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
(1171) The Norman Invasion VII - The Second Siege of Dublin
This podcast sees the Normans suffer a ferocious backlash after their conquests in the year of 1170. A Norse army including beserkers - feared viking warriors - attack Dublin before a vast host lead …
(1170-71) The Norman Invasion VI - The First Siege of Dublin
After their brutal conquest of Waterford, Diarmait McMurrough and his Norman allies marshaled their forces and marched on Dublin. If the most important town in medieval Ireland fell into their hands …
(1170) The Norman Invasion V. The Arrival of Strongbow and the Siege of Waterford
In the summer of 1170, Ireland stood on a precipice. After the arrival of several hundred Norman mercenaries in 1169 the fortunes of Diarmait McMurrough had changed. He had reconquered his lost power…
(1169-70) The Norman Invasion IV. The Siege of Wexford and the Conquest of Leinster
On May 1st 1169, Robert FitzStephen a Norman Knight from Wales, finds himself on Bannow Strand, Ireland leading 300 Norman mercenaries. Their mission - to restore Diarmait McMurrough, the one time ga…
(1167-1169) The Norman Invasion III: The Conquest Begins
This podcast looks at the first Normans to arrive in Ireland, in a chapter often forgotten by the history books. These mercenaries accompany Diarmait McMurrough who returned to Ireland in 1167 to pav…
Dark Truths and Open Secrets – Who Knew What About Ireland's Child Abuse Scandal?
Over the last few weeks Ireland has been rocked by yet another child abuse scandal. Newspaper headlines around the world have reported in disbelief details of how society in Ireland treated unmarried…
(1166-67) The Norman Invasion II - In Search of Kings, Lords & Allies.
This show looks at some of the most pivotal events in Ireland's history. As Part I of the Norman invasion drew to a close Diarmait McMurrough, the King of Leinster was routed after his powerful ally …
(1156 -1166) The Norman Invasion (Part I)
This is the first in a multipart series on the Norman invasion of Ireland. The Invasion was one of the most important and fascinating events in Irish history beginning Ireland's turbulent relationshi…
The IRA, The Boston College Tapes and Who Tells The Past?
1972 was one of the darkest yet defining years in modern Irish history. Nearly five hundred people were killed in the conflict known as “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland. Events of that year like Bl…
Ireland 1014 - What a Difference a Millennium Makes
On this day 1000 years today, one of the most famous battle in Irish history, the Battle of Clontarf took place. In this show I look at day to day life in Ireland in 1014. Its a strange world that wo…
Five of the Greatest Killers in Irish History
In a show with a title such as this you might expect names such as Oliver Cromwell or Strongbow to feature heavily. While these men are responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in Ireland, t…
Friend or Foe: The Impact of the Potato on Irish History
The potato is synonymous with the biggest disaster in Irish history – the Great Famine of the 1840s. However this is only part of the story of the potato in Irish history. The arrival of the potato i…
Ireland's Other Great Famine - The Year of Slaughter of 1740-41
Everyone has heard of the Great Irish Famine of the 1840's when around 10% of the Irish population died from starvation and disease. This however was not the worst famine in Irish history. A century …
The Battle of Ath-an-Chip and The Life of the Rebel King Aodh O'Connor.
In 1270 the battle of Ath-an-Chip saw a major Gaelic Army take on the forces of the powerful Norman Lord of Connacht Walter de Burgh on the upper reaches of the river Shannon. This decisive battle wo…
Medieval Ireland - Was There Ever Any Good Old Days?
Most of the podcasts I make focus on the darker aspects of medieval life. War is a common theme and famine is never far away. However in this podcast I am asking the question was life in medieval Ire…
Climate Change in Medieval Ireland; A Warning From The Past
Climate change is constantly in the news. In the late 13th & early 14th centuries Ireland was also battered by storms and maligned by poor weather. This podcast takes a look at some of the ways it im…
A Real Medieval Mile - A Walk Through Dublin in 1320
What did Dublin sound like in 1320? What was the news of the day? Who were the people who lived there? In this episode you will experience the world of late medieval Dublin. The podcast takes the for…
From Carpenter's Son to King - The Lambert Simnel Conspiracy of 1487.
Lambert Simnel's life must be one of the most unusual stories from medieval history. Born the son of a carpenter he became embroiled in a conspiracy to overthrow Henry VII and before he knew what was…
Prostitution in Medieval Ireland - The Story of Cristiana la Sadelhackere
This podcast is based on this article I wrote on my blog (irishhistorypodcast.ie) about Cristiana la Sadelhackere, a woman who worked as a prostitute in medieval Ireland. Her story is an intriguing a…
Drogheda 1310 - Murder and Solidarity in a Medieval Crisis
The year is 1310. Ireland was gripped by a severe economic, military and political crisis - pretty much everything that could go wrong had gone wrong for the Norman colonists. In October, a man calle…