The criteria is simple – the top 5 most influential conflicts in European history over the last 2,000 years. Some are battles others are wider campaigns. What do you think? Have I left anything out? 1. The Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312). In 312 the Roman emperors (there were two under the tetrarchy system)… Read more »
Milvian Bridge, Stalingrad, French Revolution, Constantinople, Mongols, Rus
Over the last few years there has been lots of blog posts about old signs preserved on modern buildings. This is a great post about such signs in New Jersey. Since then I’ve been keeping an eye out for them around Dublin. I found a few before I stumbled across this great website with tonnes… Read more »
‘Brian Boru – Life, power and conquest in medieval Ireland’ is set in a world where life was cheap and blood was the price of power. In a scintillating two hour narrative (see preview below) the audiobook tells the story of Brian Boru’s dramatic life. Beginning in 941 with Brian’s birth, this audiobook takes you… Read more »
In September 1315, thieves in north Wales attacked Alexander le Convers and robbed him. As medieval robberies go this was a major heist as the thieves with 1,000 marks (£660) a massive sum of the time. Le Convers and his money was destined for Holyhead and then Ireland to fund increasingly bankrupt Anglo-Norman Colony in… Read more »
Medieval, Conwy, The Black Prince, Holyhead, Thomas Dun, EdwardI, Edward III, Wales
1000 years today, one of the most famous battle in Irish history, the Battle of Clontarf took place. While I have made an audiobook about that battle (available below) I wanted to to mark this momentous anniversary with a podcast. In this show I look at Ireland in 1014 and some of the things about… Read more »
Set in a world where life was cheap and blood was the price of power, this audiobook tells the story of Ireland’s most famous high-king – Brian Boru. In what is a real life Game of Thrones historian Fin Dwyer reveals the gripping story of Brian’s relatively humble origins to his domination of Ireland in… Read more »
Medieval, Brian Boru, Tara, Battle of Clontarf, Sitric Silkbeard, Dal Cais, Clontarf, Vikings, O'Neill, highking, Maelseachnaill
In a show with a title such as this you might expect names such as Oliver Cromwell or Strongbow to feature heavily. While these men are responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in Ireland, the greatest killers in Irish history are not humans but disease. In this show I take a look at… Read more »
Over the coming year I will be releasing the following audiobooks. As the millenium of the Battle of Clontarf approaches I am producing a two hour audiobook on the life of Brian Boru and the Battle of Clontarf in the coming days. Find out more here. My best selling book “Witches, Spies &… Read more »
I am currently working on a podcast about the impact of climate change on medieval Ireland and I came across this miracle recorded in Dublin in July 1461, but unsurprisingly all may not be as it seemed at the time. The miracle On the 19th July 1461, the east window of the Priory of the… Read more »
Yesterday I released this podcast which was a walk through Dublin in the year 1320 A.D. In a follow up post I here I am taking a look around modern Dublin to see what remains of that city we visited in that show. If you haven’t heard it, you will need to listen to the… Read more »
I am currently writing an article on climate change in medieval Ireland and its impact. When I finished this graph the results were pretty stark and a perhaps a little alarming given the current changes in our climate today. Medieval Europe experienced climate change in the late 13th and early 14th century. Scientists generally divide… Read more »
If someone from the 21st century were to travel back to late medieval Dublin they would find a very strange and different city. 14th century Dublin looked very different; the skyline was dominated by Dublin Castle and Christchurch Cathedral, while the houses looked something more like the houses in this photo than modern day apartment… Read more »
These are a few snaps I have take at sunset of various historical locations at sunset. Rather than leave them sitting on my laptop I though they were worthy of a share. Kilkenny Castle, Medieval fortress and 19th century mansion. Winter 2013Chesterfield Avenue, The Phoenix Park, Summer 2013. Although a popular walking spot, few know… Read more »
Kilkenny, Phoenix Park, The Rock of Dunamase, Albi, Carcassonne
I’ve been fascinated by the Spanish Civil War and revolution for years. Aside from the ideological context to the conflict it is one of the great ‘what ifs’ of history. Between 1936 -1939 anarchist, socialist and republicans in Spain supported by thousands of international volunteers tried but ultimately failed to stop a fascist insurrection establishing… Read more »
antifascism, Fascism, granada, Barcelona, CNT, Mujeres Libres, Ronda, Spanish Civil War
The lack of electricity and murder rates that were off the chart are just two ways the medieval world both astounds and fascinates us. We often find it difficult to understand what life was really like in such a world. But what about our society, what will perplex historians of the future? Here’s five things… Read more »
I like street art. There’s been some great stuff around Dublin of late particularly this near the Four Courts. If your not a fan it could be worse – check out this stuff from ‘back in the day’ in 1809. There was also this doodling It’s all on this lovely door. I came across wandering… Read more »
The History of Coffee Part II (1845-2020)The History of Coffee Part I