The History of Ireland

By Kevin DolanHistory

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The History of Ireland episodes

October 10 S4EP3 – A Wednesday in 875 Pt.2
Here's the second part of our day in the life of Flann Mac Cathasaig. In this episode he leaves the ringfort and heads out into society. We explore what his life would have been like and how he interacted with those around them. Enjoy!
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16 min
September 21 S4EP2 – A Wednesday in 795
Who was the average person in early medieval Ireland? Nobody wrote about them, so we're going to build one. Meet Flann Mac Cathasaig. In this episode we explore his ringfort, his breakfast, his honour price, and the law tract that controlled his life.
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15 min
September 07 S4EP1 – Ireland Before The Vikings
A new season — and a new invasion. Or is it? Before the Vikings arrive, we step into Ireland around 800 AD: a country of roughly 150 kings, with no towns and no coins, held together by cattle, clientship, powerful monasteries and Brehon law. This is early medieval Ireland on the eve of the Viking Age.

The image used for this episode is one of the earliest maps of Ireland recorded put together in the 2nd century AD, with the image itself coming from a 15th century manuscript.

As always, I'd love to hear what you think of the new episode so do reach out at thehistoryofireland.com
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18 min
August 19 S3 EP23 – The Good People
I'm very excited to share this episode, it is an interview with the author Hannah Kent. Hannah wrote the amazing novel The Good People which is a fictional account of a very real story that took places in the early 19th century. A story very similar to that of Bridget Cleary.
Hannah took a very rigorous approach to her work and so I wanted to chat to her about her research and what she learned.

You can pick up the book and learn more about it here:
https://thebookshop.ie/kent-hannah-the-good-people-hardback/
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24 min
July 30 S3 EP22 – Are You A Witch Or Are You A Fairy?
In this episode, up a week early for History Nerds, we look at how Bridget Cleary's last night on earth, how was killed and the wider implications of her court case.
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14 min
July 18 S3 EP21 – They're Making A Fairy Of Me
In 1895, Bridget Cleary — young, educated, and a little too stylish for County Tipperary's liking — fell ill with a fever. Within days, her husband and neighbours had convinced themselves she'd been taken by the fairies and a changeling left in her place. What followed was a week of forced "cures," a hot poker, and a fire. Drawing on Angela Bourke's The Burning of Bridget Cleary, this episode traces how a community's belief in the good people curdled into horror — and sets up the trial that would follow.
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15 min
June 30 S3 EP20 – How the Tuatha Dé Evolved into Fairies
The old gods of Ireland never really died — they went under the hills, and people learned not to say their name. We follow the Tuatha Dé into folklore, where they become the fairies, the Sídhe, the Good People — and take the first step towards the changeling and the 1895 killing of Bridget Cleary.

The episode cover image is a hawthorn tree, famously associated with fairies in Ireland. (Wikimedia Commons/Robin Somes)

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15 min
December 23, 2025 S3 EP19 - The Children of Lír in the Classroom
In today's episode we finish off the last section of The Fate of the Children of Lír and explore how really it was the Christian Brothers who cemented it in the Irish psyche.

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18 min
December 04, 2025 S3 EP18 — Why The Children of Lír Was The Perfect Story For 19th Century Nationalists
In this episode we look at how the Children of Lír slowly gained popularity over the 19th century and see what happens when you turn someone's children into swans.
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13 min
November 06, 2025 S3 EP17 — The Lie Behind The Children of Lír
In this episode we look at The Fate of the Children of Lír and explore how Ireland's most famous myth is not a myth at all. In fact, it's a Christian parable in a shape of myth. A bit like a child who's been turned into a swan.

The artwork for this episode is THE CHILDREN OF LIR. THE ENCHANTMENT by Jim FitzPatrick.
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16 min