Editor Tommy Graham will be hosting a series of History Ireland Hedge Schools, lively round-table discussions with historians and well-known personalities. We don’t at the moment hold exclusively live Hedge Schools. However, we will, by virtue of remote recording, continue to make a full program of Hedge Schools available on this website or wherever you get your podcasts.

In addition podcasts of previous  events are available lower down on this page or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Latest Audio Uploads

‘Our man in Moscow’—50 years of Irish/Russian diplomatic relations

(Recorded live on Wed 02 October, @ The Cobblestone, King St N, Smithfield, Dublin, D07 TP22)

History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, chats to Irish diplomat, Jim Sharkey, who opened the Irish embassy in Moscow in 1974 and returned to live in the city as Ambassador in 2001.

This Hedge School is part of the Dublin Festival of History. 

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Is Irish History ‘sea-blind’? 

In 1986, the maritime historian, John de Courcey Ireland, wrote: ‘The lives of island peoples like Ireland’s [have] been dominated by the seas encircling them. Yet this fact has been largely ignored by Irish historians’. Is Irish history still ‘sea blind’? To address this question join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Angela Byrne (Dictionary of Irish Biography), Lar Joye (Heritage Officer, Dublin Port) and Captain Michael McKenna (Dublin Port Harbour Master).

This Hedge School is supported by Dublin Port in association with the Dublin Festival of History

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How many died—and how—in the Irish Civil War?

(Recorded live on Sat 17 Aug ’24 @ the Electric Picnic)

Thanks to UCC’s Irish Civil War Fatalities project we now have a definite figure—1,485. But in this discussion, chaired by History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, with John Dorney, Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc, Michael Kennedy and Caitlin White, we find out a lot more—not only who was killed but also when, where, in what circumstances, and how they were commemorated.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

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‘Garrison games’—Niall Quinn tackles Oscar Traynor

(Recorded live on Fri 16 Aug ’24 @ the Electric Picnic)

History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham chats to former international footballer, administrator, businessman and TV pundit Niall Quinn about his recently completed MA thesis, ‘Oscar Traynor—a re-evaluation of a footballer, rebel, politician and football administrator’. Not only was Traynor an IRA commander in the War of Independence who took the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War and served as minister in several Fianna Fáil administrations but he was also an advocate of the ‘garrison game’, a vocal opponent of the GAA’s ban on ‘foreign games’ and the FAI’s longest-serving president (1948–63).

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

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The life and times of Brendan O’Regan

(Recorded live on Sat 13 April ’24, @ Shannon College of Hotel Management, Co. Clare)

Born in 1917 in Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare, Brendan O’Regan’s background was in hotel management and catering, working in the family hotel in Ennis, the St Stephen’s Green Club in Dublin and the world’s first duty-free shop in Shannon Airport, where he is credited with inventing Irish coffee. In 1959 he was appointed by Seán Lemass as the first head of the Shannon Airport Development Association (later known as the Shannon Free Airport Development Company), which stimulated the establishment not only of an industrial base in rural County Clare but also of a whole new town, Shannon. Retiring in 1977, he remained active, founding Co-operation North. Despite these achievements, since his death in 2008 he has remained a somewhat obscure figure. To rectify this lacuna, join History Ireland editor, Tommy Grahamm in discussion with Frank Barry, Úna Ní Bhroiméil, Seán Donlon, Brian O’Connell and Brendan’s son, Andrew O’Regan. .

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by Sixmilebridge Historical Society..

St Brigit 1500—who was she?

Recorded on the 1 Feb 2024, at the National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street. Join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, to mark the 1500th anniversary of the passing of St Brigit, Ireland’s most notable female saint. But who was she?—a figure of history or of myth and legend?—a goddess and/or a feminist icon? With Edel Breathnach, Elva Johnston, Bairbre Ní Fhloinn and Niamh Wycherley. .

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the National Library of Ireland.

‘Taking her place amongst the nations of the earth’?—Ireland and the League of Nations

To what extent did the Irish Free State’s joining the League of Nations a century ago realise Robert Emmet’s ambition? Join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham in discussion with John Gibney, Michael Kennedy and Zoë Reid.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012–2023 initiative..

Iníon Dubh and Red Hugh O’Donnell

(Recorded at Maggie’s Tavern, St Johnston, Co. Donegal, on Saturday 28 October ’23).

Join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, to mark the 421st anniversary of the passing of Red Hugh O’Donnell, the ‘Fighting Prince of Donegal’. But no discussion of Red Hugh would be complete without consideration of the real ‘mover and shaker’ in these events, the power behind the throne, his mother Iníon Dubh—with Billy Kelly, Matthew McGinty, Tomás Ó Brógáin and Éamonn Ó Ciardha.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the Red Hugh O’Donnell Society and Donegal County Council..

The Irish Civil War on film

(Recorded at the Irish Film Institute on Wed 11 Oct ’23 as part of the Dublin Festival of History).

Listen to History Ireland editor Tommy Graham for a lively and interactive discussion on how the Irish Civil War was depicted on film, both at the time (newsreels) and subsequently (Michael Collins, The Wind that Shakes the Barley and other films), and how this has affected our understanding of the period—with Ciara Chambers, Dennis Condon, Brian Hanley and Kevin Rockett.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012–2023 initiative.

The life and legacy of Theobald Wolfe Tone

This Hedge School, recorded at the Electric Picnic, September 2023, was preceded by a performance of Paddy Cullivan’s The Two Murders of Wolfe Tone, which can be viewed at paddycullivan.com.

‘He landed in France with one hundred guineas in his pocket and had come near to altering the destiny of Europe’—so said Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, of Theobald Wolfe Tone, who died 225 years ago. To discuss Tone’s life and legacy, join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Paddy Cullivan, Sylvie Kleinman, Tim Murtagh and Fergus Whelan.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

Belfast: The story of a city and its people

Belfast: The story of a city and its people is a lively and inviting history of Belfast—exploring the highs and lows of a resilient city. Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham, in conversation with the author, Fergal Cochrane.

Belfast: The story of a city and its people is published by Yale University Press. Further details

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

The post-Civil War economy of the Irish Free State

What were the economic challenges faced by the new state? How did it perform? How did it compare with other newly independent states in Europe? Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Frank Barry, Mary Daly, Seán Kenny and Mícheál Ó Fathartaigh.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012–2023 initiative.

Change and continuity—the general elections of 1922 and 1923

What do these two elections tell us about Ireland’s political landscape before and after the Civil War? Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Elaine Callinan, Mel Farrell, Michael Laffan and Martin O’Donoghue.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012–2023 initiative.

Labour and the Civil War

Organised labour had played a leading role (strikes, boycotts etc.) in the Irish revolution, and that was reflected in a substantial vote in the June 1922 general election. Yet a year later that vote had almost halved. Why? Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Adrian Grant, Brian Hanley, Theresa Moriarty and Emmet O’Connor.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012–2023 initiative.

Photographs as historical sources

Are historians visually illiterate? Does colourisation bring old photographs to life or is it just a passing fad? ‘Coffee-table’ history books—good or bad? In conjunction with the ongoing People & Places: Ireland in the 19th & 20th centuries exhibition at the National Photographic Archive, these are some of the questions that will be posed by History Ireland editor Tommy Graham, to Donal Fallon (historian, writer and broadcaster), Emily Mark Fitzgerald (UCD), and Sara Smyth (exhibition curator, National Library of Ireland).

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the National Library of Ireland.

Memorialising the Civil War

How was the Civil War memorialized—by both sides? Who won the ‘memory war’? To address these and other questions listen to History Ireland editor Tommy Graham, in discussion with Conor Dodd, John Dorney, Mary McAuliffe and Caitlin White.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative and by Phibsborough Community Arts Festival (Phizzfest).

Archbishop John Charles McQuaid—a reassessment

John Charles McQuaid, archbishop of Dublin from 1940 to 1972, was a colossus of the Catholic Church in his day, famous (or infamous) for his opposition to health minister Noel Browne’s Mother and Child Scheme. Less well known is his pioneering work on Irish emigrant welfare in Britain and his influence on the architecture and planning of Dublin. Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Brian Harvey (social researcher), Mary Kenny (The way we were: Catholic Ireland since 1922), David McCullagh (biographer of Eamon de Valera) and Ellen Rowley (architectural historian).

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the National Library of Ireland..

For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

A century on—how do we view the Irish Civil War?

History Ireland editor Tommy Graham, and the Hedge School panel—John Dorney, Brian Hanley, Colum Kenny and Mary McAuliffe—field questions from Leaving Cert students in Coulson Theatre, Gonzaga College, Dublin (recorded on 2 March 2023).

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative...

For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

The Civil War in Kerry

The violence and divisions caused by the Irish Civil War were more vicious, bitter and protracted in County Kerry than anywhere else in Ireland. Why? Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with John Dorney, Mary McAuliffe, Owen O’Shea and John Regan.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative...

For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

Reflections on the Decade of Centenaries

What is the relationship between commemoration and historical scholarship? How has this worked out in practice in the Decade of Centenaries? What were the opportunities taken? What were missed? Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with John Gibney, Brian Hanley, Heather Jones and Fearghal McGarry.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative...

For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

W.B. Yeats and the Irish Free State

A century ago, in December 1922, at the height of the Civil War, poet W.B. Yeats was nominated to the Senate of the newly established Irish Free State. In January of that year he had participated in the cultural programme of the Irish Race Congress in Paris. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, a major boost to the prestige of a nation after the trauma of civil war. He was to serve for six years in the Senate. In the 1930s he briefly flirted with Eoin O’Duffy’s Blueshirts. How are we to assess Yeats’s relationship to the Irish Free State? To address this and other questions, join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Lucy Collins, Theo Dorgan, Darragh Gannon and Katherine McSharry.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by the National Library of Ireland..

For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

Marú in Iarthar Chorcaí (Murder in West Cork)

Over three nights in April 1922, thirteen Protestant men were shot dead in West Cork. According to Peter Hart’s 1998 book The IRA and its enemies, they were shot because they were Protestants—sectarian killings carried out by members of the IRA—and ‘the nationalist revolution had also been a sectarian one’. Hart’s controversial conclusions sparked a ‘history war’ that has raged ever since. Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham to discuss the documentary with Brian Hanley, Simon Kingston, Eve Morrison and Jerry O’Callaghan.

(Click here to see the programme via TG4.).

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This Hedge School is supported by TG4..

For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

Donegal in the Civil War

While not in the vanguard of the War of Independence, Donegal became the scene of the last stand-up fight between the IRA (pro- and anti-Treaty) and British military (in the ‘Pettigo triangle’), with the latter using heavy artillery for the first time in Ireland since 1916. On the outbreak of the Civil War some of these IRA men, originally mobilised for the now-aborted ‘Northern offensive’, were caught up in the hostilities that followed. Four of them were subsequently executed, the only four executions to take place in the county. To discuss these and related questions join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in conversation with Adrian Grant, Breandán MacSuibhne and Pauric Travers.

(Recorded at the Allingham Festival, Ballyshannon, 5 November 2022).

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative..

