Podcasts · History

What Were We Like

RTÉ

38 episodes · in order

Diarmaid Ferriter and Catriona Crowe bring us on a journey through the hidden histories, humanity and humour of our past.

Episodes

  1. Preview with Diarmaid Ferriter and Catriona Crowe

    · 1:47 · Trailer

    Diarmaid Ferriter and Catriona Crowe bring us on a journey through the hidden histories, humanity and humour of our past. In this first mini series, they’ll explore the history of the presidency, and what it means, as…

  2. Ep 1 - What can the President actually do?

    · 34 min · S1 E1

    In the first episode of What Were We Like?’s special five-part series on the history of the Presidency, Diarmaid Ferriter and Catriona Crowe talk about how the office came into being in the first place, Eamon de…

  3. Ep 2 - Brian Lenihan, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, and the two most important powers the President has

    · 38 min · S1 E2

    In episode two of What Were We Like?’s special series on the history of the Presidency, Diarmaid and Catriona take a deep dive into the two most critical powers that the President has, and recall the resignation of…

  4. Ep 3 - Campaigns, characters and controversies (Part 1)

    · 38 min · S1 E3

    In the third episode of What Were We Like?, Diarmaid and Catriona talk about how Douglas Hyde was removed as a patron by the GAA for attending a soccer match; why Muhammad Ali was not considered a suitable guest at…

  5. Ep 4 - Campaigns, characters and controversies (Part 2)

    · 50 min · S1 E4

    In the fourth episode of What Were We Like?, Diarmaid and Catriona talk about Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh’s remarkable offer to swap places with kidnap victim Tiede Herrema while he was in the Áras; and how Garrett Fitzgerald…

  6. Ep 5 - Vision, symbolism and the Presidencies of Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese

    · 42 min · S1 E5

    In the final episode of What Were We Like, Diarmaid and Catriona talk about Ireland’s two female Presidents, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese, and how their visions of the Presidency reflected the events of the day.…

  7. Political insults: From Communist to corner boy (Part 1)

    · 32 min · S2 E1

    Political insults part 1/2. Diarmaid Ferriter and Catriona Crowe look at the angriest and most bizarre Irish political insults of the last 100 years. In part one of this catalogue of mudslinging, the civil war…

  8. Political insults: F*ck you Deputy Stagg, F*CK YOU! (Part 2)

    · 36 min · S2 E2

    Political insults part 2/2. The civil war is well in the past, but Irish politicians are still roaring at each other. From Paul Gogarty’s viral, foul-mouthed outburst during the economic crash, to Brian Lenihan Sr.…

  9. Fianna Fáil: Hard Men and Blood Sacrifices (Part 1)

    · 41 min · S2 E3

    Since the crash, Fianna Fáil has become 'just another political party'. But for nearly a century it was THE leading force in Irish politics, synonymous with power, influence and flash suits; and dominated by outsized…

  10. Fianna Fáil: Take your seats, but no drinking in the Dáil bar (Part 2)

    · 33 min · S2 E4

    Having won instant success in their first election, the Soldiers Of Destiny are faced with an intractable dilemma – how to take their Dáil seats while also swearing a mandatory oath to the hated King of England.…

  11. Fianna Fáil: "The Devil" Takes Power (Part 3)

    · 37 min · S2 E5 · Explicit

    General election campaigns in the early years of the State were utterly vicious, with fresh cow dung, sticks, and nasty insults being hurled about as Fianna Fáil attempted to wrest power from the pro-Treaty Cumann na…

  12. A President Comes to Town - Reagan in Ireland

    · 52 min · S2 E6

    June 1984, and Ronald Reagan, the controversial, transformative Republican President of the United States visits Ireland. Opposition is widespread, and an unexpected alliance of lefties and priests man the barricades,…

  13. The History of The Tricolour (Part 1)

    · 29 min · S2 E7

    Who owns The Tricolour? Over the last year it has appeared on polls and lampposts all over Ireland – put there by anti-immigration campaigners, causing fights and debates all over the country. This happened in…

  14. The History of The Tricolour (Part 2)

    · 34 min · S2 E8

    Patrick Pearse’s dramatic ‘The fools, the fools’ speech at Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa’s funeral was a key moment in the story of Ireland’s flag. Pearse made the oration alongside a Tricolour draped across the veteran…

  15. The History of The Tricolour (Part 3)

    · 49 min · S2 E9 · Explicit

    This episode charts the Tricolour's 20th Century evolution: its formal adoption in 1937; getting the Brits to return the Tricolour that flew over the GPO in 1916; all the way up to Italia '90. The gruesome digging up…

  16. The By-Elections That Shaped Ireland (Part 1)

    · 37 min · S2 E10

    With by-elections in the air, Diarmaid and Catriona look back at some of the most significant ones in Irish history. Part one features big beasts Sean Lemass and Sean MacBride, as well as Ireland's most handsome…

  17. By Elections That Shaped Ireland (Part 2)

    · 36 min · S2 E11

    More giants of Irish politics feature in this episode. Enda Kenny – was he lucky, was he devoid of strong convictions, was he Fine Gael's most successful Taoiseach? Probably all three. Prickly Des O’Malley won his…

  18. The Fearsome Ruler of Catholic Ireland: John Charles McQuaid (Part 1)

    · 45 min · S2 E12

    The powerful and fearsome John Charles McQuaid was the archbishop of Dublin from 1940 to the early 1970s, and was described as the ruler of Catholic Ireland. He was obsessed with protestants, communists and "moral…

