Irish History Podcast
Fin Dwyer
300 episodes
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.
More about the show
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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Episodes page 1 of 6
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Haunted Ireland: Why the Supernatural Mattered to Our Ancestors [Listener Favourite]
The supernatural is viewed with healthy scepticism today but not so in the past. This episode looks at what our ancestors really believe about ghosts and the supernatural? Historian Dr Clodagh Tait joins me to explore…
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Lest We Forget: The Poppy & Remembrance Day in Ireland
Every November, the Royal British Legion organises remembrance ceremonies and millions of people wear red poppies. Often portrayed as a way to remember the dead of the World Wars, these commemorations have a far more…
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The Mystery of the Missing Postman: Silence in an Irish Village
On Christmas Day 1929, postman Larry Griffin disappeared from Stradbally, Co. Waterford. His bicycle was found abandoned outside the village. While evidence suggested his disappearance was suspicious, the case became…
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Hard lives: A History of Irish Childhood
Childhood in the past was hard, but how children were treated and what their lives were truly like is often left out of Irish history. In this episode historian Frank Hopkins joins me to look at the darkest corners of…
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The Rise of the Provisional IRA: Conspiracy vs Reality
In the late 1960s, the Provisional IRA and what became modern Sinn Féin emerged from a bitter split in the Irish republican movement. This split would shape not only the Troubles but also Irish politics down to the…
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The Golden Age of Irish Smuggling
The 18th century was a golden age of Irish smuggling. It's estimated that as many as one third of all luxury goods entering Ireland were brought in by smugglers. Far from being a fringe activity, smuggling was woven…
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Why Did Nazi Germany Bomb an Irish Village in 1940?
Become a supporter at https://www.patreon.com/c/Irishpodcast On 26 August 1940, two German aircraft crossed the coast of County Wexford and flew towards the small village of Campile. One aircraft dropped bombs near…
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The Sinking of the Lusitania
On 7 May 1915, the passenger liner RMS Lusitania was torpedoed by the German submarine U-20 off the coast of County Cork. The enormous ship sank in just 18 minutes, killing over one thousands people. The sinking…
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Ireland’s Shipwrecks: History from the Depths
Every year, fragments of long-lost ships wash ashore on Irish beaches. They are remnants of the thousands of shipwrecks scattered around our coast, dating from Prehistory to the Second World War. Each wreck has a…
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Broken Promises: Why Irish Independence Failed the Irish Language
In 1922, Ireland gained its independence. The new state promised to revive the Irish language. A century later, English still dominates daily life. What went wrong? In this episode, I speak to John Walsh of the…
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Progress at Any Cost? The Dark History Behind Ireland’s Electrification
In the 1920s, the newly established Irish Free State embarked on one of the most ambitious engineering projects in its history: the Shannon Scheme at Ardnacrusha. This was a state-of-the-art hydroelectric plant that…
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Hitler’s Irish Relatives: The Strange True Story
A video version of this episode is available on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/irish-history-podcast/id363368392 On the day Hitler invaded Poland, another Hitler was making headlines in Britain.…
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Living on the Wrong Side of History: My Family Secrets
Family history is often where the heroic version of the past falls apart. We like to imagine our ancestors standing on the right side of history. Someone in the GPO in 1916 or in the IRA in 1920. We like to think they…
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The Irish Crown Jewels Robbery: Ireland’s Crime of the Century?