For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

Irish Travellers and the State, 1922-2022—activism, advocacy and allyship

How have Irish Travellers fared since the foundation of the state a century ago, and in particular since the 1963 Report of the Commission on Itinerancy? What are the challenges facing the current generation of Traveller activists? How can non-Travellers be effective allies? To address these and related questions, join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Martin Collins, Rose Marie Maughan, and Patrick Nevin.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

The Irish Civil War—a military analysis

At the outbreak of the Irish Civil War in June 1922 the anti-Treaty IRA numbered some 15,000, holding key positions in Dublin and throughout the country, in particular behind a defensive line running from Limerick to Waterford (the so-called ‘Munster Republic’). Their pro-Treaty opponents in the newly-formed National Army numbered less than half that. Why then did the pro-Treaty side win? To address this and related questions join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Bill Kissane, John Dorney, Mary McAuliffe and Gareth Prendergast.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group.

Supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.

For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

What if Michael Collins had survived the Civil War?

On 22 August 1922, Michael Collins was killed at Béal na Bláth, Co. Cork. But what if he had survived? Would he have become a military dictator? (Was he one already?) Would he have been more or less ruthless than his successors in prosecuting the Civil War? Would he have torn up the Treaty and launched an invasion of the North? What if he and not Eoin O’Duffy had later become leader of the Blueshirts? And if he, rather than Dev, had become Ireland’s dominant statesman, would his economic or social policies have been any different? Join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Paddy Cullivan, Brian Hanley, David McCullagh, Fearghal McGarry and Margaret O’Callaghan.

This Hege School was recorded at the Electric Picnic 2022 immediately after Paddy Cullivan’s historical entertainment, ‘The Murder of Michael Collins’. Details here www.paddycullivan.com.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

Unmanageable Revolutionaries—women in the ‘decade of centenaries’

It is nearly 40 years since Margaret Ward’s pioneering Unmanageable Revolutionaries: Women and Irish Nationalism, 1880-1980 (1983) first appeared. How has women’s history, and history written by women, fared in the meantime, particularly in this ‘decade of centenaries’? Join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham in discussion with Síobhra Aiken, Leeann Lane, Sarah-Anne Buckley and Margaret Ward.

Recorded at Electric Picnic 2022, available from 13 September

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

Michael Collins—man and myth

Born in West Cork in 1890, Michael Collins joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) as a teenager while working as a clerk in London. He fought in the GPO in 1916, and rose to prominence by the War of Independence, combining the positions of Dáil minister for finance and IRA director of intelligence. How can his meteoric rise be explained? Why did he sign the Treaty? Did he intend to tear it up and invade the North? Was he by the outbreak of the Civil War effectively a military dictator? Why are the circumstances of his death at Béal na Bláth, exactly a century ago, still disputed? To address these and related questions, join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with John Borgonovo, Gemma Clark, Dominic Price and John Regan.

Available from 22 August

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

Arthur Griffith, ‘father of us all’

So said Michael Collins, yet despite his central role in the development of the Irish nationalism from which the Irish State would emerge, Arthur Griffith has had to settle for a side-line role in the national historical memory. How fair or accurate are accusations of anti-Semitism, misogyny or ‘selling the pass’ at the Treaty negotiations? How stands his reputation today a century on from his untimely death, aged 51, on 12 August 1922? To address these and related questions listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Frank Barry, Brian Hanley, Colum Kenny and Margaret Ward.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

The life and times of Harry Boland

One of the most engaging figures of the revolutionary period, Harry Boland, along with his brother Gerry, joined the IRB in 1904 and participated in the 1916 Rising. He was centrally involved in the subsequent reorganization of Sinn Féin and the Volunteers and was uniquely close to the two dominant figures of the period, Eamon de Valera and Michael Collins. Having taken the anti-Treaty side, he was killed in controversial circumstances exactly a century ago on 1 August 1922. To discuss his life and times join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in conversation with Tim Crowley, Donnacha DeLong, Liz Gillis and Éamon Ó Cuiv.

(Recorded at Glasnevin Cemetery Museum on Mon 1 August 2022)

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

This Hedge School is supported by the Harry Boland Centenary Committee.

The assassination of Sir Henry Wilson and the Irish Civil War

On 22 June 1922 Field Marshall Sir Henry Wilson, former Chief of the Imperial General Staff, and Unionist MP for North Down, was assassinated outside his London home in Eaton Square. The anti-Treaty IRA were blamed and six days later, under pressure from the British, Michael Collins ordered the bombardment of the Four Courts, the opening salvos of the Irish Civil War. But who was Henry Wilson? Was he, as was alleged, the mastermind behind the anti-Catholic pogroms in Belfast 1920-22? And who ordered the hit? To address these and other questions listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with John Dorney, Caoimhe Nic Dhaibhéid, Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc, John Regan.

(Recorded at St Peter’s, North Main Street, Cork, as part of the National Civil War Conference, UCC, on Saturday 18 June 2022)

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

The ‘Belleek/Pettigo triangle’, May/June 1922

As part of the so-called ‘Northern Offensive’, on 27 May 1922, a combined force of pro-Treaty National Army and anti-Treaty IRA occupied the ‘Belleek/Pettigo triangle’, an enclave of Fermanagh/Northern Ireland only accessible over-land through Free State territory. Less than two weeks later they had been ejected by regular British Army troops; the ‘Northern Offensive’ was over. But how serious was it in the first place? Or was it just a ruse to keep the anti-Treaty IRA on-side? To address these and other questions join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Edward Burke, Margaret O’Callaghan and Éamon Phoenix.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

This Hedge School is supported by Donegal County Council, Fermanagh & Omagh District Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.

Sister against sister—women, the Treaty split and the Civil War

Given their activism in the revolutionary period, now widely acknowledged by historians, why were Irish women and their organizations on the margins of deliberations on the Treaty? Why were Irish women under 30 denied the vote in the June 1922 general election? To what extent were they the victims of gendered violence (by either side) during the Civil War? Join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Síobhra Aiken, Leeann Lane, Mary McAuliffe and Margaret Ward.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

Recorded @ Phizzfest [Phibsborough Community Arts Festival], Sun 15 May 2022, Glasnevin Cemetery Museum

Ulysses in history—history in Ulysses

In this centenary year of its publication, this History Ireland Hedge School considers James Joyce’s Ulysses, set in Dublin on a single day, 16 June 1904. What was the history of the book? What is the history in the book? Join Tommy Graham in discussion with Sylvie Kleinman, Felix Larkin, Katherine McSharry and Dan Mulhall.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

This Hedge School supported by the National Library of Ireland.

 Burning the Big House—the story of the Irish country house in a time of war and revolution

Over the course of the Irish War of Independence and Civil War, nearly 300 ‘Big Houses’ (those belonging to aristocrats with in excess of 2,000 acres), 20% of a total of c. 1,500, were burned to the ground. Why? Author Terence Dooley, Professor of History at Maynooth University and Director of the Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates, in conversation with History Ireland editor Tommy Graham, provides some answers.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

The internal politics of the IRA before the Civil War

The Anglo-Irish Treaty sparked turmoil within the IRA. Some accepted it and joined the ranks of the Provisional Government’s new ‘National Army’; some remained neutral; the majority opposed it, but with the added twist that on the eve of the Civil War there were two anti-Treaty factions of the IRA, not one. Two Army Conventions, on 26 March and 18 June 1922, failed to resolve these differences. To make sense of these complexities, History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Síobhra Aiken, John Borgonovo, John Dorney and Brian Hanley.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

 Northern Ireland in 1922

While an uneasy peace prevailed in the South following the Truce of July 1921, in Northern Ireland communal violence continued to rage, exemplified most notoriously on 24 March 1922 by the killings of a ‘respectable’ Catholic family, the McMahons, by an RIC ‘murder gang’. Was this a ‘one-off’ by a ‘rogue’ element or part of a wider policy of intimidation? And as the Treaty split drifted towards civil war in the South, how did events in the North and along the border affect the situation? To discuss these and related questions, join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Kieran Glennon, Paddy Mulroe, Seán Bernard Newman and Margaret O’Callaghan.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

‘We English protest’—anti-colonial solidarity in the metropole

So said the long white apron of suffragette and socialist Margaret Buckmaster at a protest in July 1921 organised by the Peace with Ireland Council (PIC). How significant were such anti-colonial solidarity movements in Britain in the revolutionary period? How effective were they? To address these and related questions, join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Darragh Gannon, Angus Mitchell and Mo Moulton.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Reconciliation Fund.

A century of An Garda Síochána

When the Civic Guard—later renamed An Garda Síochána—was founded in February 1922, the force it replaced, the Royal Irish Constabulary, was itself barely a century old. How much of the culture of the latter passed over to the former? What was the law-and-order situation in 1921/22? Why and how was it possible to set up an unarmed police force during a civil war? To address these and related questions, join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Elizabeth Malcolm, Fearghal McGarry and Liam McNiffe..

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.

‘Centenary of the Irish Race Congress, Paris, 21-28 January 1922

Within weeks of the ratification of the Treaty by Dáil Éireann an ‘Irish Race Congress’ assembled in Paris representing Irish organizations from twenty-two countries. Inevitably the Treaty split overshadowed its proceedings. Did global Irish experiences moderate or radicalise expectations of Irish independence? What legacy did Irish sovereignty bequeath to the historical memory of the Irish diaspora? To address these and related questions join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Darragh Gannon, Donal McCracken, David Brundage, and Anne Marie O’Brien.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.

Available from 21 January 2022

‘Dublin Castle has fallen!’—the handover, 16 January 1922

Under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, a Provisional Government, led by Michael Collins, was to oversee the transition of power until the Irish Free State formally came into being in December 1922. What was involved in the ‘handover’ that took place on 16 January 1922? Who was involved and what were their roles? To address these and related questions join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham in discussion with John Gibney, Kate O’Malley, Edward Madigan, and Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Office of Public Works.

Available from 16 January 2022

The Handover: Dublin Castle and the British withdrawal from Ireland, 1922 by John Gibney and Kate O’Malley is published by the Royal Irish Academy. More details!

Robert Barton—forgotten man of the Irish revolution?

Of the five plenipotentiaries who signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921 most attention has been focused on the motivations and actions of Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith—and on ‘the plenipotentiary who wasn’t’, Eamon de Valera. But what about the other three—Eamon Duggan, George Gavan Duffy and Robert Barton, particularly the latter, the only one who later took an anti-Treaty position. To find out more about this republican Protestant landlord from Wicklow join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham in discussion with John Dorney, Joan Kavanagh, Chris Lawlor, and Catherine Wright.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by Wicklow County Council’s Archives Service and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

Available from 31 December 2021

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 Independence, Treaty negotiations, Civil War—up to the founding of Fianna Fáil in 1926? To discuss this and related questions, join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham in discussion with Tomás Mac Conmara, Martin Mansergh, Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc and Joe Power.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by Clare County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

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 Milne, Grace Mulcahy, and Luke O’Neill.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

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 History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative..

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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 centuries. He died there, aged 75, in 597. But what do we know about Columba the man? How much of what we know is based on subsequent myth and legend? And how has he been remembered over the centuries? To address these and related questions listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in conversation with Revd David Houlton, Brian Lacey, and Helen Meehan.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com

This Hedge School is part-funded by Donegal County Council as part of the implementation of the County Donegal Heritage Plan.

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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 discussion with Niamh Gallagher, Robert Gerwarth, John Horne, and Bill Kissane.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

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‘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 dispensation? To address these and related questions join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Eugene Coyle, David Dickson, Nuala Reilly and Alexander Ó Fháilghigh.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Reconciliation Fund.

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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 History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with John Borgonovo, Caoimhe Nic Dháibhéid, Patrick O’Sullivan Greene, and Brian Hughes.

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

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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 J. Ó Duibhi.

