Dev and the Banner 1917–1926
On 10 July 1917 Eamon de Valera won a by-election in East Clare, one of a series of victories for Sinn Féin in the run-up to their landslide victory in the general election of December 1918. He would continue to represent the county in the Dáil until his election to the presidency in 1959. What was his relationship with the ‘Banner County’ in the early tumultuous years of his career—War of Inde...
1hr 3m Dec 17, 2021
1hr 3m
Pandemics then and now—a reassessment of the 1918 flu in the light of Covid
As we enter the third year of the Covid crisis, people the world over are now familiar with the concept and the reality of a ‘pandemic’. But how does it compare and with the previous pandemic—the ‘Spanish flu’ of 1918-19? What are the similarities? What are the differences? To address these and other questions join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Patricia Marsh, Ida Mil...
55m Dec 14, 2021
55m
The Treaty—good deal or bad deal?
Was the Treaty ‘Home Rule for slow learners’? Why was Eamon de Valera not part of the Irish delegation? Was the subsequent Civil War inevitable? Was it a good deal or a bad deal? To address these and other questions join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with John Gibney, Brian Hanley, Mary McAuliffe, and David McCullagh.   The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by ...
1hr 1m Dec 06, 2021
1hr 1m
Colmcille 1500—man, myth and memory
Columba or Colmcille was born 1500 years ago in Gartan, Co. Donegal, and claimed descent from the legendary High King of Ireland, Niall of the Nine Hostages. He entered the church, became a missionary evangelist, and is credited with spreading Christianity to Scotland. In particular, he founded the abbey on Iona, which became the dominant religious and political institution in the region for ce...
1hr 1m Nov 12, 2021
1hr 1m
Ireland and the ‘Greater War’ in Europe—compare and contrast
While there were optimistic hopes that the First World War or ‘Great War’ would be ‘the war to end all wars’, post-1918 Europe, including Ireland, instead experienced a ‘Greater War’—a series of civil, border and ethnic conflicts—that lasted at least until 1923. How did Ireland fit into that paradigm? Was it typical or atypical of the period? Join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discus...
1hr 10m Nov 05, 2021
1hr 10m
‘Grand and Royal’—a history of Irish canals
One of the unsung successes of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement was the establishment of the all-island body, Waterways Ireland, with responsibility for canals and waterways. But what drove the construction of the former in the first place? How important were they to the Irish economy at their height? How and why did they decline? And what are the prospects for their renaissance under the new dis...
58m Oct 29, 2021
58m
Crowd-funding the revolution—the underground administration
Dáil Éireann sought not only to take back the political control lost in the 1800 Act of Union, but also the fiscal and monetary powers lost with the merger of the Irish and British exchequers in 1817. It also established a parallel legal system, the ‘Dáil Courts’, and, especially after the local elections of 1920, sought to control local government. To assess the success of these efforts join H...
1hr 11m Sep 24, 2021
1hr 11m
Prisons and prisoners during the War of Independence
On 9 September 1921 over fifty IRA prisoners staged a break-out—one of several during the War of Independence—from Rath internment camp in the Curragh, Co. Kildare. To mark its centenary, and to discuss the wider significance of prisons and prisoners in the revolutionary period, join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with James Durney, Mary McAuliffe, William Murphy, and Liam ...
1hr 12m Sep 09, 2021
1hr 12m
Kenmare: History and survival—Fr John O’Sullivan and the Famine Poor
Listen to author Colum Kenny in conversation with History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, as he discusses the story of a remarkable man’s efforts to help starving people during the Irish Great Famine. He reveals their terrible experiences inside and outside one of the national ‘workhouses’ and throws new light on the relationship between class, religion and poverty in Ireland before independence....
28m Sep 03, 2021
28m
Fingal in the revolutionary decade
To what extent did the military tactics of Thomas Ashe's (5th) Fingal battalion of the Irish Volunteers in 1916 prefigure those of the IRA in the War of Independence, 1919-21? To what extent did the sack of Balbriggan in September 1920 provide the template for subsequent reprisals by Crown force? To discuss the role of Fingal (North County Dublin) in the revolutionary decade join History Irelan...
55m Aug 27, 2021
55m
The propaganda war in the revolutionary decade
According to British Prime Minister David Lloyd George Irish nationalists were ‘natural propagandists’. How accurate was this description? How did they breach what Arthur Griffith called the ‘paper wall’ of British news coverage? How important was the new medium of film? And what was the role of women as both the disseminators and objects of propaganda? To address these and other questions tune...
