The Irish History Show

On this episode of the Irish History Show we looked at executions carried out by the Free State government during the Irish Civil War. The executions were made possible by legislation known as the Public Safety Bill, which was passed in the Dail on September 27, 1922. The emergency legislation gave to the National Army powers of punishment for anyone ‘taking part in or aiding and abetting attacks...

On this episode of the Irish History Show we discussed the current commemorations of the Irish Civil War and how it is being remembered 100 years on. We covered: How the  Irish Civil War is being commemorated (or not) 100 years on. How the conflict is interpreted today – democrats vs dictators or the unfinished revolution? The enduring mythology surrounding Michael Collins The difficulty in commem...

In the wake of the February 24, 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, much attention has focused on the history of Ukraine. Nadia Dobrianska is a Ukrainian lawyer  and human rights activist as well as a scholar of modern Irish history. She is also currently (August 2022) a refugee in Ireland, fleeing war in Ukraine. Here we talk about the history of Ukraine and the parallels (and many differences) wit...

On this episode of the Irish History Show, John Dorney was joined by Dr. Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh to discuss the Civil War Memory Project, an oral history project in association with the  National Folklore Collection  (UCD), RTÉ and  Scratch Films . For many years the Irish Civil War of 1922-23 was a taboo topic in Ireland, rarely raised in public, except in a partisan manner. Now 100 years on a pr...

On this episode of the Irish History Show John Dorney was joined by John Joe McGinley to discuss the Irish American Mob and orgainised crime from the 19th century onwards. We speak about: the early gangs from the influx of Irish immigration after the  Great Famine . The Prohibition era when many Irish gangsters made fortunes and also their conflict with Italian crime organisations. Famous Iri...

On this episode of the Irish History Show we were joined by journalist and author Ed Moloney to discuss the life of Ian Paisley. Reverend Ian Paisley was the founder of the Free Presbyterian Church and the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party from 1971 to 2008. In 2007 he became the First Minister of Northern Ireland. We discussed Paisley’s rise to prominence in Northern Ireland during th...

On this episode of the Irish History Show we were joined by Cían Harte to discuss Irish Army deserters during the Second World War. When the Second World War began the Irish government declared neutrality. As many neutral European nations were to find out, neutrality was no guarantee to avoiding invasion. In the episode we discussed the state of the Irish Defence Forces at the outbreak of war; the...

On this episode of the Irish History Show we were joined by Liz Gillis and James Brady to discuss the IRA in Dublin during the War of Independence. Liz Gillis is an historian and researcher on RTE’s History Show. She is the author of seven books covering the Irish Revolutionary period 1916-23 including ‘Ireland Over All’, ‘The Fall of Dublin’, ‘Revolution in Dublin&#8...

On this episode of the Irish History Show we were joined by Gerard Shannon to discuss Seán Russell, the former Chief of Staff of the IRA. Russell continues to be a deeply controversial and divisive figure to the present day and his statue in Fairview Park, near Dublin’s city centre, has been frequently vandalised, and at one stage decapitated. Russell joined the Irish Volunteers in 1913 and...

On this episode of the Irish History we were joined by Dr. Brian Hanley to discuss one of the biggest political scandals in 20th century Irish history, the Arms Crisis. On the 6th of May 1970 the Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, sacked two of his most senior ministers, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney and another minister, Kevin Boland, resigned in protest. Haughey, Captain James Kelly, John Kelly and Albert...

2021 marks 100 years since the creation of Northern Ireland.  To discuss this, and the events that led up to the partition of Ireland, we were joined by Dr. Cormac Moore.  Cormac is a historian in residence with Dublin City Council.  His previous works include The GAA vs. Douglas Hyde, The Irish Soccer Split, and his most recent work, Birth of the Border – The impact of partition in Ireland....

On this episode of the Irish History Show we were joined by the president of the White House Historical Association, Stewart D. McLaurin, to discuss the life of the White House architect, James Hoban. James Hoban was born in 1755 in Kilkenny and trained at the Dublin Society Drawing School in Grafton Street in Dublin. Following the American Revolutionary War he emigrated to the United States and w...