This podcast is supported by Kildare County Council’s Decade of Commemorations Programme and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

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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. John O’Sullivan (1807–1874) was an independent-minded priest who clashed with bishops and landlords. He kept journals that have not been published. The author mines these and other sources, including eyewitness accounts, UK archives and Kerry’s workhouse minutes, for new insights into aspects of Irish society, including politics, proselytism and the status of women.

Dr Colum Kenny BL is Professor Emeritus, Dublin City University, a journalist and an honorary bencher of King’s Inns. Awarded the Irish Legal History Society’s Gold Medal, his books include histories of King’s Inns, an account of Irish emigration to the USA and, most recently, a biography of Arthur Griffith.

Kenmare: History and survival—Fr John O’Sullivan and the Famine Poor Is available from all good bookshops and online from wordwellbooks.com The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com .

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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 Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with John Dorney, Marie Bashford Synnott, and Frank Whearity.

This Hedge School is supported by Fingal County Council and the Creative Ireland Programme 2017–2022.

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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 in to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Ciara Chambers, Darragh Gannon, Maurice Walsh and Margaret Ward.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.

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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 notorious libel case in March 1845. Listen to author and historian Bryan MacMahon in conversation with History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, as he discusses the origins and progress of the campaign and the backlash during these years, in particular, how the Church of Ireland missionaries were motivated by a desire to save Irish-speaking Catholics from what they saw as superstitious practices and enthralment to Rome. Bryan MacMahon is an author and historian whose previous books include The Great Famine in Tralee and North Kerry (2017) and Ascend or Die: Richard Crosbie, Pioneer of Balloon Flight (2010). He has contributed to a range of historical journals, including History Ireland, Dublin Historical Record and The Irish Sword.

Faith and Fury: the evangelical campaign in Dingle and West Kerry 1825–45 Is available from all good bookshops and online from wordwellbooks.com

https://wordwellbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1978

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 the earliest of such attacks in the country, and the county was to the fore in the ‘counter state’, with particularly active Dáil Courts. To address the question of Kilkenny’s role in the revolutionary decade, including the role of women, listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Mary McAuliffe, Orla Murphy and Eoin Walsh.

This Hedge School is commissioned by Kilkenny County Council and funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.

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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 McCullagh, Eve Morrison and Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media

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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 discussion with Elaine Callinan, Seán B. Newman, Mike Rast and Brian Walker.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media

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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 James Laffey, Sinéad MacCoole, Cormac O’Malley and Dominic Price.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and Mayo County Library under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative .

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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 urban centers and their patterns of physical, social, and cultural evolution, relating this to the legacies of a violent past, and he reflects on their subsequent partial eclipse.

The First Irish Cities: an eighteenth-century transformation is published by Yale University Press. Further information: www.yalebooks.co.uk/display.asp?K=9780300229462

The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com.

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 tell us about how the IRA conducted operations in an urban environment? Join History Ireland editor editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Joe Connell, John Dorney, Liz Gillis and Bill Kautt.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative ..

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 of the Dublin ‘mob’. Why was it so controversial and what was its effect on the long-term planning of the city? Join History Ireland editor editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Christine Casey, David Dickson, James Kelly and Sylvie Kleinman.

This podcast is supported by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage ..

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 interrogate these apparent contradictions listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Bernard Browne, Ida Milne, William Murphy and Kevin Whelan.

This podcast is supported by Wexford County Council Public Library Service and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative..

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 Irish unity. Tune in to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Paul Bew, Brian Hanley, Martin Mansergh, and Margaret O’Callaghan.

This podcast is supported by the National Library of Ireland..

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 discussion with John Borgonovo, Bill Kautt, Eve Morrison and Gerry White.

TThis podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative..

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 Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, for a discussion on the ‘revolutionary decade’, with Cecile Gordan, Tomás Mac Conmara, Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc, and Joe Power.

This Hedge School is supported by Clare County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Community Strand of the Decade of Centenaries programme.

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 Hanley, Helen Litton, John O’Callaghan and Tom Toomey. The Hedge School series of podcasts is produced by History Ireland and the Wordwell Group. For more information or to subscribe, visit historyireland.com

This podcast is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative..

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 book explores the neglected history of Gaelic Ulster between the eleventh and early sixteenth centuries, and sheds further light on its unique society. Gaelic Ulster in the Middle Ages: history, culture and society is published by Four Courts Press, Dublin.

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.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.

‘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 Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Andy Bielenberg, Cécile Gordon, Eunan O’Halpin and Gerry White.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.

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 1918-19. Listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with James Durney, John Gibney, Ida Milne and Fionnuala Walsh. This podcast is supported by Kildare County Council’s Decade of Commemorations Programme and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative and Kildare County Council’s Decade of Commemorations Programme

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), Brendan Flynn (Wicklow), Kevin Lee (Carnew), Jim Rees (Arklow), Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc (author of several books on the Irish revolution).

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative and Wicklow County Council’s Archives Service

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 (Greystones), James Scannell (Bray), Brian White (Enniskerry) and John Dorney (editor of ‘The Irish Story’).

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative and Wicklow County Council’s Archives Service

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 Graham, discuss these questions with Dr Martin Mansergh, Cormac Moore, Dr Margaret O’Callaghan and Professor Brian Walker.

This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative

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 circumstances in Dublin Castle, two high-ranking IRA officers, Dick McKee and Peadar Clancy, and civilian Conor Clune. Did these events mark a decisive turning point in the ongoing War of Independence? How were they presented at the time? How are they remembered today? Listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, discuss these and related matters in a lively and unfettered discussion with Joe Connell Jnr, Dr Siobhán Doyle, Dr Brian Hanley and Professor Fearghal McGarry.

This Hedge School, in association with the GAA Museum, is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.

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 Ireland? Join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham in discussion with Marie Coleman, Kieran Glennon, Brian Hanley and Brian Walker.

This podcast is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund in association with the Linen Hall Library.

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 Graham, in conversation with John Flannery, Aogán Ó Fearghail, Enda O’Sullivan and Jayne Sutcliffe.

This podcast is produced in association with Tipperary County Council, supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.

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, were ‘shot while trying to escape’ from Dublin Castle. Collectively these killings became known as Bloody Sunday. To discuss these events, with particular relevance to history teachers, join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Donal Fallon, John Gibney, Liz Gillis and Angela Hanratty.

Donal Fallon is Historian in Residence in 14 Henrietta Street and presents the Three Castles Burning podcast.

John Gibney is Assistant Editor with the Royal Irish Academy’s Documents on Irish Foreign Policy series.

Liz Gillis is author of 25 May: the burning of the Custom House 1921.

Angela Hanratty is a History and English teacher seconded to Junior Cycle for Teachers as an Advisor for History.

[sc_embed_player fileurl=”https://history2013.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/JCT+history+hedge+school.mp3″]

Click the play button to listen

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 was Roscommon and how did it fare in the War of Independence? Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with John Burke, Brian Hanley and May Moran.

This podcast, produced in association with Roscommon County Council and the County Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society, and supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012–2023 initiative, was recorded via Zoom and is now available as a podcast at the following links:

www.historyireland.com/podcast-channel/ and
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-ireland/id1503109266
or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 immortalised 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’Halpin, Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc and Fintan Vallely.

This Hedge School, supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative, was recorded via Zoom and is now available as a podcast at the following links:

www.historyireland.com/podcast-channel/ and https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-ireland/id1503109266 or wherever you get your podcasts.

All Hedge Schools and podcasts are also available through the Decade of Centenaries website (https://www.decadeofcentenaries.com/category/history-ireland-podcasts/).

‘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 and Padraig Yeates.

Supported by the National Library of Ireland

Available on www.historyireland.com/podcast-channel/ and https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-ireland/id1503109266

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 Office Northern Ireland (PRONI) didn’t open its doors until 1924. How did these two institutions overcome this initial setback and what has been their significance in state formation, archives and commemoration? Listen to Tommy Graham, editor of History Ireland, in discussion with Marie Coleman, Catriona Crowe, Ray Gillespie and Neil Johnston.

This Hedge School is a part of a wider digital event hosted by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, in conjunction with Beyond 2022.

Available on www.historyireland.com/podcast-channel/ and https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-ireland/id1503109266

Nenagh and North Tipperary during the revolutionary decade

Having considered the ‘global’ impact of the Irish revolution in the last podcast (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 with Gerard Dooley, John Flannery, Seán Hogan and Caitlin White.

Available on www.historyireland.com/podcast-channel/ and https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-ireland/id1503109266 or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast is supported by Tipperary County Council and the Heritage Council as part of ‘Nenagh 800’

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 Eamon 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 Ireland, in discussion with Michael Doorley, Darragh Gannon, Miriam Nyhan Grey, and David McCullagh.

This Hedge School, supported by the Department of Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sports and the Gaeltacht under the Decade of Centenaries 2012–2023 initiative was recorded via Zoom and is now available as a podcast at the following links:
www.historyireland.com/podcast-channel/ and
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-ireland/id1503109266
or wherever you get your podcasts.

Click HERE to hear the full recording

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.

Listen to Tommy Graham, editor of History Ireland, discuss the maritime and colonial legacies with Aoife Bhreatnach (Irish Garrison Towns), Claire Connolly (UCC), Lar Joye (Dublin Port) and David Murphy (Maynooth).

This podcast is supported by Dublin Port in association with the West Cork History Festival.

Click HERE to hear the full recording

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 only evoked huge sympathy within Ireland but was also a turning point in the mobilisation of Irish nationalism abroad. In addition, his martyrdom inspired anti-colonial struggles throughout the world, particularly in India. Listen to History Ireland editor Tommy Graham discuss these and related questions, in particular the relationship between passive, civil and physical resistance, with Dr John Borgonovo, Dr Sarah-Ann Buckley, Dr Kate O’Malleyand Dr Pádraig Yeates. 

Photo:
Terence MacSwiney on the day of his wedding to Muriel Murphy in Bromyard, Herefordshire, where he had been interned after the 1916 Rising prior to his release in June 1917. Standing (left to right) are sisters Mary and Annie, Capuchin friar Fr Augustine Hayden OFM, bridesmaid Geraldine O’Sullivan and best man Richard Mulcahy. (Cork Public Museum)

Cork—crucible of the War of Independence

West Cork IRA flying column commander Tom Barry—how important was his leadership?

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?

Listen to Tommy Graham, editor of History Ireland, discuss these and related questions with Andy Bielenberg, Eve Morrison, Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc and Gerry White.

Available on www.historyireland.com/podcast-channel

Click HERE to hear the full recording

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? What role did the region’s substantial Hibernian element play?

Listen to Tommy Graham, editor of History Ireland, discuss these, and related, questions with Liz Gillis, Adrian Grant, Breandán Mac Suibhne and Brian Walker.

This podcast is supported by the Nerve Centre and Tower Museum’s Decade of Commemorations project, funded by the European Union’s Peace IV programme, managed by the Special EU Programme Body (SEUPB).

Click HERE to hear the full recording

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 were granted State pensions. In 1970 the remains of James Daly and two other mutineers were repatriated from India.

Listen to Tommy Graham, editor of History Ireland, discuss the complex web of issues arising from these events and their commemoration both in 1970 and today with John Gibney, Cécile Gordon, Brian Hanley and Kate O’Malley.

