{"podcast":{"title":"Irish History Podcast","slug":"irish-history-podcast-778168","podcast_index_feed_id":778168,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/9190bee0-95f3-400b-842d-3232974654ec","website_url":"https://www.irishhistorypodcast.ie/shop","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/619566332eacc3a360702518/show-cover.png","author":"Fin Dwyer","episode_count":481,"summary":"From the Norman Invasion to the War of Independence, the Great Famine to the Troubles, the Irish History Podcast takes you on a journey through the most fascinating stories in Ireland's past. Whether it’s the siege of Dublin in 1171 or gun battles in the 1920s, the podcast vividly recreates a sense of time and place. Each episode is meticulously researched, creating character-driven narratives that are engaging and accessible for all. Since the first episode was released back in 2010, the podcast has covered scores of captivating stories. Major multi-part series have explored the Great Famine, the Norman Invasion, and Irish involvement in the Spanish Civil War. If you are looking for standalone episodes, there are lots of great interviews with leading Irish historians covering topics from medieval sex magic to Irish connections in the Jack the Ripper murders! Why not start with 'Three Days in July', an acclaimed mini-series from the summer of 2024. It explores the early years of the Troubles and the forgotten story of a young Londoner who was shot dead by the British Army in Belfast in 1970. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-24T02:24:15.633780+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/irish-history-podcast-778168"},"episode":{"title":"Living on the Wrong Side of History: My Family Secrets","slug":"living-on-the-wrong-side-of-history-my-family-secrets","published_at":"2026-07-08T03:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/irish-history-podcast-778168/living-on-the-wrong-side-of-history-my-family-secrets","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/irish-history-podcast-778168","url":"https://shows.acast.com/irishhistory/episodes/living-on-the-wrong-side-of-history-my-family-secrets","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/irishhistory/e/6a4d0bd2cdf37de035d738d0/media.mp3","summary":"Family history is often where the heroic version of the past falls apart. We like to imagine our ancestors standing on the right side of history. Someone in the GPO in 1916 or in the IRA in 1920. We like to think they made brave choice when it mattered. But most people were not heroes, revolutionaries or figures from the history books. They were ordinary people trying to survive events they could not control. That is what makes family secrets so revealing. They show us how people actually lived through history, without knowing how things would turn out. They hedged their bets, backed the side they thought would win, followed the crowd, made compromises and sometimes buried the truth when it all looked very different in hindsight. In this episode, I look at the murkier side of family history through my own ancestors. Across five generations, the stories include a shotgun marriage, someone being sent to prison during the Great Famine for stealing food, support for the local landlord and opposition to Irish independence, followed by a very convenient change of heart when independence became unavoidable. These are not exactly stories that have aged well, but they are probably far more common than we like to admit. From the Great Famine to the Irish Revolution and beyond, this episode is about the awkward, uncomfortable and often hidden ways ordinary people lived through extraordinary times. Sound: Kate Dunlea Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Family history is often where the heroic version of the past falls apart. We like to imagine our ancestors standing on the right side of history. Someone…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2306,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/irish-history-podcast-778168/episodes/living-on-the-wrong-side-of-history-my-family-secrets/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/irish-history-podcast-778168/living-on-the-wrong-side-of-history-my-family-secrets.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}