Irish History Podcast

Between 1898 and 1902, the Irish playwright John Millington Synge spent several summers on the Aran Islands. Shaped by the harsh environment of the North Atlantic Ocean the islanders lived in a uniqu…

In the last episode (A Land to Die For Part I) we followed the story of William Sheehan. Raised in a community obsessed with land he had become involved in a violent dispute over his family farm afte…

Land has been the cause of some of the most vicious feuds and brutal murders in modern irish history. Often portrayed as the poor tenant farmer against powerful landlords, the real stories were often…

The year 1916 is known for one event in Irish history – the Easter Rising. However as that fateful weekend approached most Dubliners were oblivious to the fact that their city stood on the threshold …

This podcast transports you back to Ireland during the summer of 1963. This was a fascinating time; JFK visited Ireland, 1% of the population were priests or nuns and instead of downloading Tinder yo…

First built in 1582, the Hole in the Wall pub in Kilkenny was the perfect location to record this episode. I was joined by DJ Walsh of the podcast Snugcast and we looked at the history of drinking in…

This history of Dunmore cave is mysterious and gripping. Around the year 930 the Vikings massacred large numbers of people in a battle fought around the cave. By the 18th century some of the earliest…

I have exciting plans for 2020. Amongst other things I will be starting a major series on the Irish War of Independence. However I need your advice on what shape this wil. Tune in to find out whats c…

When creating episodes I normally try to tell wider events in Irish history by focusing on the lives of an individual person. This podcast takes a different approach. I interview Dr Mark Clinton abou…

In July 1936 Peadar O'Donnell, a veteran of the Irish war of Independence and civil war travelled to Spain on holiday. He was among those caught up in the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War. He …

In this episode we continue the story of the Irish people who fought in the Spanish Civil War. Our focus turns to the life of Bob Doyle. A member of the IRA and later a communist his life explains wh…

This is the second episode in the series Partisans - Irish Stories from the Spanish Civil War. In this podcast we meet our first partisan Aileen O'Brien, a 22 year old Irish American who moved to Ire…

This is the first episode of Partisans, a new weekly series created by myself and Stewart Reddin. While the series focuses on the experiences of Irish people in the Spanish Civil War, this episode se…

This bonus show looks at a famous event that haunts Irish history - the Four Courts Explosion. In June 1922 during the opening phase of the Irish Civil War, the Public Records Office was destroyed in…

On November the 18th my new podcast series 'Partisans' begins. Created by mysef and Stewart Reddin it looks at the fascinating stories of Irish people who fought in Spanish Civil War. Tune in to find…

The Mater Hospital in Dublin first opened its doors in 1861. It has a fascinating although often forgotten history. From using cocaine as pain relief in the 19th century to treating the wounded of th…

Muriel McSwiney is a fascinating if tragic and forgotten figure in Irish history. Born in 1892 into one of Cork's wealthiest families, she rejected the privilege this life offered her. She first beca…

'Winners & Losers' looks at the how the Great Famine came to an end. It's set to the backdrop of a News Year's Eve Ball held in Kilkenny Castle on December 31st 1850. The castle was home to the Marqu…

Jack the Ripper brutally murdered five women in the Whitechapel area of London in the Autumn of 1888. While his identity remains a mystery, these murders have haunted our imaginations ever since. The…

Divorce and sex magic are not things we associate with medieval Ireland. However for over one thousand years Irish society was governed by a unique and radically different legal system called Brehon …