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.
Click HERE to hear full recording

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. He reached the height of his popularity with the concession of ‘legislative independence’ in 1782. Nineteenth-century constitutional nationalists would later refer to this, until its dissolution by the Act of Union in 1800, as ‘Grattan’s Parliament’, despite his almost permanent position on its opposition benches. In truth its ‘independence’ was a sham, and its inability to reform itself or grant Catholic Emancipation led to the polarisation of the 1790s and the bloody rebellion of 1798. By now a marginal figure, he spoke eloquently, but in vain, against the subsequent Act of Union. Less well known is his return to Parliament, this time in Westminster, in 1805, where he served until his death on 6 June 1820. To mark the bicentenary of his passing and to reassess his often misunderstood legacy, History Ireland editor Tommy Graham was joined, for an online Hedge School, by David Dickson, Patrick Geoghegan, Sylvie Kleinman and Tim Murtagh. 6 June 2020

Supported by the Wicklow County Archives Service, Wicklow County Council, in association with the Bray Cualann Historical Society

Click HERE to hear full recording

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 struggle? And why did it seem to dissipate? To answer these and related questions, listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with Sarah-Anne Buckley (NUI Galway), John Cunningham (NUI Galway), Brian Hanley (TCD) and Mary Muldowny (Dublin City Council Historian-in-Residence).

This Hedge School, supported by the Commemorations Unit, Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht  in association with Galway Trades Council was recorded on 22 April via video link consequently the sound quality may be variable.

Click HERE to hear full recording

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 in Gender Studies at UCD; Dr Brian Hanley, Lecturer and Author of Boiling Volcano? The Impact of the Troubles on the Republic of Ireland, 1968–79; and Deirdre Mac Mathúna, History Teachers Association of Ireland, to discuss the difficulties of teaching and explaining controversial and contentious subjects such as the recent proposal to commemorate the RIC/DMP, but also other issues raised during this decade of centenaries.

This Hedge School was supported by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Click HERE to hear full recording

‘Mobilise the poets’—art & culture in the Irish Revolution

recorded @ the Allingham Festival, Abbey Centre, Ballyshannon
6pm Sat 9 Nov

Arthur Griffith made this exhortation from his Gloucester Prison cell in January 1919. But how did the arts (literature, film, the visual arts, music and song) affect the Irish Revolution? How in turn did the Revolution affect the arts? History Ireland editor Tommy Graham was joined for a wide-ranging discussion by Paul Delaney (literature), Ciara Chambers (film), Roisín Kennedy (visual arts) and Fintan Vallely (music & song).

Supported by the Commemorations Unit of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Click HERE to hear full recording

Longford and the global Irish Revolution

(organised by Longford County Library, Heritage and Archives Service in conjunction with History Ireland)
recorded @ Canal Studio, Backstage Theatre, Longford on Thur 21 Nov 2019

Another in the ongoing series of Hedge Schools on how the Irish Revolution at local level influenced, and was influenced by, the wider global context, this time looking at the north midlands. To discuss this topic History Ireland editor Tommy Graham was joined by Mel Farrell, Paul Hughes, Darragh Gannon and Ailbhe Rogers.

This Hedge School is funded by Longford County Council and the Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Click HERE to hear full recording

An inconvenient truth? Sexual violence and the Irish Revolution

Recorded on Tuesday 26 November at 7pm
@ National Photographic Archive, Temple Bar

How valid is the assumption that because the War of Independence and Civil War are considered ‘low rape’ conflicts there is little to address in the arena of sexual assault?  To consider this question History Ireland editor Tommy Graham was joined, for a ground-breaking discussion, by Linda Connolly, Lindsey Earner-Byrne and Brian Hanley.

We apologise for the variable quality of the sound recording which was outside our control.

Click HERE to hear full recording

Labour and the North, and the National Question

@ Mechanics Institute, Galway (in association with the ICTU & the Irish Centre for the Histories of Labour and Class, NUI Galway)
recorded at 8pm on Friday 8 Nov 2019

James Connolly, executed for his part in the 1916 Rising, famously asserted that ‘The cause of Labour is the cause of Ireland; the cause of Ireland is the cause of Labour’. But how did this pan out in the subsequent War of Independence? Members of the trade union movement, the largest civil society organisation in Ireland at the time, were involved in a range of activities, from cultural resistance and industrial action to civil disobedience, and served in Dáil Courts and local authorities as well as in the armed struggle. Yet Labour was left in a relatively weak position in the politics of the consequent Irish Free State. To discuss this conundrum and related matters, History Ireland editor Tommy Graham was joined for a lively discussion by Emmet O’Connor, Margaret Ward and Brian Hanley.

Also supported by the Commemorations Unit of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Click HERE to hear full recording

A century on—how do we view the War of Independence?

Recorded @ Malahide Community School
2pm Thursday 19 September 2019How has recent scholarship changed our view of the War of Independence? What new sources are now available? And has this in turn affected how we commemorate these events? History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, chaired this special Hedge School, geared towards senior cycle history students. Donal Fallon (co-editor of the blog Come Here To Me), Liz Gillis (author of 25 May: The Burning of the Customs House 1921), Martin Mansergh (government’s Expert Advisory Group on Commemorations), Mary McAuliffe (Assistant Professor of Gender Studies, UCD), and Kevin Manning (history teacher, Malahide Community School) responded to questions devised by the students of Malahide Community School, Portmarnock Community School, Skerries Community School, Sutton Park School and St Fintan’s High School, Sutton.

Click HERE to hear full recording

The War of Independence in County Clare

David Fitzpatrick’s Politics and Irish Life, 1913–21: provincial experience of war and revolution (1977) reassessed
In association with Clare County Library
recorded @ Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis on Saturday, 14 Sept 2019 at 2pmThe untimely passing of Prof. David Fitzpatrick (TCD) earlier this year provided an opportunity to reassess his ground-breaking 1977 local study of County Clare, which was to become the template for many similar local studies of the War of Independence. How does it measure up to the intervening 42 years of scholarship, in particular the release of primary sources such as the Bureau of Military History and the Military Service Pensions Collection?

To discuss this and related matters History Ireland editor Tommy Graham, was joined by Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc, Eve Morrison, Cécile Gordon and Tomás Mac Con Mara for a lively debate on the subject.

Click HERE to hear full recording

Scotland and the global Irish Revolution

Recorded @ Edinburgh University, Meadows Lecture Theatre,
Wednesday 15 May 2019To what extent did revolutionary developments abroad shape what happened within Ireland during the revolutionary period 1919–23? And in what ways did events within Ireland impact beyond Irish shores, for instance amongst the large Irish diaspora population and other national groups? To discuss this generally, and the case of Scotland in particular, History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined for a lively discussion by Darragh Gannon, Fearghal McGarry (both Queen’s University, Belfast), Niall Whelehan (Strathclyde), and Kirsty Lusk (Glasgow). Click HERE to hear full recording

A century of women

History Ireland Hedge school at the Anonymous Was A Woman exhibition launch
@ Linen Hall Library, Belfast
Friday 12 April 2019

The exhibition makes use of the Linen Hall Library’s extensive collections and archives to highlight the historical advancements for women across education, employment and politics. The launch was followed by a special History Ireland Hedge School, A century of Women, chaired by editor, Tommy Graham, with Myrtle Hill and Margaret Ward (authors and advisors of the online exhibition, along with Lydia Walker, www.acenturyofwomen.com), Donal Fallon (Come Here To Me), Baroness May Blood (Women’s Coalition founder).

Supported by the Commemorations Unit of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Click HERE to hear full recording

The Irish Revolution—local or global?

The runaway success of the Atlas of the Irish Revolution (and the parallel TV documentary) and the proliferation of microstudies of the War of Independence and Civil War seems to bear out the adage that, like politics, all history is local. But is it? Do we risk losing sight of the ‘bigger picture’, of a world torn apart by war, revolution, and state formation? What, for example, can either approach tell us about violence directed at women, hitherto ignored in Ireland? To discuss these and related matters, History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham was joined for a lively discussion by John Borgonovo, Fearghal McGarry, Darragh Gannon and Linda Connolly. Click HERE to hear full recording

Censorship in Ireland—then and now

To mark the selection this year (2019) of Edna O’Brien’s Country Girls trilogy as Dublin’s ‘One City One Book’, the History Ireland Hedge School considered the issue of censorship. Banned on its release in 1960, The Country Girls is often credited with breaking the silence on sexual matters in ‘Catholic Ireland’. While by the 1970s such censorship had been considerably relaxed, it was replaced by political censorship in the form of Section 31. That in turn has passed but we are still left with the censorship of onerous defamation laws, not to mention internet and social media ‘trolling’, which has added a new twist to the censorship debate. To discuss these and related matters, History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined by Donal Fallon (Come Here To Me), Angela Nagle (Kill All Normies), Mary Kenny (Goodbye to Catholic Ireland) and Niall Meehan (Head of Journalism, Griffith College). Click HERE to hear full recording

Soloheadbeg — impact & legacy

Seminar and History Ireland Hedge School held
@ Ballykisteen Hotel, Limerick Junction, Co. Tipperary.
Saturday 19 January 2019.

• National and international context—Noreen Higgins McHugh.
• December 1918 general election in Tipperary—Seán Hogan.
• ‘Deserters, spies and hirelings’ : perceptions of a January day. Des Marnane.
• Vindicating a democratic mandate for independence: physical force or passive resistance? Martin Mansergh.
• Irish police casualties, including the War of Independence. Jim Herlihy.

The Hedge School was chaired by Tommy Graham, editor of History Ireland and includes all the speakers above. Click HERE to hear full recording

The 1918 general election — political earthquake or ‘same old, same old’?

recorded @ the Allingham Festival, Abbey Centre, Ballyshannon
6pm Saturday 10 November 2018

With good reason the December 1918 general election is regarded as a political earthquake. With a massively expanded electorate, including women over 30, the Irish Parliamentary Party, the dominant force in nationalist politics since the 1880s, was almost wiped out and replaced by Sinn Féin, whose MPs refused to take their seats in Westminster. Instead they assembled in Dublin’s Mansion House and declared themselves to be the first Dáil Éireann. Within a year the War of Independence would be in full swing. But was this sequence of events inevitable? Did it reflect a radical shift in the views of the electorate? How did the election play out at local level, particularly in Donegal? To discuss these and related matters History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined by Brian Hanley(University of Edinburgh), Brian Walker (Queens, Belfast), Pauric Travers (Chair, BAI) and  Margaret O’Callaghan (Queens, Belfast).

Supported by the Commemorations Unit of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Click HERE to hear full recording

From ballots to bullets — Ireland 1918–19

recorded @ National Photographic Archive, Temple Bar
pm Tuesday 4 December 2018

History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined by a panel of experts — Brian Hanley, Liz Gillis, Niamh Puirséil — for a discussion to coincide with the National Library’s photographic exhibition covering the turbulent years of 1918 and 1919. Covering the end of the First World War, the suffragette movement, the global flu pandemic, the first meeting of Dáil Éireann and the outbreak of the War of Independence. Click HERE to hear full recording

THE GREAT HUNGER REASSESSED

In Association with Dublin Port
Venue: Dublin Port HQ, Alexander Road, East Wall
Time: 2.30PM – 3.30PM

The popularity of Quinnipiac University’s travelling exhibition, Coming Home: Art & the Great Hunger(opening in An tSeaneaglais [Glassworks], Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, Derry, in January 2019) and the recent release of the film Black ’47have renewed popular interest in the Great Hunger. For a reassessment of Europe’s greatest demographic crisis of the nineteenth century, History Ireland editor Tommy Graham was joined by authors John Gibney (ed, TheGreat Irish Famine, Pen & Sword/History Ireland, 2018), Patricia Byrne (The Preacher and the Prelate: The Achill Mission Colony and the Battle for Souls in Famine Ireland, Irish Academic Press, 2018), and Peter Gray (‘The Great Irish Famine, 1845–1850’ in J.Kelly (ed.) The Cambridge History of Ireland, Vol.3 Cambridge University Press, 2018). Click HERE to hear full recording

100 years of women in politics and political life

recorded @ Bedford Hall, Dublin Castle
2.30pm Friday 2 November 2018

A hundred years ago women in Ireland (then part of the UK) got the vote. To mark a century of women’s subsequent involvement in politics and public life, Dublin Castle is hosting a special exhibition in the Coach House. In conjunction, History Ireland editor Tommy Graham hosted a Hedge School for teachers and schools with Sinéad McCoole (curator), Deirdre Mac Mathúna (President, History Teachers’Association of Ireland), Mary O’Rourke (former Minister for Education) and Joe Lee (Professor Emeritus, New York University).

