The Irish History Show

On this episode of the Irish History Show, John Dorney interviewed Dr. Joseph Quinn about Ireland’s role in World War 2. They discussed: Why Ireland remained neutral How successive British governments made offers of Irish unity in return for the use of Ireland’s Atlantic ports during the war and why these offers were ultimately rejected. In what numbers Irishmen and women served in Allied fo...

On this episode of the Irish History Show we were joined by Paddy Cullivan. You may know Paddy from the Camembert Quartet, the Late Late Show, Callan’s Kicks, the Leviathan Political Cabaret and Kilkenomics.  Paddy’s historical live shows, 10 Dark Secrets of the Irish Revolution and 10 Dark Secrets of 1798 have toured all over Ireland and been a huge success. We discussed the publ...

On this episode of the show we were joined by Alan Kinsella of the Irish Election Literature Blog. Alan talked about how he began collecting material relating to elections and referenda as a child and how this led to a lifetime of accumulating Irish political ephemera. Alan also discussed his new podcast “The Others” dealing with small political parties and single issue campaigns over...

On this episode we were joined by Dr. Marion McGarry and Dr. Fiona Gallagher to discuss the Sligo Cholera Epidemic of 1832 and how this inspired Dracula. Sligo was the worst effected town in Britain and Ireland by the Cholera epidemic of 1832. The town was devastated by the outbreak. A young Charlotte Thornley lived through the events in Sligo and would later regale her son, Bram Stoker, with tale...

On this episode of the show, we were joined by Dr. Gareth Mulvenna to discuss his research into the Tartan Gangs, the Red Hand Commando and his upcoming biography of the PUP’s Billy Hutchinson. Gareth is the author of Tartan Gangs and Paramilitaries: The Loyalist Backlash . His podcast, Hidden Histories of the Northern Ireland Troubles , is available on most podcast platforms and his blog is...

On this episode of the show, we look at the 1641 Rebellion in Ireland. The Rebellion broke out in October of 1641 and would begin a conflict that would last for the next eleven years. The events in Ireland would form part of the War of the Three Kingdoms and were brought to a close by Oliver Cromwell’s conquest of Ireland with his New Model Army. Intro / Outro music “Sliabh” from Aislinn. Li...

On this episode of the show we were joined by Dr. Ruth McManus, Associate Professor of Geography in the School of History and Geography in Dublin City University, to discuss housing in Dublin in the 20th century. We discussed Dublin Corporation’s early attempts to provide housing in the late 19th century; the 1913 Lockout and how it brought into sharp focus the poor quality of housing so man...

On this episode of the show, John Dorney talks to Dr. Jonathan Fennell from King’s College, London. They discuss his book Fighting the People’s War – The British and Commonwealth armies in the Second War. We have recently started a Patreon page for The Irish Story website and The Irish History Show. Please follow the link and your support is greatly appreciated.  https://www.patr...

King James II On this episode of the show we were joined by Dr. Pádraig Lenihan of NUI Galway to discuss the 1689 Irish Parliament. The Patriot, or Jacobite, Parliament was called by King James II during the 1689 to 1691 war in Ireland. It was the first Irish Parliament called since 1666 and held only one session, from 7 May 1689 to 20 July 1689. We discussed the grievances felt by the Catholic po...

On this episode of the show we are joined by Dr. Ida Milne to discuss the Spanish Flu and its effects on Ireland in 1918 and 1919. The Spanish Flu, and related infections from pneumonia, claimed 23,000 lives and infected some 800,000 people in Ireland over a 12-month period. We have recently started a Patreon page for The Irish Story website and The Irish History Show. Please follow the link and y...

On this episode of the Irish History Show we are joined by author and researcher Dr. Conor McCabe. We looked at recent Irish economic history from the Celtic Tiger to the 2008 banking collapse. We also looked at the decade of austerity in the wake of the 2008 crash and Conor talked about what possible effects the Covid 19 pandemic could have on the Irish economy. Intro / Outro music “Sliabh&...

On this episode we are joined by Dr. Brian Hanley to discuss Republicans and Crime. We look at the law and order situations in Ireland before the revolutionary period and how the War of Independence meant that the Royal Irish Constabulary and Dublin Metropolitan Police were unable to maintain law and order as the war progressed. As police barracks were abandoned or destroyed the Republican Movemen...

