Irish History Podcast

The Irish women Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby are known to history as the Ladies of Llangollen. In 1780 the two aristocrats caused controversy when they rang away together. They would spend the r…

Last month I recorded a show at the Liverpool Irish Festival with Teresa Hill. Teresa is really passionate about her fascinating family history. Her father from was from Freetown in Sierra Leone whil…

Following on from the collapse of the Clune Peace talks in December 1920, the British Government adopted an even more aggressive attitude to the war. 

However as they prepared to escalate the conflict…

Over the last three episodes of the War of Independence Series, we saw the Republican movement demonstrate an ability and willingness to fight on despite recent setbacks. This episode looks at how th…

The Irish History Summit returns! Taking place on Saturday January 15th 2022 we have a great line up of historians and educational experts to prepare students for the Leaving Cert history exams. Head…

Kilmichael is remembered as one of the most important and controversial battles in the War of Independence. This episodes explains what actually happened in this remote valley in Cork in late Novembe…

November 21st, 1920 was one of the most violent days in the War of Independence. It has gone down in history as 'Bloody Sunday'. While this episode explains the days events, it also introduces the ma…

This is the first of three back-to-back episodes that will take us through one of the most critical periods of the war. The Autumn of 1920 witnessed an intensification of the conflict as British Crow…

Although frequently overlooked, the IRA and the wider republican movement in Britain played an important role during the War of Independence. While they were actively involved in gun running and seve…

This episode introduces two forgotten but remarkable revolutionaries - Margaret and Rose Quinn. These two sisters operated a secret IRA prison from their home in a Dublin suburb. This was part of wid…

After a break of three months, the War of Independence Series finally returns! This episode takes you back to Ireland in the grip of war in 1920. Given it has been a while since the last War of Indep…

Until recently few people had heard of Gortnacranagh in Co Roscommon. Then, in early August, archaeologists announced they had made startling discoveries during an excavation of what appears to have …

Ireland has literally thousands of amazing historic and archaeological sites that stretch back thousands of years. Many of the best of these are off the beaten track and do not feature on tourist tra…

Do beaches have a history? They very rarely feature in history books, however some of the most important chapters in our past began on beaches.

This episode was recorded at Passage East in Co Waterfor…

You've probably heard of the Knights but did you know they had a long history in Ireland lasting nearly two centuries?

In this podcast I interview Maeve Callan, an expert on the history of the Templar…

In this episode you will step back a century to experience life in a Victorian mansion.

Kylemore Abbey is a stunning mansion located in the wilds of Connemara in the West of Ireland. While it hugs the…

What was it like to it live in a castle? Were they luxurious? How similar were they to modern houses? 

Last week I visited Clara Castle and recorded an episode inside this 500 year old building. From …

673 years ago in Kilkenny, a Franciscan Friar John Clyn wrote one of the most famous accounts of the Black Death in Ireland. In this episode I am joined by D.J. Walsh and Eoin Tabb, the hosts of the …

I have writers block again, so I went on a hunt for inspiration in historic locations around Kilkenny. I ended up at a tomb that's over 5,000 years old where our ancestors did very very strange thing…

Through 1920 Terence MacSwiney became the most well known Irish republican across the world. Elected as Lord Mayor of Cork in March, he was arrested in August and began the longest hunger-strike in I…