Supported by the Commemorations Unit of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Click HERE to hear full recording

The sinking of the RMS Leinster and the war at sea

@ National Maritime Museum, Haigh Terrace, Dún Laoghaire
7.30pm Sunday 7 October 2018

Just before 10am on 10 October 1918, east of the Kish Bank, two torpedoes fired by the German submarine UB-123 struck the 2,640-ton packet steamship RMS Leinster, en route to Holyhead, causing her to sink rapidly; over 500 lost their lives, out of a total of over 800. It was sadly ironic that only a few days previously the Germans had sent out peace feelers to US President Woodrow Wilson, and the war itself would be over within a month.

To discuss these and related matters, History Ireland Editor Tommy Graham was joined for a lively discussion by Philip Lecane (Torpedoed! The RMS Leinster disaster [2005]), Michael Kennedy (RIA’s Documents on Irish Foreign Policy), Jeff Kildea (Uni. of New South Wales) and Bernadette Whelan (UL). Click HERE to hear full recording

Greatest killer of the 20th century? The ’flu pandemic of 1918–19

Recorded on Friday, 27 APRIL 2018 at 7pm
Venue: @ CAFE Readers’ and Writers’ Festival, Cobh Library, Co. Cork

The twentieth century was the century of mass death and yet, contrary to popular perception, the greatest killer of all time was neither Hitler nor Stalin, but was an illness often mistakenly associated with the common cold—epidemic influenza. It infected one billion people around the globe and may have killed approximately 100 million.

To discuss its effects in Ireland and worldwide, History Ireland editor Tommy Graham was joined by Ida Milne, Guy Beiner, Patricia Marsh and Andrew McCarthy for a lively and informed discussion on this topic. Click HERE to hear full recording

The cause of Labour? The 1918 general strike against conscription

Recorded on: Monday, 23 APRIL 2018 at 7pm. Venue: @ Liberty Hall, Dublin 1

On 23 April 1918 the Irish Trades Union Congress, and the ITGWU in particular, called a one-day general strike against the imposition of conscription and brought the country to a standstill. While it was the largest strike to date in Irish history, it was, uniquely, fully endorsed by both the employers and the Catholic Church. Support for the strike in the heavily industrialised but unionist-dominated Belfast was conspicuous by its absence.

To discuss these contradictions and other related matters, History Ireland editor Tommy Graham was joined by Padraig Yeates, Sarah Ann Buckley, Thomas Morrissey and Ethel Buckley. Click HERE to hear full recording

History v archaeology: is it like Neanderthals versus Homo sapiens?

Recorded @ Kilkenny Medieval Mile Museum on Friday, 16 March 2018 at 6.30pm

The difference between history and archaeology is the difference between Neanderthal and Homo sapiens. The latter is more technologically advanced, and the former, although casually misunderstood, nevertheless boasts a bigger brain. Yet, it is hard to imagine one without the other’.

This tongue-cheek observation is attributed to Bethany Dean, then an undergraduate archaeology student at the University of Winchester. But what is the relationship between the two disciplines in developing our understanding of the past? How do they interact (if at all)? To discuss these and related matters History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined for a no-holds (or holes!)-barred discussion with medieval historians Seán Duffy (TCD, Atlas of Irish History) and Matthew Stout (DCU, Early Medieval Ireland 431–1169) and archaeologists Geraldine Stout (Newgrange and the Bend of the Boyne) and Ian Doyle (Heritage Council).

This event was run in conjunction with Kilkenny Tradfest and supported by Costello’s Brew Company. Click HERE to hear full recording

John Redmond: his life and legacy

Recorded on Wednesday, 14 March 2018 at 7pm
@ The Officers’ Mess, Custume Barracks, Athlone

March 2018 marks the centenary of the death of John Redmond, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, which had dominated party political life since the heyday of Parnell in the 1880s. It would all but be wiped out by Sinn Féin in the December 1918 General Election. Was that inevitable? To what extent was Redmond responsible for this change or was it due to circumstances beyond his control? Is it fair in hindsight to judge Redmond on the final few years of a long and eventful career? Was the Treaty settlement of 1921 to a large degree ‘Home Rule for slow learners’ in any case?

To discuss these and related questions History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined by Martin O’Donoghue (National Library of Ireland), Brian Hanley (University of Edinburgh), and Dermot Meleady (Redmond’s biographer).

This History Ireland Hedge School was made possible by the support provided by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Click HERE to hear full recording

Cinema in Revolutionary Ireland

Recorded on Tuesday 27 February at 7pm in the National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin 2

In Ireland in the revolutionary period, cinema was the latest form of mass entertainment. Previously ignored as a pernicious working class fad both by the British authorities and by their nationalist opponents, its propaganda potential was quickly recognised; in 1916 the British government sponsored the production of the documentary, The Battle of the Somme, which played in cinemas across Ireland; in 1917, within hours of the event, the Bohemian Cinema in Phibsborough screened footage of Thomas Ashe’s funeral. What effect, if any, did such interventions have on public opinion? How did both sides use the new medium?

To discuss these and related matters History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined by Kevin Rockett, Ciara Chambers, Denis Condon and Joanne Carroll. Click HERE to hear full recording

William Allingham: ‘an Irish poet but not a national poet’? (W.B. Yeats)

@ Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal
7pm Sat 11 Nov ‘17

Unlike Ballyshannon’s other famous son, Rory Gallagher, poet William Allingham (b. 1824) spent most of his adult life in his native town before moving to London in 1870. His lyrical and descriptive poetry, while somewhat out of fashion today, was a huge influence on W.B. Yeats and, later John Hewitt. Yeats made his observation shortly before Allingham’s death in 1889, but later softened his view. So where does Allingham stand in the pantheon of Irish poets? Was he any good as a poet? To discuss these and related matters History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined for a lively discussion with Anthony Begley, Moya Cannon and Pauric Travers. Click HERE to hear full recording

50th anniversary of ‘free education’

@ the National Library, Kildare Street 7pm Tues 21 Nov

On 10 September 1967, Minister for Education Donogh O’Malley announced a scheme for free secondary education, much to the surprise of his cabinet colleagues, and of the Department of Finance in particular. But once word was out, there was no going back; expectations had been raised and the public response was hugely supportive. Within a decade participation rates at second level had doubled. But to what extent was the system subsidized before the announcement? To what extent has it been ‘free’ since? And beyond education, what was its effect socially and economically?

To discuss these and related questions History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined by: John Walshe (TCD), Carole Holohan (TCD) and Frank Barry (TCD) Click HERE to hear full recording

Meeting Éamon De Valera and Michael Collins

@ Dublin Book Fesitval, RDS Library, Dublin. 2.30pm Sun 5 Nov

As part of the Dublin Book Festival, Tommy Graham, Editor of History Ireland magazine, hosts a discussion with Joseph E.A. Connell Jr (author of Michael Collins: Dublin 1916–22, Wordwell 2017) and David McCullagh (author of De Valera (Volume 1): Rise 1882–1932), Gill Books 2017). Author Joe Connell contributes a regular column to History Ireland and David McCullagh is a presenter of RTÉ’s ‘Prime Time’.

Recording courtesy of the RDS library and with grateful thanks to Librarian Gerard Whelan. Click HERE to hear full recording

REFORMATION 500 — the Hedge School

@ St Werburgh’s Church, Werburgh Street. 7pm Wed 18 October 2017

Tommy Graham, Editor of History Ireland magazine, led a discussion panel to discuss the Reformation on the occasion of its 500th anniversary. Included on the panel were Adrian Empey (C of I Historical Soc.), John McCafferty (UCD), Alison Forrestal (NUIG), Gesa Thiessen (TCD). Click HERE to hear full recording

The last train from Bundoran

@ Railway Heritage Festival, Eclipse Cinema, Bundoran, Co. Donegal 8pm Sat 30 Sept

2017 marks 60 years since the closure of the Great Northern Railway and the last train to leave Bundoran station. Tommy Graham, Editor of History Ireland magazine, led a Hedge School discussion panel that included Marc Geagan, Peter Rigney, Jonathan Bardon and Hugh Dougherty. They discussed the genesis, ramifications and consequences of the closure of the railway. Click HERE to hear full recording

History Ireland Hedge School @ Mindfield, Electric Picnic

3pm Sun 3 Sept

The Bolshevik Revolution — in the dustbin of history?

In the face of claims of the total triumph of neo-liberal capitalism and a generation after the collapse of the Soviet Union, how should we mark the century of the Bolshevik Revolution? Should it be consigned to the ‘dustbin of history’ — or can it be recycled? History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined for a no-holds-barred discussion with John Horne (historian, TCD), Oliver Eagleton (playwright & activist), Brian Hanley (historian, Uni. of Edinburgh) and Frank Barry (economist, TCD). Click HERE to hear full recording

‘Keeping the head down’? — Protestant folklore Project

14th September 2017

@ Cavan County Museum, Virgina Road, Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan.

IWhen one thinks of folklore study and folklore collecting south of the border, the Protestant community is not normally the first sector of society to spring to mind. A major collecting project being undertaken by the National Folklore Collection, focusing on Irish Protestants as a cultural group, seeks to redress this imbalance. In this ‘decade of centenaries’ what does it tell us about Protestants in independent Ireland? Did the new state live up to the non-sectarian ideals of the 1916 Proclamation (‘cherishing the children of the nation equally)? History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined for a lively and enlightening round-table discussion by Deirdre Nuttall (National Folklore Collection), Niall Meehan (Griffith College), Críostoir MacCartaigh (National Folklore Collection), Malachy Hand (Loughcrew Megalithic Centre) and Ian D’Alton (TCD). This History Ireland Hedge School was supported by the Commemorations Unit of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and hosted by Cavan County Museum. Click HERE to hear full recording

‘Poet of the blackbirds’ — the life and death of Francis Ledwidge

@ Richmond Barracks gymnasium, Inchicore, Dublin 8. 7pm Thurs 27 July

‘[I was] astonished by the brilliance of that eye and that had looked at the fields of Meath and seen there all the simple birds and flowers, with a vividness which made those pages like a magnifying glass, through which one looked at familiar things for the first time.’

So wrote Lord Dunsany, patron of the poet, Francis Ledwidge. How had this self-educated labourer, the eighth of nine children, who left school at 13, emerged as one of Ireland’s most notable war poets? What were the contradictions in the life of this trade unionist, Gaelic Leaguer and Irish Volunteer, who ended up joining the Royal Enniskilling Fusiliers and dying in the Third Battle of Ypres on 31 July 1917. To discuss these and related matters History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined for a lively round table discussion with Michael O’Flanagan, Eunan O’Halpin, Miriam O’Gara-Kilmurray, and Liam O’Meara.

