Irish History Podcast

Victorian London was a city of immense wealth, but also shocking poverty. The historian Jerry White described it as "a metropolis of wealth, grandeur, culture, and sophistication alongside a hell of starving, degrading, and heart-rending poverty." The largest city in the world at the time, London was also home to tens of thousands of Irish emigrants. While there was a wealthy Irish elite, the vast majority were poor labourers.

While surviving the daily grind of life in the slums of the Victorian city, they also faced suspicion and racism.

In this podcast, historian Breda Corish shares their stories based on her research in the Whitechapel area of the city.

During the Great Hunger of the 1840s, one million Irish perished from starvation and hunger-related diseases. However, Ireland is surrounded by some of the best fishing grounds in Europe. This begs the question: why didn't the Irish turn to the sea to survive?

Some have argued that our ancestors didn't know how to fish or that they didn't like fish. The answer is, unsurprisingly, a little more complicated.

This podcast delves into the complex historical, economic, and social factors that contributed to the tragic paradox of people starving in a sea of plenty.

Life expectancy in Ireland has doubled over the past 200 years, but why was it so low for so long? In this podcast, I delve into the factors that kept life expectancy down in Ireland's history and what those numbers truly mean. Did people really only live to 40 in the past? During the Great Hunger, life expectancy plummeted to just 20 years—what does this reveal about society at the time? Join me as I explore these questions and discuss what I believe to be one of humanity's greatest achievements: the remarkable doubling of life expectancy in recent times.

Support the show at https://patreon.com/irishpodcast

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