Irish History Podcast

In 1921 the War of Independence came to an end. Many had high hopes for what the future held in store for them in an Independent Ireland. However while people lived in what was officially called the Irish Free State, Fin asks was it a free or fair state? This episode is not suitable for younger listeners as it contains references to sex. Become a supporter & access dozens of exclusive podcasts...

In 1919 the War of Independence broke out in Ireland. In Castlecomer, Ireland’s largest mining community, this had a profound effect. While the I.R.A. fought the British Army in the surrounding countryside, below ground the miners waged their own revolution. This brought not only ambushes and assassination to Castlecomer but strikes, industrial Sabotage & kidnapping. Listen to the full show to...

'The Road to War' returns to my series on the Castlecomer Coalfields . It takes you on a gripping journey through life in one small Irish town and the surrounding coalfields between 1894 & 1918. From the relative peace of the 1890s to the dark years of World War I and the tumultuous days of the Easter Rising, life in Castlecomer and its mines was never dull. This show also reveals for the firs...

The turkey only arrived in Northern Europe in 16th century so what did people eat for Christmas Dinner? In this episode I look at the foods available in medieval Ireland. This includes everything from larks cooked in cinnamon and cloves, geese cooked in garlic to soggy pies and lethal takeaways! Become a supporter & access dozens of exclusive podcasts Patreon www.patreon.com/irishpodcast Acast...

Strange as it may sound, if you lived in the Northwest of Ireland 1000 years ago you may well have witnessed your king attempting to mate with a horse! Medieval Ireland was a very strange place and this show looks at the stranger aspects of magic, superstition and the custom from the world of our medieval ancestors... Become a supporter & access dozens of exclusive podcasts Patreon www.patreon...

Its Christmas and to celebrate I am releasing three podcasts this week. This episode looks at the Ireland's hidden hand in history - Irish people who you have never heard of but nevertheless played key roles in history. For example the first is a 50 year old Irish woman who tried to assassinate the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in 1920s. Others include Eliza Lynch a cork woman who became the f...

In the aftermath of the famine the people of Castlecomer were shell-shocked, reeling from years of death, disease and emigration. However by the 1880s this had changed. When yet another famine threatened in 1879, and landlords threatened eviction, tenants across Ireland rose up in rebellion. The miners of Castlecomer, not to be left behind, launched the Great Coal Strike of 1881. Hear this fascina...

In 1845 life in the Castlecomer Coalfields was racked by economic recession and grinding poverty. When the potato crop, the staple diet of millions across Ireland, failed disaster struck. In the following years around one million Irish people died and over one million emigrated. In Castlecomer the fate of thousands lay in the hands on one man - Charles Wandesforde - the mine owner and local landlo...

For three centuries the town of Castlecomer in North Co. Kilkenny staged one of the most fascinating but forgotten struggles in Irish history. Miners who worked in some of the most harsh working conditions constantly struggled against the mine owner. Given it was often a matter of life and death this struggle was often bitter and conflict was never far from the surface. This saw the miners form se...

Fin hasn't joined a Black Metal band. However this episode is a break from the usual format and explores three very different topics. The Black Death section takes you through the medieval equivalent of the Battle of Stalingrad - The Siege of Calais 1346-47, while updating you on when my upcoming book on the plague is out. Then the show delves into the harsh world of mining in the 19th century bef...

By 1190 the Normans were utterly dominant throughout much of Ireland. As undisputed masters they set about tranforming their lands into societies modelled on their homelands in Wales and England. Gaelic Society was destroyed. This podcast looks at what exactly this change was like, what happened and what it was like to live in the Norman Colony. In order to gain a clear insight the show focuses on...

In this episode the Normans push far into the North and North west. There they come up against one of the greatest powers in medieval Ireland - the kingdom of Tyrone and its ruling families - the O’Neills and their cousins the McLochlainns. The last of the great Gaelic Irish kingdoms faces an onslaught but will it survive? Hear the full story in this podcast.  Become a supporter & ac...

The Kingdom of Connacht in the west of Ireland represented one of the greatest obstacles to Norman domination of Ireland. The ruling family, the O'Connors had resisted Norman intrusion into their kingdom on several occasions. However in the 1190s their power began to fade. As three members of the family - Cathal 'of the Red Hand' O'Connor, his brother and grandnephew battled for the crow...