Three of Ledwidge’s poems set to music were performed by Mezzo soprano Miram O’Gara-Kilmurry, accompanied by Irish composer and pianist Michael Holohan and Rebecca Draisey-Collishaw on the cor anglais (English Horn).

Supported by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Click HERE to hear full recording

Ireland and Europe: then and now

@ Micheál Ó Clérigh Summer School, Franciscan Friary, Rossnowlagh, Co. Donegal
3.45pm Sat 13 May

Declán de Breadún (Irish Times), Alan Titley (UCC), John McCafferty (UCD), Mark Empey (NUIG) joined Hedge School master Tommy Graham of History Ireland to debate this topic.Click HERE to hear full recording

Ireland and the United States from 1917 to Trump

@ the National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street
recorded at 7pm Tuesday 23 May

The centenary of the entry of the United States into the WWI provides a timely opportunity to review the ‘unique relationship’ with Ireland. But it was not always close or cordial. The 1916 Rising had cast Ireland’s ‘exiled children in America’ in the role of potential subversives, in league with Imperial Germany. After the war, to their great disappointment, Irish nationalists discovered that President Woodrow Wilson’s advocacy of self-determination did not apply to the subject nations of the victorious Allied powers. Relations reached their nadir with US ambassador David Gray’s ‘American note’ of February 1944, implicitly threatening violation of Ireland’s neutrality unless Dublin’s Axis missions were expelled. Things only improved in the wake of JFK’s 1963 visit, and, notwithstanding continuing popular opposition to US foreign policy, particularly during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bushe, reached their high-point with the ‘shamrock diplomacy’ of the Clinton era. But where stands the ‘unique relationship’ in the wake of the election of the xenophobic and protectionist Donald Trump? To discuss these and related matters join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, fwas joined by Michael Kennedy (RIA’s Documents on Irish Foreign Policy), Bernadette Whelan (UL), Patrick Geoghegan (TCD) and John Borgonovo (UCC).Click HERE to hear full recording

Ireland, the United States and the war at sea, 1917

Recorded @ CAFE Readers’ and Writers’ Festival, Cobh Library, Co. Cork
7.30pm Thur 4 May
(100th anniversary of the arrival of the US navy into Cork)
This History Ireland Hedge School was supported by the Commemorations Unit, DAHRRG

1917 was the pivotal year of the First World War. At its outset German U-boats were inflicting huge damage on Allied shipping, while in the land war the loss of one ally, Russia, was not compensated by the gain of another, the United States. How did the Allies swing the balance in their favour by the year’s end, particularly at sea? How central was Ireland (and Cork in particular) in this conflict? To address these and related questions History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham was joined by John Borgonovo (UCC), Michael Kennedy ( RIA’s Documents on Irish Foreign Policy), Jennifer Wellington (UCD) and Michael Martin (Titanic Trail).Click HERE to hear full recording

‘Now you see them…now you don’t’: women in the Irish Revolution

@ Mechanics Institute, Middle Street, Galway
(in association with the Women’s History Association of Ireland)
Recorded on Friday 21 April at 8pm

One of the features of last year’s 1916 centenary commemorations was the extent to which the role of women in the national movement was acknowledged. Their role intensified in the immediate aftermath of the Rising, particularly since hundreds of male activists were in jail. Why then were women subsequently marginalized? Did they voluntarily step back into the shadows or were they elbowed aside? To discuss these and related matters History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham was joined by Mary McAuliffe (UCD), Linda Connolly (NUI Maynooth), Elaine Sisson (IADT, Dún Laoghaire), and Conor McNamara (NUIG).Click HERE to hear full recording

Reflecting on the Reformation

A History Ireland Hedge School recorded at at Belfast Fest. of Ideas & Politics, Conor Hall, Belfast Campus, Ulster University, York Street

Sun 26 March

It is 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of his Wittenberg church, attacking the Catholic Church’s corrupt practice of selling ‘indulgences’ to absolve sin, setting in train the Protestant Reformation. But was that really about religion — or a cynical power-grab by some of the princes of Europe? Or was it an early manifestation of Brexit — disillusionment of the periphery with the perceived corruption of the cosmopolitan centre? What is its relevance today? Discussing these and related matters moderated by History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, were Hiram Morgan (UCC), Bronagh McShane (NUI Galway), Pat Coyle (Irish Jesuit Communications), and Revd Brian Kennaway (Irish Association, Former President).Click HERE to hear full recording

‘Coming and going’ — Ireland and migration today

@ National Library, Kildare Street. 7pm Tues 21 Feb.
(In conjunction with Beyond Leaving at the National Photographic Archive, Temple Bar)

In the c. 120 years after the Great Hunger, half of the people born in Ireland ended up somewhere else. In previous centuries there had been waves of inward migration — Vikings, Normans, English, Scots, Huguenots, etc. But Ireland is not unique — the history of humanity has been a history of migration, of coming and going. The Celtic Tiger years witnessed a net inflow of people to Ireland for the first time in centuries, whilst its collapse has seen a revival of emigration, the subject of David Monahan’s current photographic exhibition. Ffor this round table discussion, History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined by Mary Corcoran (Prof. of Sociology, Maynooth University), Susan McKeown (Grammy Award-winning singer & migrants’ rights activist), Joanna Siewierska (PolsksaEire festival).Click HERE to hear full recording

Ireland & the UK from 1916 to Brexit

@ the London Irish Centre, Camden. 7pm Wed 25 January 2017.
At the heart of the past year’s commemoration of the 1916 Rising has been consideration of Ireland’s evolving relationship with the United Kingdom — from being an integral part of it, to Home Rule devolution (realised in the North but not in the South), to Commonwealth dominion, sovereign republic (albeit partitioned), and finally co-members of the European Union. An implicit assumption in this exercise has been the contrast between an Irish state of flux and the apparent stability of the UK. Brexit has now turned this assumption on its head, with major implications for the European Union, the Northern Ireland peace process and the UK itself.

To discuss these and related matters History Ireland editor Tommy Graham was joined for a lively round table discussion by Dan Mulhall (Irish ambassador to the UK), Mary Kenny (writer & journalist), Michael Kennedy (Royal Irish Academy’s Documents on Irish Foreign Policy), and Martin Mansergh (vice-chair of the Advisory Group on Centenary Commemorations). Click HERE to hear full recording

The Battle of the Somme on film

@ The Kevin Barry Room, The National Concert Hall, Dublin. 6 pm, Saturday 19 November.
Tommy Graham with Dr Kevin Rocket (TCD), Jennifer Wellington (UCD), Lar Joye (National Museum) and Tom Burke (Royal Dublin Fusiliers Assoc. and UCD) discuss The Battle of the Somme film (1916) that was shown in the National Concert hall after this Hedge School. For more details see: http://www.somme100film.com/somme100film/.  Click HERE to hear full recording

‘All changed, changed utterly…’? Ireland 1916-18

7pm on Tuesday 8 November 2016 @ the National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street
The contrast between the apparent indifference (hostility even) of the public response to the Rising of Easter 1916 with the landslide victory of Sinn Féin in the general election of December 1918 seems to bear out the famous lines of W.B. Yeats. But was the change as dramatic as it seemed or the result of ‘a long gestation’? And if there was a change what were the developments that led to it? To discuss these and related matters History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, is joined for a lively round table discussion by Mary McAuliffe (UCD Womens’ Studies), Brian Hanley (contributor, Atlas of the Irish Revolution), Fearghal McGarry (Queen’s University, Belfast), Padraig Yeates (A City in Civil War).Click HERE to hear full recording.

Keeping the head down — Protestants in Independent Ireland.

Saturday 5 November at the Allingham Festival, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal
Tommy Graham returns to his native Ballyshannon once again with the History Ireland Hedge School. This year’s topic has a particular resonance in a border town like Ballyshannon. He is joined by Brian Hanley, Jonathan Barden and Niall Meehan to discuss this difficult and contentious issue. Due to technical difficulties the recording ends just before the end of the discussion on 46 minutes.Click HERE to hear full recording.

The Somme: an ambiguous legacy

A History Ireland Hedge School in conjunction with the National Library of Ireland
Fought between 1 July and 1 November 1916 the Somme Offensive was one of the bloodiest battles in history, costing the lives of more than 1.5 million men. On the first day alone the British Army suffered c. 60,000 casualties, many of them members of the 36th (Ulster) Division, and later soldiers of the 16th (Irish) Division were involved. While the involvement of the former continues to be extensively commemorated (especially in the North), Southern nationalist involvement has left a more ambiguous legacy. To explore the latter and related matters History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, Tom Burke (Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association), Lar Joye (National Museum), David Murphy (Maynooth) and Jennifer Wellington (UCD) joined a large audience at the National Library of Ireland on 19 July 2016 at 7pm.Click HERE to hear full recording.

The Belfast Blitz (75th anniversary)

A History Ireland Hedge Achool @ Northern Ireland War Memorial Museum, 21 Talbot Street, Belfast BT1 2LD, Thursday 5 May at 7pm
History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, was joined for a Hedge School on the bombing of Belfast during WW II by Brian Barton (The Blitz: Belfast in the War Years), Ciaran Elizabeth Doran (Curator Northern Ireland War Memorial), Michael Kennedy (RIA’s Documents on Irish Foreign Policy), and Peter Collins (St. Marys College).Click HERE to hear full recording.

Women of the South: Radicals and Revolutionaries

@ English Market, Cork. 6pm Thur 12 May
Tommy Graham, editor of History Ireland chaired a lively discussion with Linda Connolly, John Borgonovo, Mary McAuliffe and Claire McGing addressing a number of themes relating to Irish women’s activism. These included: Suffrage, Cumann na mBan in Munster, The historical importance of socialist feminism in Ireland, The conflict between nationalist feminists and suffrage, The historical significance of Mary McSwiney and other forgotten activists in Cork and Why were women /Irish feminists so profoundly marginalised in the post independence period? ‘Women of the South’: Radicals and Revolutionaries is a collaboration between Farmgate Café and a group of scholars/writers with expertise in Irish women’s history and writing. There are two interacting elements: (1) an exhibition of photographs and political imagery; a historical timeline; and a ‘roll of honour’ listing of all Cork Cumann na mBan members in the café/the English Market; and (2) a series of associated public engagement and cultural events, supported by an interactive website with digitised images, historical material and texts.Click HERE to hear full recording.

Women of the Irish Revolution—Constance Markievicz

@ Lissadell House, Lissadell, Co Sligo. 15 May 2016, 3pm
In the early twentieth century thousands of Irishwomen participated in the Irish nationalist, labour and cultural movements of the day. However, except for a few notable exceptions, much of their work and activities were subsequently forgotten or overlooked in the historical record.

History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, chaired a lively discussion on the contributions of these heretofore forgotten women with particular reference to Countess Markievicz. He was joined by Mary McAuliffe (UCD, Richmond Barracks 1916 ‘We were there’ – 77 women of the Easter Rising), Margaret Ward (Queen’s University Belfast, Unmanageable Revolutionaries’: women and Irish Nationalism), Lauren Arrington (University of Liverpool, W. B. Yeats, The Abbey Theatre, Censorship and the Irish State: adding the half-pence to the pence) and Laura McAtackney (Aarhus University, Gender, incarceration and power relations during the Irish Civil War 1922–23).