  19. The Fearsome Ruler of Catholic Ireland: John Charles McQuaid (Part 2)

    · 47 min · S2 E13

    In the 1960s, John Charles McQuaid faced a number of serious challenges that saw his influence over Ireland wane. The advent of television and the women's movement were major problems for him - and Vatican 2 presented…

  20. The jealous rage that inspired a key chapter of Ulysses

    · 40 min · S2 E14

    To mark Bloomsday, Diarmaid and Catriona tell the remarkable story of how two of James Joyce's friends made false allegations of infidelity against Nora Barnacle, something which sent Joyce into a jealous rage. The…

  21. The 1926 Census - LIVE at Listowel Writers Week

    · 49 min · S2 E15

    In this special recording, What Were We Like appears before a live audience at this year's Listowel Writers Week, to discuss the 1926 census. Diarmaid and Catriona talk about what the census tells us about Irish…

  22. All aboard the contraceptive train

    · 34 min · S2 E16

    The Irish Women's Liberation Movement, Mary Magee and the fight for contraceptive rights in Ireland. It was the 1970s and in many ways, things were grim for the women of Ireland. Marital rape was permitted, women had…

  23. Bobby Sands, Margaret Thatcher, and the 1981 hunger strikes

    · 46 min · S2 E17

    On 5 May 1981, 26-year-old Bobby Sands became the first of ten IRA hunger strikers to die at the Maze Prison, changing the course of history in Northern Ireland. In this episode, Diarmaid and Catriona assess his life,…

  24. The brilliant poetry and turbulent life of Patrick Kavanagh

    · 45 min · S2 E18

    Monaghan born Patrick Kavanagh was a notorious presence in Dublin for much of his life. Broke, drunk and often bitter, he boozed in the bars around Grafton Street, clashing with the likes of Brendan Behan and railing…

  25. 1980s Ireland: The Eighth Amendment

    · 37 min · S2 E19

    Today, Diarmaid and Catriona kick off a new series focusing on Ireland in the 1980s. This was a decade of great political instability, with three general elections alone happening between 1981 and 1982. Unemployment…

  26. 1980s Ireland: The Kerry Babies Case

    · 44 min · S2 E20

    In 1985, the body of a newborn baby washed up on a beach in Cahersiveen, Co Kerry, stabbed to death. What followed was one of the most infamous incidents in the history of An Garda Síochána. Diarmaid and Catriona trace…

  27. 1980s Ireland: Moving Statues

    · 32 min · S2 E21

    Ireland was gripped by a bizarre phenomenon in the summer of 1985: sightings of moving statues of the Virgin Mary. Tens of thousands of people flocked to villages in Kerry - and elsewhere - to catch a glimpse of these…

  28. What Were We Like: Back in Two Weeks

    · 0:30 · S2 E22

    What Were We Like is on holidays for the next two weeks. We'll be back with a podcast about the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland in 1979, and that will come out on Monday the 24th of August. See…

  29. Best of What Were We Like (Part 1)

    · 39 min · S2 E23 · Bonus

    Diarmaid and Catriona are on holidays, so RTE's podcast intern, Arran has selected some of his favourite parts of What Were We Like so far. Bobby Sands, The Contraceptive Train, and John Charles McQuaid all feature in…

  30. Best of What Were We Like (Part 2)

    · 49 min · S2 E24

    RTÉ's podcast intern Arran returns with the second instalment of his favourite parts of What Were We Like. This time around, grumpy Patrick Kavanagh, "airhead" Ronald Reagan, and the insertion of the Eighth Amendment…

  31. The Pope's Visit of 1979

    · 39 min · S2 E25

    John Paul II, the "rock star" Pope took Ireland by storm in 1979, and millions came out to see him. (Everyone except Catriona, who went to Donegal in a sulk but kept an eye on proceedings through the television). This…

  32. The Ballyseedy Massacre (Part 1)

    · 31 min · S2 E26 · Explicit

    On the 7th of March 1923, nine anti-Treaty prisoners were taken to a field in Kerry, tied to a landmine and blown up. It was one of the most shocking events of the Irish Civil War and became known as the Ballyseedy…

  33. The Ballyseedy Massacre (Part 2)

    · 32 min · S2 E27 · Explicit

    After committing one of the worst atrocities in the Irish Civil War, the State attempts to cover up its role in the massacre. As “Terror Month” in Kerry continues, further atrocities are carried out with more…

  34. Sean O’Casey – The Irish Rebel playwright

    · 43 min · S2 E28

    He was one of Ireland’s greatest and most controversial playwrights. Sean O’Casey’s remarkable life began in the slums of Dublin and took him to the biggest stages in the world, including the Abbey Theatre. His work…

  35. Stardust – From national tragedy to national scandal

    · 49 min · S2 E29

    In the early hours of February 14th 1981, a fire ripped through the Stardust Nightclub in Artane in Dublin. 48 people, aged between 16 and 27, die in the tragedy. It is one of the worst fires, in terms of loss of life…

  36. Michael Collins - Part 1

    · 41 min · S2 E30 · Explicit

    On the 22nd of August 1922, Michael Collins, the Commander in Chief of the National Army was shot dead. He was just 31. Almost immediately the myth making around Michael Collins began, starting with the last words…

  37. Michael Collins - Part 2

    · 53 min · S2 E31 · Explicit

    Michael Collins is now one of the most powerful men in Ireland. But events that will tear Ireland apart and lead to his brutal assassination in Cork are already set in train. In 1921 he is sent by De Valera to London…

  38. Michael Collins - Part 3

    · 47 min · S2 E32 · Explicit

    On the 22nd of August 1922, Michael Collins was shot dead in Béal Na Bláth, County Cork. His death at just 31 ensured he would become one of Ireland’s most iconic figures, forever frozen in time. This week on What…

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.