On this episode we are joined by Dr. Pádraig Lenihan from the National University of Ireland, Galway to talk about Sieges in 17th Century Ireland. We talk about the evolution in sieges in the 17th century; new tactics employed by combatants; how cities and towns improved their defensive measures to cope with new munitions developed by attacking armies; the effects on the civilian populations; dise...

On this episode, we are joined by Kieran Glennon to talk about the sectarian conflict in Belfast from 1920 to 1922, and the Northern IRA and the Civil War. Kieran is the author of From Pogrom to Civil War: Tom Glennon and the Belfast IRA.   Vicious sectarian conflict broke out in Belfast in 1920 during the Irish War of Independence and continued on for two years with almost 500 people lo...

On this episode we are joined by Barry Sheppard from History Now on NVTV to talk about the political cartoons of Victor Brown in The Irish Press . Previous episodes of History Now are available here: http://www.nvtv.co.uk/ondemand/community-2/history-community-2/ We have recently started a Patreon page for The Irish Story website and The Irish History Show. Please follow the link and your support...

On this episode we discuss Deputy John Jinks and his role in the short lived fifth Dáil. Despite lasting just 98 days, it was one of the most historic. As Fianna Fáil agreed to drop abstentionism and take their seats in the Dáil, the parliamentary arithmetic meant that a new government was possible. With a Labour / National League coalition agreed, with support from Fianna Fáil, W.T. Cosgrave&#821...

On this episode of the Irish History Show we discuss the recent controversy over the planned commemoration of the Royal Irish Constabulary as part of the Decade of Centenaries. The RIC was the police force for the whole of Ireland, outside Dublin city, until they were disbanded following the establishment of the Irish Free State. A recent article from the Irish Story is available here: https://www...

After the outbreak of civil war in Spain in 1936 there was widespread support in Ireland for the Francoist insurgents rebelling against the Spanish government. The war was largely presented as a fight to preserve the Catholic religion in Spain from the ‘Reds’ or communists. The Irish clergy and groups such as the Irish Christian Front staged rallies all over the country in support of Franco....

On this episode of the show we discuss the Dáil Courts. The Dáil Courts were the judicial branch of the government of the Irish Republic declared in 1919. They operated in tandem to the established legal system and were subject to suppression by the state. They were an integral part of undermining British rule in Ireland. We have recently started a Patreon page for The Irish Story website and The...

On this episode John Dorney interviews Richard Grayson on his recent book Dublin’s Great Wars, which examines Ireland’s capital city’s experience both of the First World War and nationalist revolution from 1914-1923. They discuss the varied motivations and social backgrounds of the recruits. Their experiences at the battlefronts. How the war came to define rival and mutually hostile brands of Iris...

On this episode we are joined by historian Barry Sheppard to discuss his research on Muintir na Tíre and their founder, Fr. John Hayes. Muintir na Tíre are a rural, community development group founded in 1931. Barry Sheppard also discusses Catholic social teaching and similarities and differences between Muintir na Tíre and other vocationalist groups. We have recently started a Patreon page for Th...

In this episode we look at the 1918 Westminster General Election. This was the first General Election held in the UK since 1910. The results of this election would see a complete transformation of political representation in Ireland. Sinn Féin, running on an abstentionist, Republican platform, would win a landslide victory throughout Ireland replacing the established nationalists, the Irish Parlia...

On this episode of the Irish History Show, John Dorney talks to Dr. Brian Hanley about his new book “The impact of the Troubles on the Republic of Ireland, 1968–79 Boiling Volcano?” This is the first book to examine in detail the impact of the Northern Irish Troubles on southern Irish society. This study vividly illustrates how life in the Irish Republic was affected by the conflict no...

In this episode we are joined by Irish American historian Joseph E.A. Connell Jr. to discuss his new book Michael Collins: Dublin 1916 – 1922. Michael Collins was the Chairman of the Provisional Government set up after the Anglo – Irish Treaty of 1921. Collins was a Gaelic League and GAA activist and served in the GPO during the Easter Rising. During the War of Independence, Collins wa...

The Twelfth (also called the Glorious Twelfth) is a Protestant celebration held on 12 July. It began during the late 18th century in Ulster. It celebrates the Glorious Revolution (1688) and victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne (1690), which began the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. On and around the Twelfth, large parades are held by...