Episode 12. This episode looks at the fascinating story of Dennis Doherty. Born in Derry in 1814, Doherty would spend most of his life in Australian prisons or trying to break out of them. His story is remarkable – he was flogged 3,000 times and spent years in solitary confinement but yet he continually struggled for freedom.
This podcast journeys through the life of Dennis Doherty from a poverty stricken childhood in Ireland in the early 19th century to his time in the British Army and then his horrific life of incarceration in Australia.
In 1870 William Kinsella, a man regarded to be one of the last survivors of the 1798 rebellion died. Kinsella lived most of his life in Castlecomer, a mining town in North Kilkenny.
Although difficult to prove at the time he was most likely the last survivor of the rebellion. His life was extraordinary. He not only survived the brutal repression that followed the rebellion but also a recession in the 1820′s and 30′s that saw 1.5 million emigrate and then the famine.
According to local lore Kinsella came to Castlecomer with rebels from Wexford when they pushed North under the leadership of Myles Byrne and Fr John Murphy. Although they took the Castlecomer in June 1798 they were driven out. However the 23 yr old Kinsella stayed behind during the retreat. 72 years later when he died his past was not forgotten and an elaborate tombstone was erected in Castlecomer cemetery.
The inscription reads on the tombstone reads Those who admired his sterling patriotic qualities
To the memory of William Kinsella
One of the last survivors of those who participated
in the struggle of 98
He died 11 nov 1870
RIP
.
Below the inscription is a carving of a round tower and a wolfhound, a rising sun and a harp.
St Patrick Days is supposedly a celebration of what it means to be Irish. However behind all the celebrations, this idea of Irishness is something that had been contested on many St Patricks days. Below are four letters published in the Irish Times around St Patricks in 1912, 1932, 1972 and 1992. They illustrate that often on St Patricks day the idea of “Irishness” is a heavily contested idea. Indeed they highlight the limited use of the word “irish” in explaining the past because it is constantly changing meaning while often encapsulates diametrically opposing views. Continue Reading »
Wednesday 31st August 1960 is a day Dalkey Literary, Historical & Debating Society probably don’t like to mention much. That evening the society, based in one of Dublins most affluent suburbs, had as their guest speaker none other than former Nazi commando Colonel Otto Skorzeny.
Skorzeny, dubbed by the US General Dwight D Eisenhower as “the most dangerous man in Europe”, gained widespread notoriety after he organised and lead the raid that freed Benito Mussolini from captivity in 1943. This had seen Skorzeny glide into a mountain top hotel where Mussolini was being held. This was then followed up in late 1944 with an audacious kidnapping of the son of Hungarian dictator Miklos Horty. The captive was used to force Horthy to cede power to the Nazi symapthisers The Arrow Cross that year. After the defeat of Germany Skorzeny spent 3 years in prison camps before escaping in 1948.
The Phoenix park is one the largest walled city parks in Europe. Situated on the fringe of Dublin city centre, the park was opened to the public in 1745. Since then it has seen numerous monuments and buildings erected and has seen its fair share of controversy.
Episode 11. Brian Boru is without doubt Ireland’s most well known medieval figure while a battle he fought in 1014, the Battle of Contarf, is Irelands most famous medieval conflict. In this podcast we look at the real story behind Brian and the Battle of Clontarf. How did he become high-king? Was he really the first man to unify Ireland? Why did Vikings from as far away as the Orkney Islands flock to Ireland and assemble on a field in Clontarf, North of Dublin to face down Brian Boru and his allies in 1014? What happened after Brian Boru died?
This podcast also tells the unknown but fascinating story of the wars he waged against the Northern kings between 1002-1011 in his conquest for power in a world of intrigue and betrayal…..
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The 1916 proclamation, the manifesto of the 1916 rebels, states
“The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien government, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.”
These noble aspirations would become almost a bible of Irish Republican ideals but little did the authors know that within six years, Irish people would have a chance to implement them after The War of Independence in 1922. However the society established after the war of independence “The Irish Free State” was a pale shadow of even the most modest interpretation of this document.
Civil liberties were almost non existent, citizens were not equal with women becoming second class while the poor were plunged further in destitution. The history of early Irish Independence is often passed over with a less than critical eye that glorifies state building at any cost. However behind this abstract veneer lies the story of a dark authoritarian regime based on repression, discrimination and censorship. This was enforced by deeply authoritarian attitudes underscored by severe catholic morality which stifled culture and allowed no political debate or opposition of any kind. By 1937 the “The Irish Free State” had created a society that had betrayed the ideals of what many had set out achieve two decades earlier. Continue Reading »
I am currently working on an article about Irish Involvement in the Boer War (1899-1902) and episode 9 of the podcast which will focus on the battle of Clontarf (1014).
My current longterm project at the moment is an audiobook about the Black Death in Ireland focusing on the lives of 5 people from the time.
Fin, for his sins, completed a degree in Greek and Roman Civilisation and Archaeology. After this he took a Masters in Archaeology. Miraculously he still likes history and archaeology, despite the best intentions of the education system. He spent a few years being used by shady developers in what is often called the 'archaeology industry' in Ireland. Now, not surprisingly given his qualifications he is among the 500,000 unemployed in Ireland. He recently was disappointed when the Irish government decided against hiring him as a adviser on the fall of the Roman republic but this music http://www.myspace.com/racketsquad cheers him up no end......
Episode 12. This episode looks at the fascinating story of Dennis Doherty. Born in Derry in 1814, Doherty would spend most of his life in Australian prisons or trying to break out of them. His story is remarkable – he was flogged 3,000 times and spent years in solitary confinement but yet he continually struggled for freedom.
