Irish Life & Lore - Voices from the Archive

This podcast records the recent occasion when Harry McCalmont agreed to hand over some family papers to Local Studies at Kilkenny Library HQ. Declan Macauley and Alicia Dunphy of Kilkenny Library met myself and Harry McCalmont at his home at Norelands Stud, originally part of the Mount Juliet estate.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's podcast features some Donegal voices. I selected a number of soundclips taken from recordings in compiled in the county in 2009. I visited every corner of the county to record peoples' stories reflecting many walks of life.  This podcast illustrates the true value of oral history in capturing not alone the unique stories, but also the nuances and complexities of lan...

In this powerful recording compiled in 2005, Fr. Good discusses the aftermath of the Papal Encyclical  Humanae Vitae;  his challenging exchanges with Church and State; his years working with unmarried mothers and their babies in Cork in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2002, with the permission of school authorities, I visited primary schools in South West Ireland and handed my microphone to the children so that they could ask questions of a very knowledgeable person in their community. The questions asked ranged far and wide, and some wonderful recordings were compiled as a result. The schools visited were: Knockerra National School in West Clare with A...

This podcast tells the story of those involved in bringing about the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. You will hear the voices of Dr. Martin Mansergh, special advisor on the North, who was involved in discussions between the Nationalist parties and the Irish Government, and Bertie Ahern who worked tirelessly to bring an end to violence in the North of Ireland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...

This podcast relates to a recording compiled with Paddy Hayes who recalled initially his climb to the top of the Ford factory in Cork before having to close the factory on 13th July 1980. He was then headhunted by Waterford Crystal, became Chairman of the company and again finding himself in a situation where, in April 1989, he had to leave because of reported accounting errors. The...

Liam Lynch was Chief of Staff of the IRA during much of the Civil War in Ireland. He was killed in South Tipperary on 10 April 1923 while attempting to escape capture by the Free State Army. Two voices from our Irish Life and Lore archive may be heard in this podcast - those of his nephew, Diarmuid Mullins and his niece, Peggy Lyne. Comments by the General's namesake, Liam Lynch from Kno...

On 30th November 2022 the centenary was marked at a ceremony in Listowel at which I spoke, and also at a number of other venues in Kerry during the month of December.  I used audio material from our Irish Life and Lore archive to illustrate my talk and to demonstrate the importance of recorded oral history. In this podcast you will hear the sound clips I used, in the order in which...

This week's podcast takes a look at a most anticipated new book which will be published next week. The Big House in Kerry: A Social History will be in bookshops after 25th November. It will also be available via our website at www.irishlifeandlore.com  Twelve of Kerry's fine historians contributed chapters for the book, each examining an individual Big House and its f...

David Slattery, who sadly passed away recently, was one of the most innovative tour operators of his generation.  In the early 1960s he saw huge change beginning in the travel industry. He joined the family travel business in Tralee, which had begun trading as a shipping agency in the 1930s. He introduced new ideas which greatly benefited The Kingdom. David, and his w...

Cathal O'Neill, who sadly passed away recently, left an extraordinary legacy in Ireland. In this recording he discusses his background, and growing up in Capel Street in central Dublin. His father set up a business in 1918 for manufacturing Gaelic footballs. He references the "incredible luck that paved the path" through his life. He recalls meeting his future wife Deirdre Monk...

Ted Crosbie sadly passed away on 9th October 2022. In recordings compiled between 2009 and 2011, he recalls his early life at Woodlands House, Montenotte, Cork; his schooldays and his studies at UCC; his rugby career; his love of sailing and his many adventures in the sport, and his long involvement with Cork Opera House.  He also recalls his early days with the Cork Examiner and the con...

Mairin Hughes, one of Ireland’s oldest citizens, resident in Mayfield Nursing Home in Dublin, takes a ride around The Phoenix Park in a car of the same age. We stopped off at a teashop on the way back to Mayfield Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently, Maurice O'Keeffe took a cycling trip along the coast roads of Clare and Galway. The first stop was to meet up with sisters-in-law Kitty and Margaret McNamara, married to McNamara brothers. who at one time lived on Scattery Island, and Michael Nolan who was involved in purchasing back the island in the 1980s. The, onwards to Doolin to meet Micheal Shannon who is farming on the B...

