Have you ever been puzzled by history? Did people really only live to 40? Maybe you’ve been puzzled how people survived before email, phones, cars or even proper roads?
https://play.acast.com/s/irishhistory
Brehon Law: From Divorce to Irish Sex Magic
Divorce and sex magic are not things we associate with medieval Ireland. However for over one thousand years Irish society was governed by a unique and radically different legal system called Brehon Law. In this podcast I interview Dr Gillian Kenny (tw...
Was the Great Famine a genocide?
This subject needs little by way of an introduction. It is one of the most controversial debates in Irish history. It continues to overshadow relations with our nearest neighbour - Great Britain. In the 1840s one million Irish people died and another...
Three Lives, Three Deaths & One Life Unlived
(I am currently researching the final episodes in the Great Famine series. The next show on the Great Hunger is still two weeks away but in the meantime I have this pretty special bonus podcast.) ----- One of the things that makes medieval history so i...
Landlords & Mass Evictions - Exploiting the Great Hunger
During the Great Hunger over 250,000 people were evicted by their landlords. Most of these people were left destitute with little hope in an Ireland decimated by the Great Famine. In this podcast I look at the struggle that took place between tenants a...
The Beginning of the End & Queen Victoria in Ireland (1849)
In August 1849 Queen Victoria arrived in a famine ravaged Ireland. Contrary to what we might expect there were no protests and in many places the Queen received a rapturous welcome. However this only tells part of the story. This podcast takes...
Tyranny, Cruelty & Inhumanity - Surviving the Workhouse | The Famine in Clogheen Part II
This podcast (the second show on the town of Clogheen) introduces Richard Burke, a man who had a very unusual experience of the Great Famine. Between 1845 and 1848 he was the clerk of Clogheen Workhouse and Richard's life provide us with unique in...
Corn, Gunpowder & Class Conflict - The Famine in Clogheen
This episode is a return of the Great Famine Series. Focusing on the town of Clogheen in South Tipperary, this two part episode follows the lives of three individuals Robert Davis, David Keane and Richard Burke. Their stories delve into the fascinating...
The Hellfire Club - Debauchery in the Dublin Mountains
The Hellfire club is an 18th century ruin in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains. The building has a scandalous history and is considered by some to be one of Ireland's most haunted locations. A few years ago Neil Jackman of Abarta Heritage led an...
Nebraska - Irish Emigrants Surviving on the Frontier
When we think of Irish Emigrants in the USA, images of New York or Boston spring to mind. However on a recent trip to the US I visited friends in Nebraska where I found a very different Irish American history. Located in the midwest - the landcape and...
The last of her kind | Peig Sayers II
In 1892 Peig Sayers married & moved from Dunquin in West Kerry to the Great Blasket Island. Her life provides us with fascinating insights into what marriage was like in the late 19th century (a combination of a first date and moving in with your...