1hr 8m Aug 13, 2021
1hr 8m
Faith and Fury: the evangelical campaign in Dingle and West Kerry 1825–45
Author Bryan MacMahon in conversation with Tommy Graham (editor, History Ireland)   In West Kerry between 1825-45, the work of Protestant evangelicals was widely hailed as a model of a successful missionary campaign; however, it evoked a furious response from Catholic priests. The war of words between clergymen of both persuasions was fomented by rival local newspapers, reaching a climax in a...
31m Aug 06, 2021
31m
Kilkenny in the Revolutionary Decade
Kilkenny was described by Ernie O’Malley as ‘slack’ during the War of Independence.  Was this really the case? Kilkenny has a notable revolutionary history—as crucible of the Tithe War (1830s), birthplace of one the founders of the IRB, James Stephens (1858), and a rebel turnout, albeit small (1916). Also, the attack and capture of Hugginstowm RIC barracks by the IRA in March 1920 was one of th...
1hr 9m Jul 23, 2021
1hr 9m
The Truce
A century ago, at noon on 11 July 1921, a truce came into effect in the Anglo-Irish war between the IRA and Crown forces. Why did it happen then—and why had peace feelers in late 1920 failed? What motivated each side to sue for peace? What were their expectations? To address these and other questions tune in to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with John Dorney, David McCullag...
1hr 13m Jul 11, 2021
1hr 13m
George V’s opening of the Northern Ireland parliament
On 22 June 1921 King George V officially opened the Northern Ireland parliament, thus confirming the existence of Northern Ireland as set out in the 1920 Government of Ireland Act. Moreover, since the formation of the Ulster Special Constabulary in autumn 1920 it also had the means to defend itself. To discuss these and related matters tune in to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discuss...
1hr 6m Jun 22, 2021
1hr 6m
Mayo in the Revolutionary Decade
Despite a notable revolutionary pedigree—scene of a French invasion in support of the 1798 Rebellion and cradle of the Land League in 1879—Mayo was a ‘slow starter’ in the War of Independence, with major IRA engagements with Crown forces only starting in the spring of 1921. It was also the scene of major agrarian unrest.   Listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Jam...
1hr 15m Jun 11, 2021
1hr 15m
The First Irish Cities: an eighteenth-century transformation
Author David Dickson in conversation with Tommy Graham (editor, History Ireland)   The untold story of a group of Irish cities and their remarkable development before the age of industrialization. A backward corner of Europe in 1600, Ireland was transformed during the following centuries. This was most evident in the rise of its cities, notably Dublin and Cork. David Dickson explores ten urba...
45m Jun 09, 2021
45m
The burning of the Custom House, 25 May 1921
On 25 May 1921, Dublin’s Custom House, headquarters of the Local Government Board of Ireland, was occupied and then burnt in an operation involving over 100 IRA volunteers. It has long been regarded as a propaganda coup but a military disaster for the IRA. But are either of these assumptions correct? Did it disrupt British administration? Did it disable Dublin’s IRA subsequently? What does it t...
1hr 11m May 25, 2021
1hr 11m
Conceived in controversy—230 years of the Custom House
Today James Gandon’s neoclassical masterpiece is one of the most recognizable and well-regarded buildings in Dublin. Its completion in 1791 marked yet another instalment in the movement of the axis of the Georgian city eastwards. Yet over the ten years of its construction it was regarded as a ‘white elephant’, built in what was then a swamp, with substantial cost overruns—even provoking the ire...
1hr 14m May 14, 2021
1hr 14m
Wexford in the Revolutionary Decade
While not in the vanguard of armed activity during the War of Independence, Wexford has the distinction of being one of the few counties outside Dublin that saw action during the 1916 Rising. On the other hand it was also one of the few places where John Redmond’s (a native of the county) Irish Parliamentary Party maintained a substantial level of support throughout the revolutionary period. To...
1hr 5m Apr 23, 2021
1hr 5m
A History of Partition from the 1920 Government of Ireland Act to Brexit
While the constitutional outcomes of the revolutionary period have evolved over time, one has remained constant over the past century—partition. While a previous Hedge School in December 2020 examined how that came about in 1920/21, this discussion will focus on its effects over the following century, up to and including the uncertainly caused by Brexit and growing calls for a border poll on Ir...
