...

In the 1830s the British politican George Lewis described the fate of an informer in ireland as a man " doomed to certain death....he would be hunted through the country like a mad dog every hand would be raised against him".  This was something of an understatement in some cases.  In 1816 Edward Lynch became an informer. A few months later this resulted in one of the worst crimes in pre...

Did the experiences of the Famine drive Irish people insane? In this episode I look at the story of the famine survivor John Thompson who ended up in the Rainhill asylum in Lancashire in the 1860s. In this Victorian institution (which treated mental illnesses) he would find himself surrounded by other Irish people. This podcast looks at why Irish peope found themsleves in British asylums in dispro...

The Great Hunger is not something we associate with war and certainly not wars in other countries. However the Famine is inextricably linked to the story of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Around 200,000 Irish people, most of them famine or post famine emigrants, fought in the conflict making it one of the largest wars in terms of Irish participation. This podcast is structured around an inter...

After Ireland, no country was more affected by the Great Famine than the USA. Millions of Irish people emigrated to the United States during and after the Great Famine. This is their story. Through this podcast you will follow them on voyages across the Atlantic before looking at several Irish communities from the Five Points Slum in New York to the Rocky Mountains. From persecuted Irish miners in...

Coffin Ships are one of the most enduring images from the Great Famine. This was the name given to the boats that carried Irish Famine emigrants to North America in 1847. This sinister title comes from the appalling death rates onboard these ships. This show opens with the hopes and fears of famine emigrants in Black '47. Then I move on to the harrowing voyages and what awaited the emirgants...

As people across the world prepare to mark St Patrick's day this podcast looks what at happened on St Patricks Day during the worst year of the Great Famine. Celebrations were not cancelled but on a day supposed to celebrat all things Irish, events in Dublin revealed there were two very different Irelands in that year.  While one half of the city starved the other half planned a party.... &nb...

This short podcast explains the Dublin Famine Tour, my new interactive historical experience which launches on St Patricks Weekend. On this walking tour I guide you through Victorian Dublin, explaining the fascinating but forgotten story of how the Great Famine transformed Ireland’s capital city. During the tour will also hear what Dublin sounded like in the 1840s along with recordings of accounts...

Emigration is arguably the greatest legacy of the Great Irish Famine. Between 1846 and 1851, 1.25 million Irish people passed through the port of Liverpool alone to escape the Great Hunger. This exodus of refugees transformed the Great Famine from an Irish catastrophe into a global phenomenon as these people established Irish communities across the world. It fitting then that the show opens with a...

Over the course of the Great Famine, hundreds of thousands of Irish people were evicted from their homes. As ruthless landlords showed no pity, eviction was a death sentence for many starving tenants who were made homeless. It was inevitable these evictions provoked resistance. On November 2nd 1847, the most famous assassination of the Great Famine took place in North Roscommon. This podcast detai...

This episode marks a return to the Great Famine Series. Coming podcasts will detail the later phase of the Famine including emigration and the bitter struggle that broke out between lanldords & tenants. This show sets the stage by focusing on the life of the most famous Irish person of the 19th century - Daniel O’Connell. Known as 'King Dan' the final years of his life provide a grea...

Isabella Cadel, Grace O Toole, Fynyna O Toohig. These are all women forgotten by history who lived intriguing and fascinating lives. The three had one thing in common - they were all rebels in medieval Ireland. In this podcast I look at their forgotten stories which took place in an Ireland ravaged by deadly conflict. These medieval female warriors played an overlooked role in the brutal and deadl...

The last podcast looked at the arrival of the one time Nazi Commando Otto Skorzeny in Ireland in 1957 and the welcome he received from some of the most influential people in Dublin. This podcast continues this bizarre story using recently released files from Ireland's intelligence agency G2. These files contain serious allegations about Skorzeny in Ireland.  Was he using Cork Harbour to...