Well, Last week we met the players, now we get to the warm up! If you've ever wondered about 17th Century Piracy, Slavery, Seafaring or Irish History (of course!) This episode is for you!

Join Liam Blake as he takes you on board the Man-o-War and Polacca (listen to the episode to learn about what that is!) only a "musket" shot off the coast. Knowing they could be rumbled with a shout or even a sneeze, follow the Murat Reis and the Corsairs as they scout the opposition before the SACK OF BALTIMORE!

What do you get when you cross a Dutch-born Algerian Pirate with a Protestant Settlement in 1630s Ireland, and mix in disposessed Catholics?

Join Liam Blake as he takes you through the setting and key players in the lead up to one of Ireland's biggest hidden historical moments, on The History and Heritage Podcast!

Hello everyone!

Here is the FINAL episode in my "people you wouldn't think are Irish" series, and the FINAL episode on the life of Henry George "Harry" Ferguson; Founder Pilot, Formula 1 pioneer, and Founder of the great Massey-Ferguson Company!

Hope you Enjoy!

Welcome back to the life of Harry Ferguson! 

Last time we left you "in the lurch" of World War one was just about to start. 

Well, in THIS episode, Henry George Ferguson (his full name) gets brought in by the Irish authorities to a very important role, and ends up in the environment he'd been trying to escape since he was a teenage boy!

It was just as well for history that he did go back, because it led to the invention of "The Ferguson System", which led to his meeting with the biggest name of all time in the Automobile industry!

Not bad for a guy from Up in Down! (sorry I had to!)

Want to know more? Listen to the episode!

If you have anything to do with Agriculture, you'll know the name Massey Ferguson, right? Well he's Irish, or Northern-Irish at least, and this here is a time machine all the way back through his story! hope you enjoy!

How does a boy born in County Kerry become the face of Britain’s wartime recruitment?

In this episode of The History and Heritage Podcast, Liam Blake traces the remarkable journey of Herbert Kitchener, born near Ballylongford in the shadow of the Great Famine. From an Irish childhood shaped by land, empire, and tension, Kitchener rises through the British Army to global fame.

The episode follows his path across imperial battlefields, including the dramatic Battle of Omdurman, before returning to the moment that made him an icon during World War I.

It is the story of a man who began life in The Kingdom of Kerry… and became a symbol of another kingdom entirely.

Join Liam Blake as he takes you through the life of one of Ireland's most interesting of Daughters: Ninette de Valois!

Born Edris Stannus,  in Co. Wicklow, Ireland, she defied all expectations (particularly her father's) to become, in part thanks to her family's cook, the most famous and consequential dancers the world has ever seen

Most people think they know Ernest Shackleton.

An English imperial hero. A figure of polar legend. A product of empire.

But look closer.

Born in Kildare and shaped by the radical Quaker culture of Ballitore, Shackleton carried an Irish instinct for leadership long before the ice closed in around the Endurance. His famous calm under pressure — and his refusal to sacrifice men for glory — did not appear from nowhere.

They were formed.

In this episode of The History & Heritage Podcast, we trace the Irish roots of one of the most famous explorers in history, and ask a simple question:

Was Shackleton ever quite as English as we assume?

Listen now.

Arthur Wellesley is remembered as a British icon.

From his childhood at Dangan Castle in County Meath, through his years in the Irish Parliament, to India, the Peninsula, and finally Waterloo, this episode explores the hidden Irish foundations of the man known as the Duke of Wellington.

Along the way:

Not myth.

Ireland and Poland are usually linked in the modern imagination by EU migration and contemporary politics.

This episode traces the long, forgotten connections between the two countries, from Bronze Age DNA and Baltic trade routes, through medieval Irish monks in Krakow, Irish mercenaries fighting for Polish kings, Polish famine relief in the west of Ireland, Cold War solidarity, and finally the modern Polish community in Ireland today.

Rather than treating Ireland and Poland as separate national stories, this episode argues that they are part of a shared European history — shaped by migration, empire, religion, and resilience.

It’s a history of two small nations on the edge of Europe, repeatedly meeting across time, often without realising it.