1hr 17m Apr 09, 2021
1hr 17m
Crossbarry, Co. Cork—the biggest engagement of the War of Independence
At Crossbarry, Co. Cork, on 19 March 1921 over 100 IRA volunteers, under the command of Tom Barry, were almost surrounded by a combined force of regular British Army and Auxiliaries of at least ten times that number. What happened? What were its consequences? And what does it tell us about the conduct of the War of Independence generally? Listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham in discus...
1hr 9m Mar 19, 2021
1hr 9m
Clare in the revolutionary decade
Despite its apparent geographical isolation, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and north, and the River Shannon to the south and east, County Clare has been centre stage in Irish political life, from the election of Daniel O’Connell in 1828, to the equally ground-breaking election of Eamon de Valera in 1917, and was one of the most active counties in the War of Independence.  Join History Ir...
1hr 19m Mar 12, 2021
1hr 19m
Limerick 6/7 March 1921 Curfew Murders
On the night of the 6/7 March 1921, the Mayor of Limerick, George Clancy, his predecessor, Michael O’Callaghan, and IRA Volunteer Joseph O’Donoghue, were shot dead by an Auxiliary death squad lead by Maj. George Montagu Nathan. How did these killings fit into the wider story of Limerick during the revolutionary decade? Tune in to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in conversation with Brian ...
1hr 11m Mar 07, 2021
1hr 11m
Gaelic Ulster in the Middle Ages: history, culture and society
Author Katharine Simms in conversation with Hiram Morgan (UCC)   Gaelic Ulster was once a vigorous, confident society, whose members fought and feasted, sang and prayed. It maintained schools of poets, physicians, historians and lawyers, whose studies were conducted largely in their own Gaelic language, rather than in the dead Latin of medieval schools elsewhere in Europe. This monumental boo...
50m Feb 15, 2021
50m
Katharine O’Shea centenary—what if she and Parnell never met?
No other woman who never set foot on the island—with the possible exception of Queen Elizabeth I—has had a greater effect on the history of Ireland. But who was Katharine O’Shea (née Wood)? And what if she and Charles Stewart Parnell never met? Listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, discuss this contrafactual with Mary Kenny, Patrick Maume, Daniel Mulhall, and Margaret O’Callaghan.  ...
1hr 7m Feb 05, 2021
1hr 7m
‘Spies and informers beware!’—intelligence and counterintelligence in the War of Independence
One of the most important—and controversial—aspects of the War of Independence was the ‘intelligence war’.  Given the role of spies and informers in defeating previous insurrections, it is not surprising that Michael Collins, the IRA’s Director of Intelligence, was keen to insure that history did not repeat itself.  How successful was he? To shed light on this ‘shadow war’ listen to History Ire...
1hr 15m Jan 20, 2021
1hr 15m
Kildare in the revolutionary decade
While not in the vanguard of armed activity during the War of Independence, Kildare was central to the ‘revolutionary decade’ as whole, not only for its strategic importance and proximity to Dublin but in particular as the site of the largest British military establishment at the Curragh and elsewhere. It also has the dubious distinction of being the county worst affected by the flu pandemic of...
1hr 12m Jan 11, 2021
1hr 12m
Wicklow in the revolutionary decade (part 2, South)
While not in the vanguard of armed activity in the revolutionary decade, Wicklow was, nevertheless, active in other respects. Moreover, its unique characteristics—proximity to Dublin, pioneering development of tourism, and one of the highest Protestant populations outside Ulster—make it worthy of study. Join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham in discussion with Sheila Clarke (Ashford), Brenda...
1hr 7m Jan 01, 2021
1hr 7m
Wicklow in the revolutionary decade (part 1, North)
While not in the vanguard of armed activity in the revolutionary decade, Wicklow was, nevertheless, active in other respects. Moreover, its unique characteristics—proximity to Dublin, pioneering development of tourism, and one of the highest Protestant populations outside Ulster—make it worthy of study. Listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham in discussion with Rosemary Raughter (Greysto...
58m Dec 07, 2020
58m
The Government of Ireland Act 1920—100 years of partition
Originally conceived as a ‘temporary’ amendment to the Third Home Rule Act, on the statute book since 1914, the 1920 Government of Ireland Act was presciently derided by the Freeman’s Journal as ‘the Dismemberment of Ireland Bill’—partition was the only element of it to endure.  How did it come about and what were its effects over the following century?  Listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy ...
