Irish Life & Lore - Voices from the Archive

This week's podcast features one of Ireland's oldest citizens who is aged 108 - Máirín Hughes. Máirín's extraordinary recall and articulation makes this recording very special indeed. She discusses her parents' membership of the Gaelic League in 1910; the Spanish Flu in Ireland in 1918; The Black and Tans in Killarney in 1921; the early days of the new Free State; Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in...

In this podcast you will hear the following voices speak on their areas of interest and expertise: Changes in Farming Practices Margaret Gill's speaks about her family farm in Dublin; Mary Heavey of Tullamore discusses women in farming; Kerrywoman Mary O'Sullivan recalls how the parish was once the centre of the universe The evolution of Policing and Defence in Ireland Retired Col. Desmond Travers...

This is the second podcast relating to the political life of Brigid Hogan O'Higgins, Fine Gael T.D. from 1957 - 1977. She recalls her tenure as a female politician in those years, in a male dominated Leinster House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the first section of a two part podcast in which Brigid Hogan O'Higgins discusses her fascinating family background.  We hear about the rounding up of some of her family members by the British military during the War of Independence, and their imprisonment at Ballykinlar Camp in Co. Down.  Also discussed are the executions carried out during the Civil War, and the friendship which exi...

In this podcast you will hear the voices of the following women as they discuss their lives in an Irish Big House: Helen Simpson, née Morgan, Ballymaloe House, Co. Cork Emily Villiers Stuart of Dromana in Waterford Rosaleen Tonson Rye of Ryecourt, Co. Cork Henrietta Lady Staples of Capppagh House, Co. Waterford. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's podcast continues to highlight Irish men and women who served their country as members of An Garda Síochána in earlier days.  You will hear sound clips from recordings compiled with retired members of the force, who include: Bertie Carey, originally from North Kerry, who was suspended from the force in the 1950s. William Geary from West Limerick, suspended in 1929. Jim Crockett, o...

An Garda Síochána was formed in February 1922.  To mark this forthcoming centenary, we have selected from our archive of oral history recordings some excerpts which illustrate the manner in which policing was carried out by men and women who dedicated their working lives to the service of the Irish state. The voices you will hear on this podcast are: Dan Donovan, born in 1906, joined An Garda Síoc...

The Handover of Dublin Castle, and its administration by the British to the newly formed Provisional Government of Ireland on 16th January 1922 marked the most important event in Irish history since the country's occupation many centuries earlier. In the podcast may be heard the voices of the following people: The late Col. Sean Clancy who was born in 1901 in Co. Clare and was present at the...

This podcast features a recording compiled with the late Jackie Healy Rae in 2011.  It is fascinating, revealing and funny. During the recording he speaks frankly about his early life and the poverty endured by his family, the beginning of his hard working early life, his introduction to politics locally, his involvement in local and general elections, and his tenure as a T.D. in Dáil Eireann. Hos...

In this final podcast of 2021 you will hear the voices of the following people as they describe in lovely detail their memories of Christmases past. John B. Keane, remembers Christmas in Listowel and relates a story about the season.  He also explains the importance of the rhythm in his writings and compares it to the works of Charles Dickens.   Eamon Kelly tells one of his favourite stories entit...

This is the 3rd and final episode in the story of Drummin House, Carbury, Co. Kildare.  The first episode featured a recording with the late Grattan de Courcy Wheeler.  The second episode described the discovery of historical papers in the attic at Drummin. This final episode is about the investigation and archiving of these papers at the Local Studies and Archives in Kildare town, with librarian...

This podcast provides a unique opportunity to hear a selected number of sound clips taken from the Trinity College Dublin Oral History Collection we compiled in 2011. The voices you will hear include those of: Barbara Wright, Emeritus Prof. French Literature Brian McMurry, Emeritus Prof. Organic Chemistry Geraldine Watts, graduate and widow of former Provost Bill Watts Ian Howie, Emeritus Associat...

