History Ireland

By History IrelandSociety & Culture History

History Ireland episodes

October 16 Where the murdering cannons roar’ —the American Civil War correspondence of the McMonagle family
(Recorded live on Tues 29 Sept ’26, National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin)
History Ireland editor Tommy Graham, with Sineád McCoole (National Library), Lar Joye (Heritage Director, Dublin Port) and Breandán MacSuibhne (University of Galway), discuss this collection of family letters that document the immense challenges faced by Irish emigrants to the USA during this period, describing separation, isolation, hardship and the horrors of war.
1 hr 4 min
October 16 Clare and America—from the Famine to Parnell
(Recorded live on 7 Oct ’26, De Valera Library, Ennis)
In the 50 years after the Famine, half of those born in Ireland ended up somewhere else, two thirds of them in the USA; more women than men emigrated. What was the experience of those who emigrated from County Clare? Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Kieran Grace (Mary Immaculate College), Kyle Kusch (Kerby A. Miller Collection, University of Galway), Jane Halloran Ryan (Oral History Archive, Mary Immaculate College) and Bernadette Whelan (University of Limerick).
1 hr 22 min
October 09 Captain Bligh—hero or villain?
Captain Bligh—hero or villain?
(Recorded live on Saturday 03 October 2026 at Substation, Distributed Museum, Dublin Port)
Captain William Bligh, whose draconian discipline provoked mutiny on HMS Bounty in 1789, is one of history’s enduring villains. But how fair or accurate is his depiction in numerous books and films? He is also credited with designing the solution to Dublin harbour’s sand bar problem—the Poolbeg and Bull Walls. How accurate is that?
To understand the real Captain Bligh and his significance, join Tommy Graham (editor, History Ireland) in discussion with Rob Goodbody (Dublin’s industrial heritage), Lar Joye (Heritage Director, Dublin Port) and David Murphy (Maynooth University).
1 hr 5 min
September 04 A ‘unique relationship’?—Ireland and the USA 1920–present
A ‘unique relationship’?—Ireland and the USA 1920–present
(Recorded live on Fri 28 Aug ’26 @ the Electric Picnic)
While the UK claims to have a ‘special relationship’ with the USA, we claim a ‘unique relationship’, exemplified by the now-traditional bowl of shamrock presentation in the White House each St Patrick’s Day. But the relationship hasn’t always been cordial: Dev failed to get recognition of the Irish Republic from the US government in 1920; the biggest threat to our neutrality during the Emergency came not from the Nazis or the British but from the USA; and today by far the biggest source of toxic far-right misinformation and disinformation is the USA.
Editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Dan Mulhall (former Irish Ambassador in Washington DC), Bernadette Whelan (UL), and John Gibney and Michael Kennedy (both RIA’s Documents on Irish Foreign Policy series).
52 min
April 17 Irish America in the 1950s
Dublin Festival of Books presents one of a series of presentations on this year's One City One Book—John Banville’s Christine Falls. While most of the action takes place in the gloomy streets of 1950s Dublin, it intersects with a parallel storyline set in Boston. What does that tell us about the post-war Irish-American experience? What were Irish-American perceptions of the ‘old country’—and vice versa? Join Tommy Graham (History Ireland) in discussion with Dan Mulhall (former Irish Ambassador to the US), Bernadette Whelan (University of Limerick) and Michael Kennedy (Documents on Irish Foreign Policy).
One City One Book is an annual Dublin City Council festival, led by Dublin City Libraries and Dublin UNESCO City of Literature, and supported by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.
55 min
November 14, 2025 Ballyshannon—mapping the old town
Ballyshannon may or may not be the ‘oldest town in Ireland’ but it has certainly been the site of human settlement and activity for thousands of years and has been mapped since the late sixteenth century.

Now it is the subject of the latest (No. 32) in the Royal Irish Academy’s Irish Historic Towns Atlas series. Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with its editor, Angela Byrne, and Pauric Travers.
1 hr 1 min
September 05, 2025 Where stands Dev 50 years on?
Recorded live on Saturday 30 August ’25 @ the Electric Picnic

Admired and reviled in equal measure, Éamon de Valera was Ireland’s longest-serving taoiseach and a two-term president.

Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham for a lively round-table discussion to assess his legacy 50 years after his death, with Deirdre Foley (TCD & Women’s History Association of Ireland), Michael Kennedy (Documents on Irish Foreign Policy), David McCullagh (RTÉ & Dev’s biographer) and Martin Mansergh (former Fianna Fáil politician & government adviser).
56 min
September 05, 2025 Making sense of Trump’s America
Recorded live on Friday 29 August ’25 @ the Electric Picnic

History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in conversation with Dan Mulhall, Irish ambassador in Washington during President Trump’s first administration.

What was Trump like? How can his success be explained? Is his legacy now permanently entrenched in the US political system? What are the implications for the wider world—and Ireland?
55 min
August 06, 2025 O’Connell 250—the Liberator reassessed
(Recorded live on Wednesday 30 July ’25 @ Glasnevin Cemetery visitor centre)
Daniel O’Connell was described by his biographer Oliver MacDonagh as ‘perhaps the greatest innovator in modern democratic politics, as well as the originator of almost all the basic strategies of modern Anglo-Irish constitutional relations’. To reassess his legacy 250 years after his birth, join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Patrick Geoghegan, Jennifer T. Keating, Christine Kinealy and Davide Mazzi.

This Hedge School is supported by Trinity College, Dublin, as part of its two-day O’Connell 250 symposium, Liberty, Democracy and the Struggle for Human Rights.
1 hr 21 min
June 13, 2025 Housing in Ireland—a history of dysfunction?
From the tenement collapses of the early twentieth century to the spiralling house prices of the early twenty-first, it seems that housing in Ireland has always been in a state of crisis. What were the intended and unintended consequences of twentieth-century housing policy and how has this led to our current housing crisis? To address these and related questions, join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with housing activist Ashling Hedderman, architectural historian Ellen Rowley and economic historian Conor McCabe.
(Recorded live on Monday 9 June 2025 @ the National College of Art and Design)
58 min