1hr 7m Dec 01, 2020
1hr 7m
History, Memory and Bloody Sunday 1920
The events of Sunday 21 November 1920 are well named. Within fifteen hours on that fateful day, 32 people died: in the morning, eleven British intelligence officers killed by Michael Collins’s ‘squad’ (plus two Auxiliaries and two civilians); in the afternoon, fourteen civilians killed by British forces at Croke Park (including player Michael Hogan of Tipperary); and that evening, in murky circ...
1hr 6m Nov 18, 2020
1hr 6m
Belfast and the North 1920-22
As the War of Independence raged in southern Ireland a different type and more deadly form of conflict erupted in the northeast, and in Belfast in particular. Should this be considered part of the overall Irish revolution? Or a separate and distinct conflict with its roots in the sectarian geography of city? What was the long-term effect on community relations and on the formation of Northern I...
57m Nov 09, 2020
57m
Bloody Sunday 1920—the Tipperary Connection
Founded in Thurles in 1884, the GAA has had a long association with Tipperary, an association intensified by the events of Bloody Sunday, 21 November 1920, when Crown forces attacked a Dublin vs Tipperary football match at Croke Park. Three of the fourteen victims were from Tipperary, including, famously, the only player killed on the day, Michael Hogan. Listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy ...
1hr 11m Nov 02, 2020
1hr 11m
Commemorating Bloody Sunday in the Junior Cycle history classroom
In the early morning of Sunday 21 November 1920 units of Dublin’s IRA assassinated 11 suspected British intelligence agents; two Auxiliaries and two civilians were also killed. That afternoon Crown forces opened fire on the crowd at a Dublin vs Tipperary football match in Croke Park, killing 14 people. Later that evening senior IRA officers Peadar Clancy and Dick McKee, and civilian Conor Clune...
1hr Oct 30, 2020
1hr
The West’s awake!–Revolution in Roscommon 1916-1921
Roscommon was one of the first counties to reflect the ‘utter change’ of the post-1916 period, with the election of the first Sinn Féin-backed MP in February 1917; in less than two years that party would win a landslide victory in the general election of 1918. But that mandate for independence was ignored by the British, resulting in the War of Independence. How typical of that transformation w...
1hr 23m Oct 27, 2020
1hr 23m
‘In Mountjoy Jail one Monday morning…’—the Irish Revolution in ballad and song
Kevin Barry is one of the most popular, and certainly one of the most sung, of Irish ballads. But who was Kevin Barry? Why was he immortalized in song? And what has been the significance of the ballad tradition generally in the Irish Revolution and, indeed, of the Irish Revolution in the ballad tradition? Listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Liz Gillis, Eunan O’Ha...
1hr 16m Oct 16, 2020
1hr 16m
'Eye of the storm?’—Dublin and the War of Independence
Seat of Crown administration since the twelfth century, and still bearing the physical scars of the 1916 Rising, during the War of Independence Dublin was also GHQ of the IRA and the location of the underground Dáil administration.   To find out how the conflict played out between the two sides join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Donal Fallon, John Gibney, Liz Gillis...
1hr 26m Sep 29, 2020
1hr 26m
'Better a state without public records than public records without a state’?
'Better a state without public records than public records without a state’?— state formation, archives and commemoration So said Winston Churchill in reference to the Irish Free State on hearing news of the destruction of the Public Records Office in the Four Courts in June 1922 at the outbreak of the Civil War. But in many respects, this also applies to Northern Ireland whose Public Records ...
1hr 12m Sep 24, 2020
1hr 12m
Nenagh and North Tipperary during the revolutionary decade
Having considered the ‘global’ impact of the Irish revolution in the last podcast (The Irish Republic abroad in 1920—Dev in America), this Hedge School zooms in on the ‘local’—the market town of Nenagh and the surrounding North Tipperary area during the revolutionary decade—but also sets events in the wider national context.   Listen to Tommy Graham, editor of History Ireland, in discussion w...
1hr 23m Sep 21, 2020
1hr 23m
The Irish Republic abroad in 1920—Dev in America
While the War of Independence raged in Ireland, a parallel international diplomatic campaign for recognition and funding for the underground Irish Republic was being waged. Central to this was the tour of Éamon de Valera, ‘President of the Irish Republic’, to the United States from June 1919 to December 1920.    To assess its success or otherwise listen to Tommy Graham, editor of History Irel...
