On this episode of Talking History: the history of Ireland's non-political executions, as we bring you the story of Annie Walsh, the only woman executed in independent Ireland.

In this episode of Talking History:

The early days of the Oscars, with Cara O'Doherty, film critic and arts reporter

In search of Ireland's national poet in the 19th century, with author Bridget Hourican

And medieval monasticism, with author Edel Bhreathnach.

We're marking the 40th anniversary of the legalisation of the sale of contraceptives in Ireland in this episode of Talking History.

Our panel features: Dr Jennifer Redmond, Associate Professor in 20th Century Irish History, Maynooth University; Dr Mary McAuliffe, historian and Director of Gender Studies at UCD, specialising in Irish women's/gender history; Prof Caitriona Beaumont, Professor of Social History at London South Bank University, and Visiting Full Professor at the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice/Gender Studies at UCD; and Prof Lindsey Earner-Byrne, Professor of Contemporary Irish History, Trinity College Dublin.

On the 300th anniversary of his death, we'll explore the life and legacy of the man who made Russia - Peter The Great - and how he got that title.

Our panellists are Professor Judith Devlin, Emeritus Professor at the School of History at UCD, and Victoria Frede-Montemayor, Associate Professor at the Department of History at the University of California Berkeley.

It's one of the greatest murder mysteries in British history - the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower - and we'll debate whether they were killed by their uncle Richard III or indeed survived, with our guests Philippa Langley (behind the documentary 'The Princes In The Tower: The New Evidence') and Prof Tim Thornton (behind the documentary 'Princes in the Tower: A Damning Discovery’).

In this episode: the unhappy early life and dangerous ambition of Eamon De Valera, with Colum Kenny; power and change in Rural Ireland, with editor Tomás Finn; and The Language Puzzle: How We Talked Our Way Out of the Stone Age, with Steven Mithen.

On the 60th anniversary of his death, we're debating whether Winston Churchill was an inspirational hero who led Britain through its darkest hours, or a deeply flawed man whose imperialist views and mistakes left a legacy of suffering.

Joining Patrick is Allen Packwood, Director of Churchill Archives Centre at Churchill College, Cambridge; Prof Richard Toye, Director of Global Excellence at the University of Exeter; and David Reynolds, author of Mirrors of Greatness: Churchill and the Leaders Who Shaped Him.

We mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of visionary artist JMW Turner. We debate his life and legacy and how he transformed the way we view art and nature. Joining Patrick is Charlotte Topsfield, Prints & Drawings Curator, National Galleries of Scotland; Anne Hodge, Curator of Prints & Drawings, National Gallery of Ireland; and Niamh McGuinne, Paper Conservator, National Gallery of Ireland.

Dr Mark Duffett, Associate Professor in the Division of Communication, Screen & Performance at the University of Chester, and editor of the upcoming book ‘Rethinking Elvis’; Prof Michael T. Bertrand, Professor of History at Tennessee State University, and author of ‘Race, Rock and Elvis’; and Prof Jack Hamilton, Associate Professor of Media Studies and American Studies at the University of Virginia, and the author of ‘Just around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination’, join Patrick Geoghegan to discuss Elvis Presley's life and career in music.

We're looking at the life, legacy and music of the composer Gustav Mahler and how he tried to capture the breadth of human experience in his works.