Part XX sees us enter the 1190s and the Norman Invasion enters what might be called end game. In this decade they begin to advance in to the far west of the island. The Gaelic Irish response is at times baffling. Old internal feuds only intensify as the ruling families cannot let go of past transgressions and unify against the Normans. This leads to a disasterous otcome. This episode looks at even...

This show covers the chaotic years between 1186 and 1189. Assassinations, warfare and violence break out across Ireland as many of the key figures in the story so far struggle to survive in what is an increasingly unpredictable world.  Become a supporter & access dozens of exclusive podcasts Patreon www.patreon.com/irishpodcast Acast https://plus.acast.com/s/irishhistory 📢June 2023...

Bad, possibly mad and very dangerous, Prince John was one of the most notorious men of the Middle Ages. While his cruel reputation is preserved in the Robin Hood myths his real life notoriety began in Ireland in 1185. If the Island did not have enough problems in the aftermath of the Norman Invasion, the arrival of this prince threatened not only the Gaelic Irish kings but the existing Norman Colo...

A few weeks ago I hit the road with a recorder taking in some of the best medieval sites in Ireland. The show takes in 1000 years of Irish history in one day-trip. Starting in around the year 600 in the monastery Glendalough at sunrise before driving through the Wicklow mountains to Kilkenny, I visited many places mentioned in the podcast. The trip finished off in the 16th century in a spot off th...

Magna Carta is the most famous medieval document ever written and the story behind it a fascinating. Forged amidst a civil war in England some people even claim it is the cornerstone of modern democracy. This podcast looks at the brutal reign of King John which led to Magna Carta being written, before looking at its impact in Ireland. The show concludes with why I think its over rated and perhaps...

This podcast tells the story of Irish-Americans who have been forgotten by history. These were the revolutionaries, feminists, socialists, and trade union organisers in the early 20th century . Often dubbed as unamerican they strenuously rejected this notion. They saw themselves as much Americans or Irish American as much as anyone else, they just held a very different view of what America should...

This episode covers a frenetic period of activity. The show starts in 1181 when Hugh de Lacy is suspected of treason by Kking Henry II. The Normans in Ireland wait with bated breath to see what future holds for their most powerful Lord. From there we travel to Munster in 1182 where a revolt breaks out leading to the death of one of the most well known of the invaders. Finally in the second half of...

This show sees the arrival of the man who is probably the most important figure in our story after Strongbow. Hugh de Lacy, the Lord of Meath ruled over 800,000 acres of land north of Dublin. When he arrived however it was ruined by years of war. During his first four years as the kings representative in Ireland he transformed these territories, but it came at a cost. Nevertheless by the time he w...

So far in the story of the invasion the kingdoms of Munster - Desmond and Thomond have escaped relatively unscathed. That is until this episode. In this show we see a fresh Norman army land in Waterford bent on conquering Munster. They are however stepping into a minefield of bloody feuds that stretch back centuries. In this episode I take a different approach, focusing on experience of the Gaelic...

The last show on the Norman Invasion ended in somewhat dramatic circumstances with the death of Strongbow, the leader of the Norman Invasion. As you can imagine the fall out from this was immense. The episode begins with a group of Normans lead by Raymond le Gros who hear the news when they are deep in Gaelic territory. No one knows how the kings of Gaelic Ireland will react when they hear the new...

Many of the foods you will eat on Christmas day were unknown to medieval Europeans. Turkey, cranberries and even potatoes only arrived in Europe after the conquest of the Americas began. This podcast looks at the world of medieval food to see at what was available . You will be surprised at the variety of food in medieval Ireland (if you had the money). This show also looks at the strange, lethal...

This podcast takes the story to a pivotal year in the Norman Invasion of Ireland - 1176. The episode begins where part XII left off - the aftermath of Raymond le Gros' successful siege of Limerick. Raymond makes his way back to Dublin where he receives the shock of lifetime. He is not welcomed by his fellow Normans but instead faces accusations of treachery. This show sees the Normans turn on...