Irish History Podcast
From the Norman Invasion to the War of Independence, the Great Famine to the Troubles, the Irish History Podcast takes you on a journey through the most fascinating stories in Ireland's past. Whether it’s the siege of Dublin in 1171 or gun battles in the 1920s, the podcast vividly recreates a sense of time and place. Each episode is meticulously researched, creating character-driven narratives that are engaging and accessible for all.
Since the first episode was released back in 2010, the podcast has covered scores of captivating stories. Major multi-part series have explored the Great Famine, the Norman Invasion, and Irish involvement in the Spanish Civil War. If you are looking for standalone episodes, there are lots of great interviews with leading Irish historians covering topics from medieval sex magic to Irish connections in the Jack the Ripper murders!
Why not start with 'Three Days in July', an acclaimed mini-series from the summer of 2024. It explores the early years of the Troubles and the forgotten story of a young Londoner who was shot dead by the British Army in Belfast in 1970.
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- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 28 minutes
- Episodes
- 427
- Years Active
- 2010 - 2025
Was The Great Famine a Genocide? | The Great Famine XXXIII
This subject needs little by way of an introduction. It is one of the most controversial debates in Irish history. It continues to overshadow relations with our nearest neighbour - Great Britain.
In t…
Three Lives, Three Deaths & One Life Unlived
(I am currently researching the final episodes in the Great Famine series. The next show on the Great Hunger is still two weeks away but in the meantime I have this pretty special bonus podcast.)
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Landlords & Mass Evictions - Exploiting the Great Hunger | The Great Famine XXXII
During the Great Hunger over 250,000 people were evicted by their landlords. Most of these people were left destitute with little hope in an Ireland decimated by the Great Famine. In this podcast I l…
The Beginning of the End & Queen Victoria in Ireland (1849) | The Great Famine XXXI
In August 1849 Queen Victoria arrived in a famine ravaged Ireland. Contrary to what we might expect there were no protests and in many places the Queen received a rapturous welcome. However this only…
Tyranny, Cruelty & Inhumanity - Surviving the Workhouse | The Famine in Clogheen II | The Great Famine XXX
This podcast (the second show on the town of Clogheen) introduces Richard Burke, a man who had a very unusual experience of the Great Famine. Between 1845 and 1848 he was the clerk of Clogheen Workho…
Corn, Gunpowder & Class Conflict | The Famine in Clogheen I | The Great Famine XXIX
This episode is a return of the Great Famine Series. Focusing on the town of Clogheen in South Tipperary, this two part episode follows the lives of three individuals Robert Davis, David Keane and Ri…
The Hellfire Club - Debauchery in The Dublin Mountains
The Hellfire club is an 18th century ruin in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains. The building has a scandalous history and is considered by some to be one of Ireland's most haunted locations. A fe…
Nebraska - Irish Emigrants Surviving on The Frontier
When we think of Irish Emigrants in the USA, images of New York or Boston spring to mind. However on a recent trip to the US I visited friends in Nebraska where I found a very different Irish America…
The Last of Her Kind | Peig Sayers II
In 1892 Peig Sayers married & moved from Dunquin in West Kerry to the Great Blasket Island. Her life provides us with fascinating insights into what marriage was like in the late 19th century (a comb…
The Last of Her Kind | Peig Sayers I
When Peig Sayers died in 1958, she as regarded as one of Ireland's greatest storytellers and folklorists.
Born in Dunquin in 1873 Co Kerry she grew up in the aftermath of the Great Famine in extreme p…
A Very Irish Murder in Cincinnati
In April 1894 Cincinnati's Irish Amercian community was rocked by a shocking and brutal murder. It was so scandalous that many newspapers in Ireland refused to even mention it, even though both the v…
A 21st Century Witch Hunt | Kilkenny Witch Trial of 1324 III
The city of Kilkenny was rocked by the notorious witchcraft trial of 1324 (covered in the last two episodes). These events took place seven centuries ago in the long distant past. To conclude the ser…
Plan 2019: New Series Announced & New York Event.
The series on the Great Hunger of the 1840s will finish in the summer of 2019, but I have been busy planning something new. Find out what it is in this major announcement.
I am visiting New York for …
Kilkenny Witchcraft Trial of 1324 (Part II)
This podcast continues the fascinating tale of one of the first witchcraft trials in European history. It took place in Kilkenny in 1324.
This show picks up the story as the trial and surrounding scan…
Kilkenny Witchcraft Trial of 1324 (Part I)
Growing up in Kilkenny I was surrounded by medieval history - its what drew me to study the past in the first place.
One of the most famous or perhaps notorious incidents in Kilkenny's medieval histor…
The 1848 Famine Rebellion | The Great Famine XXVIII
1848 was a year of revolt & rebellion across Europe and Ireland was no different. However unique to Ireland, the 1848 uprising took place to the back drop of one of the worst famine’s in modern histo…
Heroes of The Great Hunger - Famine Aid in the 1840s | The Great Famine XXVII
The history of the Great Hunger is rooted in stories of greed, racism and senseless suffering. This episode however sheds light on some of the amazing stories of compassion and solidarity that saved …
BONUS: Ireland's Most Famous Highwayman & Cromwell's Siege of Wexford
This bonus episode contains the first two shows in my podcast series 'This Week in Irish history'. These shows look at the life of Ireland's most famous highwayman and Cromwell's Siege of Wexford in …
Our Darkest Hour? The Forgotten Famine of 1847-48 | The Great Famine XXVI
Many histories of the Great Hunger refer to the famine ending in 1847. It is true that the famine did start to ease in some parts of the island in the following years.
However in the west the catastro…
How To Get My New Podcast Series: 'This Week in Irish History'
On October 1st my new free weekly podcast series 'This Week in Irish History' begins.
This short episode tells you want you can expect, what's in the first four shows and the simple step you need to t…