# Hard lives: A History of Irish Childhood

An episode of [Irish History Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/363368392), 23 Sep 2026, 35 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/irishhistory/e/6ab269865dbededc69e92f21/media.mp3

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 childhood in 18th and 19th century Ireland: the boys sold to master chimney sweeps, the trade in stolen children's clothes and the poverty that could lead to infanticde. We explore how children were viewed Irish society, why people sold and bought children, how the courts treated child criminals as adults and how reformers eventually won the 1875 ban on child sweeps. Content warning: not suitable for younger listeners. This episode contains references to violence against children and sexual violence. Sound by Kate Dunlea You can get Frank's latest book, A Motley Crew, at https://www.newisland.ie/shop/p/a-motley-crew-true-tales-from-irelands-criminal-past Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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