This History Ireland Hedge School was part of the 1916-2016 Commemoration Ireland’s Women: revolution and remembrance weekend organised by the Sligo Field Club. 13 – 15 May, Lissadell House, Lissadell, Co Sligo. Click HERE to hear full recording.

Dublin 1916: What was it like?

@ Trinity College, Thomas Davis Theatre, 28 March 2016
Introduced by Tommie Gorman, Northern Editor, RTÉ
Tommy Graham (Editor, History Ireland) with Dr John Gibney (TCD/Glasnevin Trust), Prof. Lucy McDiarmid (Montclair University, New Jersey, former President of the American Conference for Irish Studies), Dr Mary McAuliffe (School of Social Justice/Women’s Studies UCD), and Joseph E.A. Connell Jr (Who’s Who in the Dublin Rising 1916) discussed what Dublin was like at the time of the Easter Rising.Click HERE to hear full recording.

The rise and fall of Nelson’s Pillar

@ National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street Mon 14 March 2016 @ 7pm
Who was Horatio Nelson and why did his naval victory over the French at Trafalgar in 1805 provoke a craze for building monuments throughout Britain and Ireland? The first, a ‘Nelson arch’, was erected at Castletownshend, Co. Cork, within days of the victory, and by 1808 ‘Nelson’s Pillar’ was erected in Dublin’s Sackville (now O’Connell) Street. From the start it was a controversial and polarizing monument and eventually fell foul of a republican bomb in March 1966, shortly before the official commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Discussing Nelson, the Pillar and the atmosphere of 1966 Ireland, were History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, with Donal Fallon, Fergus Whelan, Dennis Kennedy and Carole Holohan.Click HERE to hear full recording.

Glasnevin in 1916; 1916 in Glasnevin

@ Glasnevin Museum, 2pm Sunday 10 April 2016
Over the course of the Easter 1916 Rising in Dublin nearly 500 people were killed, half of them civilians. Most of them were buried in Glasnevin, the city’s largest cemetery. What were the practicalities involved in coping with the extra intake? Who ended up being buried there and how were they subsequently commemorated (or not in some cases)? To discuss these and related questions join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, for a lively round table discussion with Conor Dodd (Glasnevin Trust), Joe Duffy (Children of the Rising: the untold story of the young lives lost during Easter 1916), John Gibney (Glasnevin Trust/TCD), and Liz Gillis (Women of the Irish Revolution).Click HERE to hear full recording.

Women of the Irish Revolution

A History Ireland Hedge School in association with Fingal Libraries, at Ardgillan Castle, Skerries, Co. Dublin on Saturday 5 March
Hedge School master Tommy Graham discussed Women of the Irish Revolution with Mary McAulliffe, Fearghal McGarry, Margaret Ward and Ailbhe Rogers.Click HERE to hear full recording.

Whose Diaspora is it anyway?

16 January 2016 at the Bundoran Cineplex, Donegal
Tommy Graham (editor of History Ireland) chaired a discussion on the Irish diaspora with:
Liam Kennedy Director, Clinton Institute for American Studies, University College Dublin
Micheál Ó hÉanaigh Stiúrthóir Fiontraíochta, Fostaíochta agus Maoine, Údarás na Gaeltachta
Mary Hickman, Professor of Irish Studies and Sociology, St Mary’s University, London
Barbara Franz, Professor of Political Science, Rider University New Jersey USA
Kevin Cullen, Boston Globe Journalist and AuthorClick HERE to hear full recording.

The 1916 Proclamation: then & now

@ Parish Centre, Roundwood, Co. Wicklow. 4pm Saturday 27 February
Hedge School master Tommy Graham discussed The 1916 Proclamation: then & now, with Liam Kennedy, Padraig Yeates, Robert Ballagh and Linda Connolly.
Part of a 1916 seminar run by The Roundwood and District Historical and Folklore Society.Click HERE to hear full recording.

The Somme: what actually happened?

@ Ulster Canal Stores, Clones, Co. Monaghan 7pm Fri 5 Feb 2016
Hedge School master Tommy Graham discussed The Somme: what actually happened?, with Lar Joye (National Museum), Jason Burke (Queen’s, Belfast), and George Knight (Clogher Historical Society).
Hedge School funded by the Commemorations Unit, Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht.Click HERE to hear full recording.

From popular culture in the Great War to the Great War in popular culture

@ National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 7pm Tues 1 Dec.
Maurice Walsh, John Horne, Angus Mitchell and Jennifer Wellington Click HERE to hear full recording.

A strange kind of glory: the Easter Rising in Co. Galway and its context

@ Mechanics Institute, Middle Street, Galway 8pm Tues 17 Nov
Tommy Graham with Conor McNamara, Una Newell, John Cunningham, Jackie Ui Chionna Click HERE to hear full recording

Patrick Pearse: proto-fascist eccentric or visionary?

@ Red Line Book Festival, Civic Theatre, Tallaght 8pm Thur 15 Oct
Joost Augusteijn, Roisin Higgins, John Gibney, Ruth Dudley Edwards
This podcast was recorded at The Red Line Book Festival 2015 at The Civic Theatre, Tallaght by South Dublin Libraries & Arts.’ Click HERE to hear full recording

1916 Outside Dublin

Allingham Festival, Ballyshannon, 7 November 2015
Tommy Graham, with Jonathan Bardon, Marc Geagan, John Gibney and Conor McNamara. Click HERE to hear full recording

Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa: his life and afterlife

@Glasnevin Cemetery Visitor Centre, 7 pm, Thursday, 17 September 2015 Hedge School master Tommy Graham with historians Judith Campbell, Gabriel Doherty, Shane Kenna and Conor McNamara.
(note: owing to a technical hitch, the first few minutes are missing from this recording) Click HERE to hear full recording

History versus archaeology: is it like Neanderthal versus Homo Sapiens?

@ Rathmichael Summer School, National School, Stonebridge Road,Shankill, Co. Dublin, 8pm Fri 21 Aug Franc Myles, Tom Condit, Seán Duffy, Robert Chapple and Tommy Graham in the chair
Listeners please note: only the first half of this is available following an equipment outage, but worth a listen anyway. Click HERE to hear full recording

Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa: his life and after-life

@ National School, Reenacreena, West Cork. 7.30pm Sat 11 July Judith Campbell, Conor McNamara, Shane Kenna. Click HERE to hear full recording

Wellington, Waterloo and Ireland

@ History Festival of Ireland, Borris House, Co. Carlow. 7pm Fri 5 June Patrick Geoghegan, Jane Wellesley, Lar Joye, Hugh Gough. Click HERE to hear full recording

Yeats 150

@ National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 7pm Fri 12 June Roy Foster, Catriona Crowe, P.J. Mathews & with readings by Theo Dorgan. Click HERE to hear full recording

War and peace—the North-west during the Second World War

@ Guild Hall, Derry 3pm Sat 16 May Michael Kennedy, Pauline Mitchell, Joe O’Loughlin, Emmet O’Connor. Click HERE to hear full recording

Ireland in the ’70s

@ Mechanics Institute, Galway, 8pm Fri 24 April Brian Hanley, Eamonn McCann, Tom Inglis, Sarah-Anne Buckley. Click HERE to hear full recording

The road to Gallipoli

@ National Library, Kildare Street. 7pm Tues 14 April. Tommy Graham with John Horne, Lar Joye, Myles Dungan Click HERE to hear full recording

Was the Easter Rising justified?

As part of the RTÉ ‘The Road to the Rising’ Event, Gresham Hotel, 3.30pm Monday 6 April 2015 History Ireland Hedge School —Was the Easter Rising justified? Panellists: Ronan Fanning, Felix Larkin, John Borgonovo, Padraig Yeates with Tommy Graham in the chair. Click HERE to hear full recording

Remembering 1916: the Easter Rising, the Somme and the
politics of memory

@ Ulster Museum, Belfast, 7pm Thur 26 March Roisin Higgins, Guy Beiner, Dominic Bryan, Tom Hartley, Jason Burke.
Click HERE to hear full recording

The Emigrant’s Song: the impact of Irish music on American culture

Atlantic Aparthotel, Bundoran, Co. Donegal Sat 17 Jan @ 3pm From Ulster Presbyterian emigration in the eighteenth century to the Appalachians and the Ozarks—and the subsequent evolution of country and bluegrass—to Irish Catholic emigration in the nineteenth century to Boston, Chicago and New York, waves of Irish emigrants have had a huge effect on the evolution of music in America, including cross-fertilization with blues and jazz (and later provoked, ironically, in the twentieth century, an anti-jazz campaign in Ireland). This in turn had an impact on the advent of rock and roll and its evolution from blues with the subsequent impact on popular culture, including in Ireland. To discuss these and related questions join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham and a panel of experts: Mick Moloney (NYU), Marc Geagan (Northwest Regional College, Derry), Charlie McGettigan (1994 Eurovision winner), Rory Corbett (NUI Galway) and John Dempsey (Texas University).” Click HERE to hear full recording

Hedge School: Policing in Ireland 1814 – 2014

@ National Museum of Ireland-Country Life, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, 16 January, 2015 Tommy Graham with Conor McNamara, Jim Herlihy, Sarah-Anne Buckley and John Cunningham Recent controversies over penalty points and Garda ‘whistle-blowers’ have focused attention on an institution that we all take for granted. Yet Ireland’s first police force, the Peace Preservation Force, is a little over two centuries old. What went before? Why was it established? In what ways did the later Royal Irish Constabulary diverge from other police forces in the United Kingdom? How was it possible, in the midst of a civil war, for the Irish Free State to set up an unarmed ‘civic guard’? Discussing these and related matters were History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, and his panel of experts—Jim Herlihy (Garda Siochána Historical Society), John Cunningham(NUI Galway), Sarah-Anne Buckley (NUI Galway) and Conor McNamara (Notre Dame).Click HERE to hear full recording

The Northwest at war 1914–18

@ Allingham Festival, Ballyshannon, Abbey Arts Centre, Sunday 9 November 2014 Jeff Kildea, Jonathan Barton, Quincey Dougan and Marc Geagan Click HERE to hear full recording

Hedge School, Dublin @ War 1914-18

National Library of Ireland 25 Nov Click HERE to hear full recording

The Northwest at war 1914–18

@ Allingham Festival, Ballyshannon, Abbey Arts Centre, Sunday 9 November 2014 Jeff Kildea, Jonathan Barton, Quincey Dougan and Marc Geagan Click HERE to hear full recording

Protestant republicans & Catholic royalists: legacies of the Glorious Revolution

@ Verbal Arts Centre, Bishop Street Within, Derry Sat 21 June, 7.30pm Sylvie Kleinman, Breandán MacSuibhne, Ian McBride, John Gibney Click HERE to hear full recording

Brian Boru: Imperator Scotorum or local warlord?

