Irish History Podcast

In 1719, the 17-year-old Polish Princess Maria Clementina Sobieska was seized by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. While the move shocked many in Europe, in the following months a group of Irish exiles plotted a daring rescue of Maria Clementina. This led to a dramatic 400-kilometer chase across 18th-century Europe.

In this episode, I am joined by historian Richard Maher, an expert in the area, who explains why Irish exiles, known as the Wild Geese, risked their lives to rescue this Polish princess and how they hoped she might change the course of Irish history.

You can follow Richard on Linkedin at https://ie.linkedin.com/in/richard-maher-a5ab8068

Subscribe to my new podcast with historian Damian Shiels. Its called Transatlantic - An Irish American History Podcast. You can hear the latest episode here https://linktr.ee/transatlanticpod

In this episode, I explore the ruins of a Temple and the intriguing concept of societal collapse and its relevance to Irish history. Often depicted as dramatic and apocalyptic, societal collapse is a topic that has captured the imagination of historians and the public alike. But how accurate is this narrative especially when applied to Ireland's past? Join me as I explore if events like the Great Hunger can be considered a societal collapse!

Check out my new podcast 'Transatlantic: An Irish American History Podcast' with Damian Shiels https://linktr.ee/transatlanticpod

Check out my new podcast 'Transatlantic: An Irish American History Podcast' with Damian Shiels https://linktr.ee/transatlanticpod

In this captivating episode, I explore the enigmatic world of prehistoric Ireland. I am joined by Professor Gabriel Cooney to discuss the lives of Ireland's earliest inhabitants. Our conversation challenges the stereotypes that often cloud our understanding of this distant past. We discuss what megalithic tombs can reveal about the societies that built them and what the latest DNA analysis has uncovered about life in prehistory.

Spanning an incredible 8,000 years, this episode sheds light on the sophisticated societies that thrived long before the advent of written records. Drawing insights from Professor Cooney's acclaimed book, "Death in Irish Prehistory," this conversation offers a fresh perspective on what is often an overlooked aspect of our history.

Gabriel's book Death in Irish Prehistory is available here https://shop.ria.ie/products/death-in-irish-prehistory https://shop.ria.ie/products/death-in-irish-prehistory

By the late 1950s, over 20,000 individuals in the Republic of Ireland were confined in asylums—a staggering figure equivalent to 1 in every 133 Irish people at the time. This episode delves into how such a situation arose. Were Irish people inherently more susceptible to mental health issues, or was there something else at play?

Centered around a single incident—a murder in Kilkenny in 1890—this episode uncovers how the Great Famine, emigration, and Victorian attitudes toward mental health created a society where anyone deemed to be suffering from mental ill-health was institutionalized.

Originally released as Chapter 8 of my Irish Times bestseller, "A Lethal Legacy: A History of Ireland in 18 Murders," this episode marks the release of the book's paperback edition. I'm thrilled to share the audio of one of my favorite chapters with you. While it focuses on a murder, it offers profound insights into past and present attitudes toward mental health in Ireland.

In 1900, the life expectancy in Dublin was a mere 49 years, a stark indicator of the city's dire living conditions. The Victorian city was notorious for its filth and disease, which proved an ideal breeding ground for Typhoid. This episode explores how Dublin battled with this deadly disease for decades.

This journey takes you through the Victorian sewage system and explains why Dublin's shellfish was lethal.

Based on an interview with Dr. Carly Collier, we uncover the reasons why Typhoid was rampant in Dublin. She details the appalling living conditions of the time, where overcrowding and contaminated food created a minefield of dangers and risks. We also discuss how Typhoid was eventually eradicated. This aspect of the episode begins with 19th-century medical treatments such as bloodletting and progresses to the development of effective vaccines and antibiotics in the 20th century.

To finish what is a fascinating show, we also discuss Ireland's most famous Typhoid patient - Mary Mallon, AKA Typhoid Mary.

Carly is one of the team behind the Typhoidland exhibition running in the Royal College of Physicians on Kildare Street.