Revolutionary Ireland

In this episode Lorcan Collins is joined by Blanketmen Séanna Walsh and Laurence McKeown. From 1978 the Blanket Protest escalated into the refusal to slop out and the No Wash protest. Lorcan Collins examines the reasons behind this escalation which led to Republican prisoners smearing excrement on their cell walls leading to international attention focusing on the Blanket Protest. This episode covers the years 1978 to 1980 just before the Hunger Strikes began.

In 1976 Ciaran Nugent became the first man to refuse to wear the prison uniform when Political Status was removed from Republican and Loyalist prisoners. Ciaran and hundreds of prisoners who came after him wore nothing but the prison blanket. Lorcan Collins examines the history of the five year battle for POW Status for IRA and INLA prisoners in Long Kesh Prison. Special guests are Blanketmen Chopper McCotter and Laurence McKeown who endured a 70 day hunger strike in 1981. This is part one which deals with the period 1976 to 1978 when the No Wash Protest began.

In this episode Lorcan Collins is joined by Mícheál Ó Doibhilín, Liz Gillis and Las Fallon, the organisers of the Burning of the Custom House Centenary Conference. The Custom House in Dublin was set on fire on 25 May 1921 and contributed to the declaration of a Truce between the British forces in Ireland and the IRA. Discover who planned the operation and how the Dublin Fire Brigade helped to fan the flames rather than douse them!

Join Lorcan Collins in the second part of the life of Patrick Henry Pearse from 1908 with the foundation of his schools St. Enda's to his execution in 1916. Guests in this episode are the biographer of Patrick Pearse Dr Ruan O'Donnell and the historian and curator of the Pearse Museum Brian Crowley.

Join Lorcan Collins as he discusses the life of Patrick Pearse, the poet, teacher, language enthusiast, revolutionary and signatory of the 1916 Proclamation who was executed for his role in the Easter Rising. Guest appearance by the biographer of Willy Pearse and Irish language expert Dr Roisín Ní Ghairbhí.

Join Lorcan Collins for a discussion on the Battle of Clonmult in February 1921 when the East Cork Flying Column of the IRA were surrounded in a farmhouse. A fierce fight ensued in which five IRA Volunteers were killed. After the IRA surrendered seven of the prisoners were murdered at point blank range. Later two of the prisoners were officially executed. A total of 14 IRA Volunteers lost their lives as a result of this one battle during the Tan War.

Join Lorcan Collins for part two of the story of the United Irishmen Rebellion of 1798. An analysis of the momentous year when the United Irishmen rose up against the oppressive system which kept Catholics and Presbyterians as third class citizens. The fighting was intense in Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow, Kildare, Antrim, Down and Dublin. Collins explains how Wolfe Tone brought the French again to Ireland only to be captured himself and sentenced to death.

Join Lorcan Collins as he discusses the background to the Rebellion of the United Irishmen of 1798. A host of Irish revolutionaries and international figures are introduced in this, part one of two shows, where you will hear about Theobald Wolfe Tone, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Samuel Nielson, William Drennan, Thomas Russell, James Napper Tandy, William Orr, Cornwallis, Napoleon Bonaparte, Gereral Hoche, Betsy Gray, Henry Joy McCracken, George Washington, King George the Third, and many more besides! Hear how the French Revolution of 1789 and the Declaration of American Independence encouraged the United Irishmen to rise up. Hear how the French sent ships and troops to aid the Irish revolutionaries.

The Ambush of Kilmichael is the subject of this podcast episode. Lorcan Collins is joined by Joe Connell. Music at the end by Pol MacAdaim.

Join Lorcan Collins for a discussion on the events of Bloody Sunday the 21 of November 1920 when Michael Collins and the IRA killed 15 British spies, agents and informers. In retaliation British forces charged in Croke Park football stadium and killed 14 civilians. Later that day the British tortured and murdered Dick McKee and Peadar Clancy and Conor Clune in Dublin Castle. The events of this incredible day are examined and explained in a concise fashion.