This is the first in a series of podcasts on life as it was on the islands off the west coast of Ireland. Featured in this podcast are: Beginish Island in Valentia Harbour in Co. Kerry with the legendary Gaelic Footballer Mick O'Connell. Illauntannig, one of the Seven Hogs which lie between Brandon Point and Kerry Head with boat-builder Bog Goodwin. Skellig Michael or The Great Skellig, west of th...

In this podcast Michael Waldron, Curator of Collections and Special Collections at the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork speaks about assembling the collection of the paintings by Sean Keating, including An IRA Column which is kindly on loan from Aras an Uachtarain. You will hear him examine the study of composition, the story of the individuals depicted and the circumstances surrounding the cr...

Heritage Week 2022 brought us to Kilcormac, Co. Offaly for the launch of an oral history project entitled "Capturing Their Story". Recordings were compiled with a selected number of the local residents who provided wonderful and descriptive testimonies of life down through the years. The project came about due to a collaboration between Creative Ireland Community Grant allocation and Kilcorma...

Heritage Week 2022 was a busy week for Irish Life and Lore, spent up and down the country. Scurlogstown Olympiad Haymaking Festival in Kilmessan, Co. Meath was one of our destinations. An ancient 7 arch packhorse bridge is located nearby in the townland of Knightsbrook which is the focus of this week's podcast.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

News of the death of artist and illustrator Pauline Bewick at her Kerry home on 28 July was met with widespread regret and sadness.  We were privileged to compile a recording with her at her home near Glenbeigh in May 2019. in a wide-ranging and fascinating recording, many aspects of her life are explored; her early years growing up in a cottage outside Kenmare; discovering her great skill as...

This 4th episode in the Irish Life and Lore Civil War inn Kerry Series of podcasts relates to the massacre at Ballyseedy near Tralee on 7th March 192  You will hear a series of powerful testimonies by those who were close to events on that dreadful day when nine IRA members were taken from the Irish Army Barracks at Ballymullen Barracks in Tralee to Ballyseedy where they were tied to a l...

Two gripping stories are to be heard in this podcast. The first voice you will hear is that of Eleanor Burke of Kenmare. She was the daughter of Rosalie Rice who, along with her mother Kathleen and brother John Joe, were steeped in republicanism. During the Civil War Kenmare was bitterly divided. Free Staters the O'Connor Scarteen brothers were shot unarmed in their home. Membe...

The stories of the experiences of three families during the Civil War: the Blennerhassetts from Ballymacelligott and Killarney, the Talbots from Killarney are told in this podcast. Their lives were threatened, their houses and hay sheds burnt and their cattle were taken. The voices you will hear are Frank Blennerhassett, originally from Ballymacelligott, Thomas Blennerhassett and Herbert...

This is the first in a Civil War series of Podcasts. You will hear stories from South Kerry relating to the period 28th June 1922 to 24th March 1923, when the county suffered greatly. From Ballinskelligs in South Kerry comes a soundclip from Maurice Curran who was originally from the village of Dungaeagen and was recorded in 2003. Also included is a soundclip from a recording compil...

The Irish Potato Federation was proud to host the World Potato Congress in North Dublin recently. To mark this occasion, Irish Life and Lore have selected soundclips from recordings in our archive to illustrate the importance of the potato crop to generations of Irish people down through the years.  Featured are the voices of the following people: Tom Maher, Co. Offaly Eddie Walsh, Co. C...

In 2004, recordings were compiled in Balyvourney, Inchigeela, Coolea in Southwest Cork and Kilgarvan in Kerry.  Recorded were Donal McSweeney, a wonderful local historian; Cáit ni Bhuachalla who is well known for her singing, though on this occasion she told some extraordinarily humorous stories; Mary Sweeney who spoke about Pattern Day at St. Gobnait's Shrine and Holy Well; Joe Creedon...