In the summer of 1907, the Irish Crown Jewels were stolen from the heart of British power in Ireland, under the noses of the police, the military and the political establishment. Worth £50,000 at the time, their…
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From White Settlers to Fascists: The IRA’s Troubling Allies
Irish republicans had many natural allies during the War of Independence. Irish communities in the United States offered vital support, while revolutionaries in India and Egypt were also fighting for freedom from the…
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The Battle for Liverpool and New York: The Irish Revolution in the Atlantic World
Liverpool and New York haunt the story of Irish independence in a way few other places do. Though separated by more than 5,000 kilometres of ocean, both ports were part of a wider Atlantic world in which Ireland…
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Ogham: The Mystery of Ireland’s Oldest Writing
Ogham is Ireland’s oldest known writing system, dating back more than 1,500 years. If you have ever seen strange lines carved along the edge of an old stone, you may have been looking at ogham. But what did those…
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Taking the War to England: The IRA in Britain
'We are doing this because you are doing it in Ireland'. These were the words of an IRA volunteer in Manchester explaining attacks in Britain during the Irish War of Independence. During the conflict, Britain and…
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A Conspiracy of Fear & Silence: The Maamtrasna Murders
In August 1882, a brutal mass murder in a remote valley in the west of Ireland shocked the world. At Maamtrasna, a family, the Joyces, were attacked in their home. The victims ranged from a teenage girl to an…
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Daily Life in the Middle Ages: Worse Than You Think [Listener Favourite]
A recent hospital visit means there is no new episode this week, but it reminded me of this classic from early 2024! Tune in to find out more How difficult was life in the Middle Ages? This is something archaeologists…
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Dublin Port Has Seen It All: 1,200 Years of History.
Dublin is famous for its Georgian squares, medieval cathedral, castle and revolutionary history. But the cornerstone of Dublin's history is undoubtedly the port. Nearly 1,200 years ago, the Vikings established a…
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Solidarity, Suspicion and Conspiracy: Jews and the Irish Revolution
As the Irish Revolution broke out, Europe was gripped by political upheaval, fear of revolution, and rising antisemitism. In conservative and right-wing circles, the so-called “Jewish Question” loomed large. Claims…
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Drogheda & Beyond: The Terrifying Reality of Siege Warfare in Ireland
Between 1641 and 1653, Ireland was engulfed by devastating war. It was a period of extraordinary violence, famine and social collapse. The death toll was staggering. As many as 25% of the population may have perished.…
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Forgotten Allies: How Egypt and India Supported the Irish Revolution
During the Irish War of Independence, republicans in Ireland looked far beyond Britain and America for support. In Egypt and India, they found allies. Secret meetings took place between IRA representatives and Egyptian…
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Operation Green: Hitler's Plan for Ireland
In 1939, Ireland declared itself neutral in the Second World War. But neutrality did not mean the island was safe. Indeed, both Germany and Britain developed plans to occupy the entire island. This episode focuses on…
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Divided Loyalties: The Irish Who Fought for Britain
The Irish War of Independence & Revolution saw the IRA pitted against Crown forces across the island. However, on the ground in Ireland, allegiance was often more complicated than is sometimes remembered. Ireland had…
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The Irish Language: Why Ireland Became English-Speaking
How did Ireland become an English-speaking country? Was it colonialism, the Great Hunger, the education system or emigration that drove the shift from Irish to English? In this episode, I am joined by Dr Nicholas Wolf…
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A White Mans Nation? The Irish Revolution & Black Radicals
“The Irish fight for liberty is the greatest epic of the modern age… those suffering together under British imperialism must learn to coordinate their effort before they can hope to be free.” These words from the…
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From the Banshee to Burial: The Strange History of Irish Funerals
Irish funerals and wakes are one of the more famous aspects of our culture. Often taking the form of a celebration, it has been said we do death well. However the modern Irish funeral is not the timeless tradition we…
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Comrades in Arms? The IRA and Soviet Russia
"Intercourse between Bolshevism and Sinn Féin" These were the words one British newspaper used to describe the relationship between the Irish Republican movement and the fledgling Soviet Union during the Irish…
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Hidden Lives: The Gay Community in Post-Independence Ireland
For Dublin's gay community, Irish Independence and the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922 heralded anything but freedom. While the new state promised change, the gay community faced decades of repression, arrest,…
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The IRA & the Battle for America
“Keep handing it to the Micks. The Roman Catholic Irish are, and always have been, the only un-Americanised people in the United States.” These words came from a supporter of Admiral William S. Sims, an ardent…
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Did Neutrality Save Ireland? Daily Life in Wartime Ireland
At the outbreak of World War II, Ireland declared itself neutral. But neutrality didn't mean the country was untouched by the conflict. Known as the The Emergency, the war left people in Ireland facing invasion fears,…
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The Smugglers & Gun Runners: Who armed the IRA?