On this episode of the Irish History Show we were joined by Anne Chambers to discuss her book, The Great Leviathan, The life of Howe Peter Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo, 1788 – 1845. His story moves from Westport House in county Mayo to Eton, into the staid family world of King George III at Windsor Castle; through wild student days at Cambridge, on to Regency London and the scandalous world...

On this episode of the Irish History Show, we looked at Ireland’s involvement in the Anglo – Zulu War of 1879. We looked at British involvement in South Africa from their formal annexation of the Cape Town Colony in 1806; British immigration into the region throughout the 19th century; The complicated relationship between the British and the mainly Dutch colonists, the Boers; The rise...

On this episode of the Irish History Show, we were joined by Dr. Mary McAuliffe and Liz Gillis to discuss the role of women during the Irish Revolution. We look at the radical political organisations for women in Ireland before the First World; Cumann na mBan; women’s role in 1916, the War of Independence and the Civil War; and women’s rights in the new Free State. Dr. Mary McAuliffe i...

On this episode of the Irish History Show we discussed the upcoming commemorations in 2021 for the Decade of Centenaries. 2021 will mark the centenary of many important events in Irish history such as the Truce, the founding of Northern Ireland and the Anglo – Irish Treaty.

On this episode of the Irish History Show we were joined by Dr. Laura McAtackney and Dr. Brian Hanley to discuss the controversies surrounding the Decade of Centenaries. Dr. Laura McAtackney is an associate professor in the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies at Aarhus University in Denmark. In her work she explores the historical and contemporary archaeologies of institutions and colon...

On this episode of the Irish History Show we discussed the Kilmichael Ambush. The Kilmichael Ambush occurred on the 28th of November 1920 when a flying column of the IRA, led by Tom Barry, ambushed a company of the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary. The Auxiliaries lost 17 members in the engagement, including one who had escaped and was subsequently captured and killed. We also lo...

On this episode of the Irish History Show we were joined by Mike Chinoy to discuss his new book, Are You With Me? Kevin Boyle and the rise of the Human Rights Movement , published by Lilliput Press. Kevin Boyle was one of the founders of People’s Democracy in Queens University Belfast and was one of the leading figures in the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. As a human rights lawye...

On this episode of the Irish History Show, we looked at the Middle East and the Brtish Empire in the period after the First World War.  We discussed how the British Empire dealt with their new mandates in the region and how their dealings with these countries compared and contrasted with their treatment of Ireland during Ireland’s War of Independence.  We looked at issues such as t...

On this episode of the show we were joined by Dr. Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc to discuss the historic East Clare by – election of 1917. The by – election was held on the 10th of July 1917 following the death of the incumbent MP, Willie Redmond, of the Irish Parliamentary Party. The by – election saw the leader of Sinn Féin, Éamon de Valera, face Patrick Lynch of the Irish Parliamentary P...

On this episode of the show we were joined by Michael Foley to discuss his book, The Bloodied Field, about the events in Croke Park on the 21st of November 1920. That day would become known as Bloody Sunday. On that morning, the IRA killed or mortally wounded 16 people in a co – ordinated series of assassinations directed against British intelligence officers in Dublin. That afternoon Dublin...

On this episode of the show we were joined by Mick O’Reilly. Mick’s recently published autobiography ‘From Lucifer to Lazarus – A life on the left,’ is now available. Mick talked about his lifetime of activism as a socialist and trade union official. We have recently started a Patreon page for The Irish Story website and The Irish History Show. Please follow the link...

On this episode of the show we were joined by Dr. Brian Hanley to discuss his recent article for Irish Historical Studies entitled ‘The Irish and the Jews have a good deal in common’: Irish republicanism, anti-Semitism and the post-war world. In the episode we discuss the Irish Jewish Community, casual anti – Semitism in Ireland in this period, Irish republican attitudes towards Jews, the re...

On this episode of the show Dr. Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc talks about ‘The Disappeared’ who were killed and secretly buried during the Irish Revolutionary Period. This is the fruit of a research project carried out by Pádraig himself and Andy Bielenberg of University College Cork into forcible disappearances during the Irish revolution. Pádraig has previously written extensively on the...