Irish History Podcast

‘You might not be a revolutionary, but you are living through a revolution.’ Podcasting is much older than you might imagine. A decade before the true crime show Serial took the world by storm, creators were making some of the earliest shows.  This podcast is a nostalgic trip through the early days of the internet in Ireland when podcasting emerged. Brian Greene who was making shows in the mid 2000s shares his memories of the early days of podcasting. I also interview some of your favourite hosts including Blindboy and Sinead, the host of Mens Rea.  The show also includes an ancient artefact of podcasting – an episode from the mid 2000s.  Special thanks to Brian Greene for his interview and sharing his research, Blindboy and Sinead the host of Men’s Rea. Thanks to Jennifer Forde & Sam Bungey the team behind West Cork, DJ Walsh & Eoin Tabb the hosts of Snugcast. While they feature in the next episode their interviews and insights were extremely useful in shaping this series. Brian Greene https://www.briangreene.com/Blindboy Podcast https://play.acast.com/s/blindboyMens Rea https://mensreapod.com/West Cork https://www.westcorkpodcast.com/Snugcast https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/snugcast/id1603925189 Support the show Patreon https://www.patreon.com/irishpodastAcast+ https://plus.acast.com/s/irishhistory

It’s a dark evening in early November 1847.A carriage makes it's way through lawless starving countryside in North Roscommon.A gun shot rings out, a man falls dead.A family mourns but a community rejoices.While the Great Hunger of the 1840s resulted in one million deaths, this one murder encapsulated the stark choices facing that generation of Irish people in a one gripping story. It is retold in this episode.Assassinated: A Story of Vengeance & Murder in the Great Hunger is the studio recording of chapter 4 of my new book ‘A Lethal Legacy - A History of Ireland in 18 Murders’.You can get the full audiobook hereThe hardback is available here 

In the mid 1860s, Andersonville became one of the most feared places in America.This sleepy corner of Georgia gained notoriety in the later stages of the US Civil War when the Confederacy opened a prison camp there. Nearly one third of all prisoners who entered Andersonville never left. Among their number were hundreds of Irish men. This podcast tells their stories.I am joined by historian Damian Shiels who runs the Andersonville Irish project. An expert on Irish involvement in the US Civil War, Damian explains what Andersonville was and why conditions were so bad. He also shares his latest research including stories of prisoners who had fled the Great Hunger at home.You can find out more about the Andersonville Irish at https://irishamericancivilwar.com/andersonville-irish/Listen to my 2018 episode with Damian where we discuss broader Irish involvement in the US Civil War. https://play.acast.com/s/irishhistory/the-us-civil-war-and-the-great-famineSupport the show and get exclusive content today!Acast+ https://plus.acast.com/s/irishhistoryPatreonb https://www.patreon.com/irishpodcast

Writing histories of people who led secret lives is difficult because they leave few records. Yet that is precisely what my guest in today’s show has done. In this podcast, Dr Maurice Casey, shares the fascinating history of Rose McKenna and Sydney Arnold and how he uncovered their secret lives.In the early 20th century, this Latvian-Irish couple participated in two revolutions in Ireland and Russia. While Rose tried to arms for the IRA in London, they were also contemporaries of Ho Chi Minh when they lived in Moscow.Maurice shares this forgotten story with you in this episode.  You can read Maurice’s article on McKenna & Arnold here  Support the show-Patreon - Patreon.com/irishpodcastAcast+ - https://plus.acast.com/s/irishhistory. My latest book, the Irish Times bestseller is available https://linktr.ee/alethallegacy

As we prepare to celebrate Halloween, this episode is a timely exploration of the history of the supernatural in Ireland.Ghosts have long played an important role in Irish history and culture. In this podcast I am joined by Dr Clodagh Tait, a historian of the supernatural. Our conversation focuses on a specific type of ghost referred to as a crisis apparition. These usually appeared far from home, often informing an emigrant about an imminent death in their family. We discuss where these stories and beliefs came from, why they were shared and how they have survived into the 21st century!You can read Clodagh's article mentioned in the show here https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14780038.2023.2258606Voice Actor Therese Murray also narrates a traditional Irish ghost story which took pace in Philadelphia in the late 19th century. This was taken from the book True Irish Ghost Stories by St. John Seymour which is available here https://archive.org/details/trueirishghostst14099gutSound by Kate Dunlea

I have come down with a cold so rather than subject you to me coughing and spluttering through a show I have selected a classic from the archives. As I explain, I recently listened back to this episode after a chance meeting with my guest Cormac Leonard. The episode on the history of the Deaf community is the definition of forgotten history. Until recently the community was largely ignored by historians. In this episode Cormac explains how the deaf community shaped Irish history. He also shares individual stories such as John Neville who spent most of his life in a workhouse and the IRA volunteer William Leavey.

In the 1920s and 30s Irish emigrants in Britain faced widespread racism and discrimination. Labelled drunks, subversives, and a threat to society, right wing politicians whipped up fear and hatred against the community.This podcast tells the forgotten stories of these emigrants.The episode begins with humorous story of Martin King whose drunken escapades after downing half a bottle of whiskey revealed the racism at the heart of British society.The show goes on to look at what was often the grave consequences of this bigotry. In Liverpool the racist Irish Immigration Investigation Bureau campaigned against the Irish in the city. Meanwhile the deadly 1937 Kirkintilloch fire in Scotland illustrated the dangerous conditions in which seasonal workers lived. Written, narrated and produced by Fin DwyerAdditional Narrations Aidan CroweSound Kate Dunlea.

In 1923 as the Irish revolution came to an end, large parts of the North Roscommon town of Arigna lay in ruins. While war and revolution had swept across Ireland over the previous years few places shared Arigna’s unique experience. When workers occupied local coalmines demanding better working conditions this began years of intense and bitter conflict with the authorities. This is the story of the Arigna Soviet You can find Oisín Ó Drisceoil's essay on the Arigna Soviet in Labour HIstory in Irish History here.Find out more about the Arigna Mining Experience at https://www.arignaminingexperience.ie/

At the turn of the 20th century alcoholism was a major problem in Irish society. The island had 17,300 pubs while around 40% of all prison sentences were alcohol related. There was a general sense alcohol addiction was out of control. The stereotype of the happy-go-lucky drunk certainly masked the reality of the Irish alcoholism. In this podcast I explore addiction in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century by focusing on the life of one woman - the Sligo native Sarah Garvey. ***My latest book A Lethal Legacy - A History of Ireland in 18 Murders is out now. Get your eBook, audiobook, kindle or hardcopy here A Lethal Legacy | Linktree***