"There were spies, informers and degenerates of every kind and we were here to do business." These were the words an IRA activist describing his desperate, shadowy quest to source weapons for the IRA in Europe. But who…
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Brothers in Pain: New Series Preview
The Irish War of Independence often conjures images of guerrilla fighters on lonely mountainsides, on the run from the Black and Tans. While that is part of the story, Ireland’s struggle for independence unfolded…
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St. Patrick's Day Parades: Tradition or American Invention?
On March 17th, thousands of St. Patrick's Day Parades take place across the globe. New York's parade, dating back to the 1760s, draws three million people and reinforces the stereotype that the parade is an American…
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Éamon de Valera: Visionary or Victorian?
Éamon de Valera is one of the most influential figures in modern Irish history. Born in New York in 1880s and raised in rural Limerick, he rose from obscurity to become a central figure in the Irish Revolution. He…
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The Irish in America's Indian Wars: A Dark History
In the late nineteenth century the United States pushed west and its expansion unleashed devastating violence against Native Americans. Forced from their lands and herded onto reservations Native communities faced a…
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Wild Animals and Public Entertainment in Georgian Ireland
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, lions, tigers and even elephants toured towns and cities across Ireland. Long before modern zoos, travelling menageries brought wild animals from across the globe…
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Why Didn't the Romans Invade Ireland?
While the Roman Empire conquered much of western Europe and established a powerful presence in Britain, Ireland remained beyond its grasp. But why? In this episode, I am joined by Dr Jacqueline Cahill Wilson to…
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The Ulster Special Constabulary - A Troubled History
The Ulster Special Constabulary was one of the most controversial forces in modern Irish history. Formed amid the violence and uncertainty of the early 1920s, it was viewed by many nationalists as a sectarian militia,…
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The Mystery of St Brigid
Each February Ireland celebrates St Brigid, one of the most beloved figures in Irish history. She is woven into the landscape, the calendar and the culture, yet a simple question hangs over her story. Did she ever…
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Daily Life in a Medieval Irish Castle: What was it really like?
What was daily life in a medieval Irish castle really like? In this special episode recorded in Barryscourt Castle I explore the reality behind the myths. My guest Jamie O’Callaghan guides you through reconstructed…
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The Secret Sex Lives of our Ancestors
This episode includes discussion of sex and is not suitable for younger listeners. Sex has always been a key part of Irish life. Yet given its intimate and private nature it often leaves little trace in the historical…
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Railway of Death: The Irishman Who Survived Japanese Prison Camp in World War II
The forgotten story of the Irishman forced to work on Japan's Railway of Death which inspired the film The Bridge over the River Kwai. In 1942 Britain suffered one of its worst defeats when Singapore fell to the…
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The Battle of Vinegar Hill: The Last Stand of the 1798 Rebellion?
In the final episode of this series we follow the 1798 rebellion into its most dramatic and desperate days. As fear grips Dublin and battles erupt across Wexford and Ulster the future of Ireland hangs in the balance.…
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The Battle of New Ross and the Scullabogue Massacre. Irish History’s Darkest Day?
The Battle of New Ross was one of the bloodiest clashes of the 1798 Rebellion and within hours it was followed by the horrific Scullabogue Massacre. Together these events created a day long remembered for fire, terror…
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Liberty or Death: The South Falls to the Rebels
As my series on the 1798 Rebellion returns, this is a great point to dive in to the story... In this episode we see major fighting break out as the south of Ireland erupts in revolt. Rebel forces sweep through the…
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Broken Silence: The Murder of Mary Doherty
In March 1844, the quiet community of Culdaff in north Donegal was rocked by the brutal murder of fourteen-year-old servant Mary Doherty. As the Great Hunger loomed on the horizon, Mary’s tragic death was soon…
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The 1798 Rebellion Begins: Plots, Spies, and Informers
In the early days of 1798, Dublin teetered on the edge of revolution. A shadow war raged between the United Irishmen and the British authorities, with the city’s fate hanging in the balance. This episode delves into…
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