In this podcast you will hear the voices of some of Ireland's best known antique dealers of former days, including: George Stacpoole Simon Quilligan Nick Nicholson Jane Williams Jerry Kenyon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The O'Mahony family papers and artifacts from Kilmorna House near Listowel in North Kerry were presented to Kerry Co. Museum in October 2021. Included among the collection is a hand-written letter dated 13 April 1829, written by Pierce Mahony who was working solicitor to Daniel O'Connell, at the House of Lords at Westminster, just as Catholic Emancipation was given royal assent.  Also in...

In 2011, while working on the Trinity College Dublin Oral History Collection, I met and recorded Brendan Kennelly.  This was a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with him and get to know him better.  I recorded his life story at length in the Long Room in the old library at Trinity College.   May he rest in peace. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1951 the first Wexford Opera Festival was staged in the Theatre Royal in Wexford town. It began as an informal gathering of friends listening to gramophone music developed into one of Europe's leading classical music events. In 2008, funded by Wexford Co. Council, we recorded those instrumental in the foundation of an Opera Study Circle in 1950 and the voices you will hear on the podcast i...

Fr. Michael Screene was appointed to Russia in 1995.  These were pioneering days for the Sacred Heart Missionaries. His first assignment was to Moscow to learn the language and in 1996 he was sent to the Caucasus to work in the three republics there. In this podcast he describes in detail the aftermath of the Chechen War , the people and their memories of how they survived during the time of the I...

I compiled this recording with Reggie Goodbody in 2007, on the shores of Lough Derg in Co. Clare.  The recording begins with a description of the background to the flour milling business by the Quakers in Ireland, and details on the Goodbody family line.   Reggie's own career as manager of Legge Bros of O'Connell Street, Dublin from 1957 in examined, as is his boat building business in P...

Last week, I took a trip to The Burren in Co. Clare to revisit people I had recorded 20 years ago for Irish Life and Lore.  That visit inspired this week's podcast, using clips from those earlier recordings. My first destination was Lisdoonvarna to meet Mary Angela Keane, one of the experts on the flora and fauna of the Burren.   On then to Corrofin to meet historian and archaeologist Michael...

In the 1960s, Vatican 11 resulted in the introduction of great change in the Catholic Church, which included the dismantling and disappearance of many fine eclesiastical artifacts. Major structural work was carried out on the interior of St. Mary's Cathedral, Killarney in order to adapt the building for the renewal liturgy, and decorative brass work designed by the cathedral architect Agustus...

This podcast features many voices from our oral history archive, taken from recordings we compiled over the years with staff members of The Kerryman newspaper and contains some fascinating stories and memories of working with the newspaper.  It provides a great insight into how deeply embedded The Kerryman really is in the local community, and also with the Kerry diaspora around the world.  The pe...

Over the years, we at Irish Life and Lore have recorded people involved in the discovery of prehistoric artifacts and structures which have remained hidden for thousands of years in Ireland. These include a cutaway bog in a valley on the Beara Peninsula, close to Castletownbere, Co. Cork; a crannog (prehistoric dwelling) found in a bog in the midlands, near Edenderry, Co. Offaly; a flint arrowhead...

This podcast captures a moment of discovery when a treasure trove of old family letters dating back to the late 18th century, military uniforms and swords from the same period, old books, paintings and photographs is discovered. The records were very recently found in a trunk in one of the attic rooms at Drummin House, Carbury, Co. Kildare.   The voices you will hear are those of Simon Wheeler, ne...

This week's podcast relates to the very successful Hills Cricket Club which celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2019 when this oral history documentary was compiled. The voices you will hear are the following: The late Joe Clinton and his brother Seamus Maureen Byrne, in her 100th year, and her son Paddy Local historian Jim Bennett International cricket player Matt Dwyer Richard Wentges of the M...

I n January 2005, at his home at The Doon, the late Roy Mooney sat down to be recorded for Irish Life and Lore.    The Mooney family have lived there for ovar 1,000 years. A wonderful recording on family history, memories of the Black and Tans and the Civil War,  details about Esker Castle, the stronghold of the Mooneys,  the relics of St. Manchán and a hurley dating back to the early part of the...