Dr Victoria McAlister from Towson University, Maryland, on everything you ever wanted to know about castles! Featuring all the big hits, Maynooth Castle, Bunratty, Blarney, Trim, the Rock of Dunamase, Clonard castle, Ferrycarrig, Carrickfergus, Irish castles, Anglo-Norman castles, Tower houses, colonialism, we cover it all. Dr McAlister busts some myths and explains how new advances in technology can assist the archaeologist and historian in their understanding of settlement around castles and the importance of considering the things we cannot see.

Suggested reading:

-Victoria McAlister, The Irish Tower House: Society, Economy and Environment c. 1300-1650 (Manchester University Press, hardback 2019, paperback 2021)

-https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/great-castles-of-europe

-Tom McNeill, Castles in Ireland: feudal power in a Gaelic world (Routledge, 1997)

-Tadhg O'Keeffe, Ireland Encastellated, AD 950–1550; Insular castle-building in its European context (Four Courts Press, 2021)

Regular episodes every two weeks (on a Friday)

Email: [email protected]

X (formerly Twitter): @EarlyIrishPod

Supported by the Dept of Early Irish, Dept of Music, Dept of History, Maynooth University, & Taighde Éireann (formerly Science Foundation Ireland/Irish Research Council).

Views expressed are the speakers' own.

Production: Tiago de Oliveira Veloso Silva.

Logo design: Matheus de Paula Costa

Music: Lexin_Music