Archive of Shows

on June 18, 2010 at 11:59 am | Reply John Meehan

Enjoy your site. Thanks for sharing. I started documenting my family history about 5 years ago. You can see the results at http://home.earthlink.net/~mfmeehan/jjm/index.htm.

I’m not blogging about Ireland at http://home.earthlink.net/~mfmeehan/jjm/ireland.htm and learning from you and others.

I’ll add your Site to my Family Site at http://home.earthlink.net/~mfmeehan/jjm/gen.htm.

Please keep me in the loop.

Thanks,

John
on August 13, 2010 at 4:32 pm | Reply Niall Cullen

Hi Fin,
Just a note to thank you for another very interesting and entertaining podcast. My only complaint is to ask you to please please loose the jass music, it is totally out of context with your subject matter and “breaks the spell” as it were. One is walking along listening to you and thinking about life in the ancient past, and suddenly this 1920`s style music comes in and just ruins the mood. A snippit of more appropriate Irish instumental music would be much better.
Best Wishes and keep up the good work
Niall
- on August 13, 2010 at 5:30 pm | Reply fin
  
  I have no major attachment to that music to be honest, practically speaking I am not going to have time to dig out new music for episode four, however I am open to change. Do you have any suggestions? Anyone else have any ideas?
on August 29, 2010 at 7:30 pm | Reply Sean

Hi Fin,
I suggest Clannad or Davy Spillane. Oilean pipes probably work best but some of Clannad’s material such as Newgrange, theme from Harry’s Game could be good. Instrumental stuff from Mike Oldfield who uses Celtic fusion could be worth trying also. Oldfield’s mother is Irish and he was raised a Catholic in England. You can hear this influence in his music.

I find the podcasts very good.

Thanks Fin,
Sean.
on January 2, 2011 at 10:52 pm | Reply Julia

I listened to one of your podcasts today and also felt the music was totally out of context – suggestions above would be a great replacement. Looking forward to the next installment.
on February 28, 2011 at 12:30 am | Reply Henry

Why have any music at all? No matter what you choose, someone will dislike it.
I prefer no music at all.
on March 9, 2011 at 10:38 am | Reply John Main

Fin,
The Music is fine its a nice contrast, just because its Irish History dose not mean you haft to have Irish music.

After all the word Jazz is from the Irish language.

thank again for the shows…John.
on September 15, 2011 at 1:29 am | Reply Irish-American John

Fin – Great show! Thanks so much for doing this work. Eagerly awaiting your next podcast.
- on September 15, 2011 at 6:32 am | Reply Irish History
  
  Thanks John, I am currently working on an short audiobook on the black death in Ireland. It will be available by November for a small fee and will be about 5-7 hrs long.
  - on October 13, 2011 at 8:35 pm knut
    
    please notify us when u have it ready, ill download it as soon as i get home from sea in mid december
    thanks
on November 21, 2011 at 10:07 am | Reply Leon Sharkey

Hi Fin,
I would be very keen to buy that audiobook. Please let us know when it is available.
By the way was listening to the podcast on the Vikings, very good. Do you think that there is any connection between Charlemagne’s wars against the Pagans and the attacks on Christian holy places?

Leon
- on December 4, 2011 at 8:09 pm | Reply Irish History
  
  Hey Leon, just saw these comments now, I dont know how they slipped through. I intend writing something about the origins of Viking raids. I think the short answer as to why the attacks happened is that there is not one convincing answer or even group of answers forwarded by historians. That said I think you can exlude some answers as unlikely and I think the Charlemagne Wars against the Barbarians is one. Charlmagne’s most notorious campaigns against the pagans in the East took place in the 780′s when he famously executed thousands in one day. Ten years later in a different part of Europe most lightly southern Scandavia (as opposed to Northern Scandanavia) different people who happened to be pagan became known to the world as Vikings after raids began in the 793. To draw a link is unsound because i think as it assumes that a certain degree of centalisation and collective identity in what as a very decentralised belief system – Germanic paganism. There was no Rome, no centre or even figurehead who could direct or organise the attacks, the collective Identity of pagans was very limited I imagine. The fact that the early raids themselves were small and relatively decentralised I think supports this idea.
on November 28, 2011 at 12:36 am | Reply Mike Ashenfelder

Fin,

Thank you so much for your excellent podcast. Your episodes are so information-rich that I have listened to all of them several times. The viking history is my favorite so far and I’m grateful that you spread it over a few episodes. I think of the vikings differently now because of your lessons.

I wish you the best and hope you can continue for many years to come. I’d also like to learn more about ancient Irish history, pre-dating your Barbarians podcast. Do you have any book recommendations?

Regards,

Mike
- on December 4, 2011 at 7:55 pm | Reply Irish History
  
  Hey Mike Im glad you like the show. the best historical work is Donnchad O Corrain’s work “Ireland before the Normans”. Although 40 years old I think its still stands out. Early Irish history is something that I would be careful about – the line between myth and fact start to blur before the 800 in my experience.
on January 18, 2012 at 7:57 pm | Reply Frank Hesseler

Hello Fin,
just found your podcast here in Germany by accident in iTunes. GRAND !!! I´m looking forward to hear more about your view of irish history, especially because we will have family holidays in Ireland this year and my four kids are interested in everything around castles, churches, battles…….
I have a deep relation to Ireland, traveling to the green island since 1995 on a regular base, because I´m director in an irish company in Ennis, County Clare. Anybody interested may have a look at http://www.speed-electronics.ie
I will talk to my irish lads for a support to your show. Go on with your fabulous and dramatic style of hiSTORY. Regards from good old Germany, Frank
on January 19, 2012 at 6:41 am | Reply Paul Smith

Hey Fin, I have followed the story from the Barbarians to the moment when Brian is about to strike the definitive blow… and the story stops! Please! Please! Keep it going! More! More! I hope that’s enough exclamation marks to convince you. Go jollily, Paul
- on January 19, 2012 at 4:05 pm | Reply Irish History
  
  Hey Paul I am working on a podcast right now – they take a long while to research and produce – I try and avoid regurgatating other histories and look as much at primary sources as possible and this is time consuming. I have no intention of stopping making podcast but they take a while to make!
on January 19, 2012 at 8:57 pm | Reply Paul Smith

That’s great news Fin. Thank you. What a great story teller you are. I look forward to the continuing story in duke horse.
Paul
on February 15, 2012 at 2:22 pm | Reply Sylvia

Hello Fin! I came upon your site after looking a few things up on Ireland. I just found out that I am Irish. I was adopted and I was back tracking my family, I am a strong believer that you need to know where you come from to be who you are today. I proud to be Irish and I can’t wait to take some of the Traditions and Culture and bring them into my family. Me and My children listen to your podcast on the History!
on April 9, 2012 at 5:53 pm | Reply Ollie

Hi Finn, love the podcasts, what a great way to learn. Just a quick question if you dont mind, listening to the shows I’m curious as to how people from different civilizations communicated back then, podcast 1 tells of Palladius coming to Ireland to try convert the Irish to christianity, how would he have communicated with the natives? Likewise with the vikings travelling as far away as Baghdad for trade purposes. Also did the languages spoken back then resemble those spoken today?

Thanks Finn and keep up the good work.
on April 10, 2012 at 8:39 pm | Reply Michael Costigan

Finn, great work on this! Any chance you’ll be broadcasting more podcasts regarding the kingdom of Ossory? Thanks!