Irish History Podcast

In the final episode of this series we follow the 1798 rebellion into its most dramatic and desperate days. As fear grips Dublin and battles erupt across Wexford and Ulster the future of Ireland hangs in the balance. The story details the major clash on the Avoca River at Arklow and then finally brings us to the slopes of Vinegar Hill where the fate of the rising is decided. This episode also sees the exiled rebel leader Wolfe Tone return as a French invasion force finally arrives altering events in unexpected ways.

This all sets the stage for one of the darkest summers in Irish history as the island is subjected to a reign of terror that echoes the violence that swept through Paris in the bloodiest days of the French Revolution.

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The Battle of New Ross was one of the bloodiest clashes of the 1798 Rebellion and within hours it was followed by the horrific Scullabogue Massacre. Together these events created a day long remembered for fire, terror and unimaginable suffering. In this episode we follow the rebels to New Ross, a strategically crucial town where the fighting would shape the course of the revolt. In the aftermath of the battle we examine the notorious Scullabogue massacre. This battle and the killings that followed would cast a shadow far beyond the 1798 rebellion and this episode reveals the complicated and uncomfortable truth behind them.

As we continue the story of the 1798 rebellion we also travel to Belfast to explore how the revolt unfolded in the heartland of the revolutionary movement.

A map showing the key locations is available here https://www.patreon.com/posts/143849510 (this is not paywalled)

Check out this comprehensive list of texts and sources used in the series here https://www.patreon.com/posts/138580354 (this is not paywalled)

Sound is by Kate Dunlea. Additional research is by Stewart Reddin with additional narrations from Aidan Crowe and Therese Murray.

In March 1844, the quiet community of Culdaff in north Donegal was rocked by the brutal murder of fourteen-year-old servant Mary Doherty. As the Great Hunger loomed on the horizon, Mary’s tragic death was soon overshadowed by famine and emigration, her story fading into fragments of local folklore. However, in recent years, historian Angela Byrne has brought renewed attention to Mary’s forgotten life and this dark chapter in our history.

In this episode, Angela Byrne joins Fin Dwyer to discuss the history behind Mary’s murder, as detailed in her new book Finding Mary. Angela vividly reconstructs the community Mary grew up in, the background to her murder, and the reasons she was killed. The episode also explores the world of rural Donegal on the eve of the tragedy and asks why Mary Doherty’s story remained untold for generations.