@ Wood Bros Café, Féile Brian Boru,Killaloe, Co. Clare, Sat. 5 July, 7pm with Seán Duffy, Pat Wallace and Cathy Swift Click HERE to hear full recording

Carlow History Festival Hedge School

History Festival of Ireland, Huntington Castle, Clonegal, Co. Carlow, Sun 8 June Show bands, beat bands & ballads: youth culture of the ’60s & ’70s Tommy Graham with Carole Holohan, John Ryan (ex-Granny’s Intentions), Niall Toner, Donal Fallon Click HERE to hear full recording

Before Banna: politics, society & sport in Kerry 1912–1916

Roger Casement’s landing and arrest at Banna Strand has assured Kerry a place in the narrative (and song) of the 1916 Rising. The county was equally prominent in the War of Independence and in the Civil War, which was particularly bitter in the county. But what was happening before 1916? Was Kerry always a bastion of republicanism (or of Gaelic football)? What was the level of support for the Irish Parliamentary Party or British Army recruitment? To discuss these and related matters join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in a lively round table discussion with: Richard McElligott (Forging a Kingdom: the GAA in Kerry 1884–1934) John Borgonovo (UCC) Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc (OPW) Tim Horgan (The Men Will Talk To Me: Kerry interviews by Ernie O’Malley) and Tommy Graham Opening address by Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht Click HERE to hear full recording

‘To hell or to Kimmage’: planning outcomes of the 1913 Church Street disaster

National Library, Kildare Street, Tuesday 21 Jan 7pm Panel: Ellen Rowley, Ruth McManus, Mary Daly and Chris Corlett with Tommy Graham Click HERE to hear full recording

Volunteers 1913: two traditions or one?

@ Belfast City Hall, Tues 10 December 6pm Lar Joye, Michael Laffan, Timothy Bowman, Philip Orr

Click HERE to hear full recording

Ballyshannon & the Erne scheme: dammed or damned?

@ Allingham Festival, Ballyshannon, Abbey Centre, Sat 9 Nov 5.30pm Tommy Graham with Brian Drummond, Michael Kennedy, Jonathon Bardon, Pauraic Travers Click HERE to hear full recording

JFK, Ireland and the world

Hedge School at the National Library, 22 October. Speakers: Ryan Tubridy, Robert Schmuhl , Michael Kennedy and Carol Holohan     Click HERE to hear full recording

Dancing by the sea: the rise and fall of the showband scene

recorded on 17 August @Heritage Festival, Kitchen Bake (old Methodist Hall) Tommy Graham in the Chair with Pascal Mooney, Marc Geagan, Gerry Gallagher, Charlie McGettigan Click HERE to hear full recording

JFK in Ireland: style or substance?

@ the Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Co. Laois Sun 1 Sept 2.45pm Michael Kennedy, Donal Fallon, Carole Holohan, Brian Hanley Click HERE to hear full recording

History Ireland Hedge School – Dún Laoghaire

History Ireland Hedge School @ 1913 Centenary Weekend, Assembly Room, Rathdown County Hall, Dún Laoghaire Sat 24 Aug 2.30pm Looking at the Lockout Tommy Graham in the chair with Padraig Yeates, Eamon McCann, Brian Hanley, Ann Matthews Click HERE to hear full recording

History Ireland Hedge School – Famine

History Ireland Hedge School @ the History Festival, Duckett’s Grove, Co. Carlow recorded Sat 15 June The Famine: a series of unfortunate events or genocide? Tommy Graham in the chair with Robert Ballagh, Meredith Meagher, Mike Murphy and Conor McNamara Click HERE to hear full recording

History Ireland’s 20th Anniversary Hedge School

‘Too many histories . . .’? surveys of the past generation Recorded at the Royal College of Physicians, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 (in association with the Irish Association and Dept. of Foreign Affairs) on 16 May 2013. Ireland’s leading historians discussed the major narrative histories of the past generation. Joe Lee (Ireland 1912–1985: Politics and Society, 1990), Éamon Phoenix (Northern Nationalism: Nationalist Politics, Partition and the Catholic Minority in Northern Ireland 1890–1949, 1994), Diarmaid Ferriter (The Transformation of Ireland 1900–2000, 2004), and Mary Cullen (Telling It Our Way: Essays in Gender History, 2013) Click HERE to hear full recording

Strumpet City: was it like that?

‘One City, One Book’,

Recorded at the Gilbert Library, Pearse Street Sat. 27 April, 3.45pm

with Francis Devine, Ann Matthews, D.R. O’Connor Lysaght & Niamh Puirséil

Click HERE to hear full recording

Genealogy: what does it think it is?

The National Library, Kildare Street, Wednesday 6 February 2013. With Brian Donovan (findmypast.ie), Fiona Fitzsmons (Eneclann), John Grenham (Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland) and Michael Merrigan (Genealogical Society of Ireland) To hear the complete event click here

Ulster Covenant 1912: an exercise in democracy or reaction?

The National Library, Kildare Street. Wed. 28 Nov 2012 with Peter Collins (St Mary’s Belfast), Tom Hartley (Sinn Féin), Brian Kennaway (Irish Association) and Philip Orr (New perspectives: politics, religion and conflict in mid-Antrim) Click HERE to listen to this lively discussion Peter Collins (St Mary’s Belfast), Tom Hartley (Sinn Féin), Brian Kennaway (Irish Association) and Philip Orr (New perspectives: politics, religion and conflict in mid-Antrim)

Ballyshannon, the Border and the Board: the past 100 years

Recorded at @ The Allingham Arts Festival, Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. Sat. 10 Nov. With Anthony Begley (Ballyshannon: genealogy and history), Marc McMenamin(journalist) and Joe O’Loughlin (Voices of the Erne Corridor) Click HERE to hear an audio of this Hedge School

The Beautiful Game or the Garrison Game

Recorded at Phizzfest, community arts festival, at Dalymount Park, the Home of Irish Football Donal Fallon (Come Here To Me blog), Brian Trench (Media Officer, Bohemian FC), Tommy Graham (History Ireland), Paul Rouse (sports historian, UCD), and David Toms (Waterford supporter & UCC) address the topic of ‘The Beautiful Game or the Garrison Game?’. This was a very well-attended History Ireland hedge school at Phizzfest, community arts festival, at Dalymount Park, the Home of Irish Football. The event took place in the Jodi Stand’s Block G on Saturday’ afternoon of September 8th 2012. Click here to hear full recording Recorded by Andy Donlan for Bohemian Football Club.

Home Rule: lost opportunity or sell-out?

Recorded at the National Library, Kildare Street With Brian Hanley, Dermot Meleady (Redmond: the Parnellite), Margaret O’Callaghan (QUB) and Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc (UL) Click here to hear the full recording

Remembering the Ulster Covenant

Recorded at the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal with Brian Kennaway (Irish Association), Éamon Phoenix (Stranmillis), Margaret O’Callaghan (QUB) and Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc (Uni. of Limerick). Click here to hear the full recording

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History Ireland at Electric Picnic 2012, No.1

‘Racism and the Irish: perpetrators or victims?’ Click here to hear the full recording

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History Ireland at Electric Picnic 2012, No.2.

‘From the Liberty Boys to the Westies’.

A discussion on gang violence in Ireland historically, held on the Sunday of Electric Picnic 2012. Click here to hear the full recording

From Jacobitism to Jacobinism: a reconsideration,

with Billy Kelly, Éamonn Ó Cíardha, Richard Doherty and Hiram Morgan. 21 July 2012 at the Battle of Aughrim Interpretative Centre, Aughrim, Co. Galway. To listen to a sound recording click on the link below Click here to hear the full recording

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Irish Army deserters and the morality of neutrality.

Venue: National Library of Ireland, Date and time: 7.30pm Wednesday 16 May Brian Girvin (Uni. of Glasgow), Michael Kennedy (RIA, Documents of Irish..

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The War of Independence:‘four glorious years’ or squalid sectarian conflict?

Recorded 11 January 2012 at the National Library

No God and two St Patricks: the national day and the national saint

‘Master’ Tommy Graham conducts a History Ireland Hedge School at the National Library of Ireland on 15 March 2011. With Tommy are Elva Johnston (UCD), Canon Adrian Empey (Church of Ireland Theological College), Mike Cronin (Boston College), Eamon Delaney (Sunday Independent).

The War of Independence in Cavan/Monaghan

Recorded in Cavan Museum, Ballyjamesduff, 19 April with Matthew Lewis and Fearghal McGarry, both of Queen’s University, Belfast; Pádraig Ó Ruairc (Author of ‘Blood on the Banner’) ; and Aogán Ó Fearghall, President of Ulster Council GAA. Click here to hear the full recording

Latest audio upload on Ireland and the American Civil War

Recorded in Waterford Saturday 10 March 2012 withTom Bartlett (University of Aberdeen), Lar Joye (National Museum of Ireland) and Jack Burtchill (local historian). Click here to hear the full recording

Latest audio upload on the War of Independence

Recorded in Clifden 7pm, Friday 16 March 2012 with Mary Harris (UCG), Conor McNamara (Notre Dame), Cormac Ó Comhraí and Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc (UL). Click here to hear the full recording

The Enigma of Frank Ryan

—hear our Hedge School on this film Click here to hear the full recording

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Previous Hedge School recordings
Click on the buttons below to be taken to a recording of a previous hedge school

Section Title

Is Irish History ‘sea-blind’? 

ByNick Maxwell

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Hedge School Recordings,Podcasts,Uncategorized
(Recorded live on Sunday 29 September 2024, @ The Substation, Alexandra Road, Dublin, D01 H4C6) In 1986, the maritime historian, John de Courcey Ireland, wrote: ‘The lives of island peoples like…
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Our man in Moscow

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Features,Issue 5 (September/October 2024),Volume 32
By James Sharkey It was 5 April 1974, my 29th birthday. I had just arrived in Moscow with instructions from the Department of Foreign Affairs to open Ireland’s first ever embassy to the USSR. On the…
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An Ulsterman’s Arnhem:Theirs is the Glory (1946)

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By Lance Pettitt The part that Irishmen have played in British military conflicts down the years is an established theme in contemporary historical writing. Belfast-born Brian Desmond Hurst…
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When Cork’s lord mayor incurred the wrath of Nazi Germany

ByNick Maxwell

August 30, 2024
Features,Issue 5 (September/October 2024),Volume 32
By Pat Poland In the early hours of the morning of 1 September 1939, the German pocket-battleship Schleswig-Holstein quietly entered the mouth of the River Vistula near the city of Danzig (present-day…
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The sovereignty of silence—the Carrigan Report and the rise and fall of professional womanhood in Ireland

ByNick Maxwell

August 30, 2024
Features,Issue 5 (September/October 2024),Volume 32
By Emma Quinn A March 1931 article in the Irish Examiner announced that a ‘solemn decree protesting against “so-called sexual education of youth” had been issued’ by the Vatican. The same year, the…
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Death and retribution

ByNick Maxwell

August 30, 2024
Features,Issue 5 (September/October 2024),Volume 32
By Arthur Matthews Kevin O’Higgins, the Free State minister for justice and vice-president of the Executive, died a violent death on 10 July 1927. On his way to Mass on a sunny Sunday morning, he set…
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‘A fist fight with the feet’—Ireland’s forgotten folk wrestling traditions

ByNick Maxwell

August 30, 2024
Features,Issue 5 (September/October 2024),Volume 32
By Ruadhán MacFadden Wrestling was once a common feature of life and society in Ireland. Throughout the medieval period we see frequent literary references suggesting that it was considered a…
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A murder on the G.A.Thompson? Thomas Francis Meagher and the Montana Territory, 1865–7

ByNick Maxwell

August 29, 2024
Features,Issue 5 (September/October 2024),Volume 32
By Ruairí Nolan On a crisp, cool evening in early July 1867 the steamboat G.A. Thompson chugged its way down the Missouri River, Montana, towards Camp Cooke. As a lone sentry patrolled the upper…
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George Petrie—a ‘type’ of genius

ByNick Maxwell

August 29, 2024
Features,Issue 5 (September/October 2024),Volume 32
By Dermot McGuinne The nineteenth-century Irish polymath George Petrie is perhaps best remembered for his remarkable topographical watercolour paintings, his discoveries in areas of archaeological and…
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