1hr 16m Sep 01, 2020
1hr 16m
IRELAND, EMPIRE AND THE SEA
The great voyages of discovery (Columbus, de Gama, etc.) shifted the centre of gravity of European maritime trade from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Over the same period the conquest of Ireland was completed. By the eighteenth century, Ireland, for centuries on the periphery of Europe, found itself at the centre of this newly formed ‘Atlantic world’ as part of the British Empire.   Liste...
1hr 12m Aug 07, 2020
1hr 12m
Terence MacSwiney—martyrdom, civil resistance & the Irish Revolution
This podcast is part of the History Ireland Hedge School programme supported by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht under the Decade of Centenaries 2012–2023 initiative.   Terence MacSwiney—martyrdom, civil resistance & the Irish Revolution   On 25 October 1920, after 74 days on hunger strike, Terence MacSwiney, lord mayor of Cork, died in Brixton Prison. His death not onl...
1hr 7m Aug 01, 2020
1hr 7m
Cork—Crucible of the War of Independence
Why was it that Cork (county and city), which accounted for c. 10% of the country’s population, produced nearly 25% of those killed in the War of Independence? What role did its substantial (c. 10%) non-Catholic (mainly loyalist) population play? Did individual IRA commanders like Tom Barry make a difference and what was the significance of the engagements he led at Kilmichael and Crossbarry? ...
1hr 13m Jul 06, 2020
1hr 13m
Derry and the North-West, 1920–22—War of Independence or Communal Conflict?
Historians have long contrasted the more nakedly sectarian conflict in Belfast (c. 500 deaths in 1920–2) with the conduct of the War of Independence elsewhere. With disturbances costing twenty lives in June 1920, Derry seemed to be heading the same way but never reached the same level of intensity. Why not? What was the relationship between the city and its rural hinterland, including Donegal? ...
1hr 17m Jun 30, 2020
1hr 17m
The Connaught Rangers Mutiny—1920, 1970 & 2020
On 28 June 1920, five men from C Company of the 1st Battalion of the Connaught Rangers led a mutiny in Jalandhar, Punjab, in protest against martial law in Ireland. Following their surrender a few days later, 88 mutineers were court-martialled, of whom 77 were imprisoned; the leader, James Daly, was executed. The imprisoned mutineers were released in 1923; they returned to Ireland, and in 1936 ...
1hr 9m Jun 28, 2020
1hr 9m
Henry Grattan 200 years on—a misunderstood legacy?
Born in Dublin’s Fishamble Street in 1746, but resident for most of his life in Tinnehinch, near Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, Henry Grattan was the most noted, and certainly the most eloquent, of the eighteenth-century opposition ‘patriots’ in the Irish Parliament.  To mark the bicentenary of his passing and to reassess his often misunderstood legacy, listen to History Ireland editor Tommy Graham i...
1hr 12m Jun 06, 2020
1hr 12m
Soviets, strikes and land seizures—class conflict & the Tan War
This Podcast is part of the History Ireland Hedge School programme supported by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht under the Decade of Centenaries 2012–2023 initiative. In the midst of the War of Independence a parallel class war raged, with strikes, land-seizures and even the establishment of soviets. What was its relationship to the national … Continue reading Soviets, stri...
1hr 5m Apr 30, 2020
1hr 5m
Making sense of the general election
The general election of 8 February 2020 marked a seismic shift in Irish politics. The Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael duopoly, which had dominated for nearly a century, was shattered by a resurgent Sinn Féin, creating a novel tripartite division. To make sense of it all, and in particular to address any historical precedents, History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, spoke … Continue reading Making sense of ...
55m Mar 19, 2020
55m
Teaching Controversial Issues: History and Commemoration
(organised by The History Teachers Association of Ireland (as part of the Dublin Branch Spring Seminar) in conjunction with the National Library of Ireland and History Ireland)  Recorded @ the National Library of Ireland on 7 March 2020 Tommy Graham: Editor of History Ireland was joined by Jim Herlihy, Historical and Reconciliation Police (Harp) Society; Dr Mary McAuliffe, Assistant Professor i...
1hr 15m Mar 09, 2020
1hr 15m