The History Show
The History Show brings the past to life, exploring how Ireland and the world were shaped. Host Myles Dungan and guests delve into events from medieval times to the recent past. The podcast airs live on Sundays at 6pm on RTÉ Radio 1.
Episodes
The United States at 250
As the United States prepares to mark its 250th anniversary, Myles Dungan and guests explore the people, the principles, and the institutions that shaped the American Republic. With Daniel Carey, Brian Phillips Murphy, Paul McElhinney and Stewart McLaurin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Glasnevin Cemetery
Myles Dungan takes a tour of Ireland's National Cemetery at Glasnevin. With guests Ultan Moran, Brian Casey and Georgina Laragy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 24th May 2026
Conflict and coexistence in County Donegal; The life and career of Harry Ferguson; and The Giotto Mission to Halley’s Comet.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Conflict and Coexistence in County Donegal
Marc McMenamin reports. He talks to historian Edward Burke about a violent incident in south Donegal in 1920, and its connection to the family history of a major political figure. Local historian Robert Love joins Myles to talk about Donegal’s minority community and cross-community relations in the county.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Harry Ferguson
Colm Flynn speaks to John Barron, author of the new book ‘Harry Ferguson: From Birth To The Black Tractor’, about Ferguson’s life and career.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Giotto Mission to Halley’s Comet
40 years after the Giotto mission reached Halley’s Comet, astrophysicist Professor Susan McKenna-Lawlor recalls Ireland’s role in one of the great space missions of the 20th century. Report by Ian Kenneally and Flor MacCarthy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
75th Anniversary of The Goon Show
Myles Dungan revisits his 1988 interview with Spike Milligan, about his work on the influential BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Fianna Fáil Centenary
Myles and guests discuss Fianna Fáil's origins, and open up two recently published books on Seán Lemass and Charles Haughey. With Donnacha Ó Beacháin, Ronan McGreevy and Eoin O'Malley.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 10th May 2026
Fianna Fáil History; and Spike Milligan’s influential radio comedy series The Goon Show.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 3rd May 2026
Exploring the 1926 census; and broadcaster Iain Dale on political leadership.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Exploring the 1926 Census
Myles is joined by four historians who have been going through the 1926 census returns. With Liz Gillis, Mary McAuliffe, Cormac Moore and Marc McMenamin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Iain Dale on Political Leadership
Iain Dale speaks about leaders across different systems of government, as explored in the publications he's edited - most recently 'The Taoiseach: A Century of Political Leadership'.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 26th April 2026
Julie Parsons on her family memoir 'People Like Us'; The first Irish-language newspaper; and Irish Conflict in ComicsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Irish Conflict in Comics
James Bacon joins Myles to discuss how Irish conflicts were portrayed in comic books in the 20th century.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The First Irish-Language Newspaper
Deirdre Ní Chonghaile joins Myles to discuss An Gaodhal, the Irish-language newspaper first published in New York in 1881, now available online from The University of Galway.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Julie Parsons on her family memoir 'People Like Us'
Myles is joined by writer Julie Parsons, whose new book 'People Like Us' tells the story of her extended family.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 19th April 2026
The Catalpa Rescue; and When Fitness Went Global.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When Fitness Went Global
Conor Heffernan joins Myles to discuss the rise of physical culture in the 19th century.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Catalpa Rescue
The story of the 1876 rescue of six Fenian prisoners from Fremantle Prison in Western Australia. With Brenda Malone and Frank MacGabhann.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
100 Years of Irish Radio
Myles Dungan and guests explore how Irish radio began; how pirate stations thrived in the 1970s and 1980s; and the story of Irish language broadcasting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The 1926 Census of Ireland
Myles Dungan and guests preview the upcoming release of the 1926 Irish census from the National Archives. With Orlaith McBride, Ida Milne, Gregory Walls, Patrick O'Donovan, Zoe Reid and John Gibney.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 15th March 2026
The history and culture of the Irish pub; and the origins of the Academy Awards.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Irish Pub
To discuss the social and cultural history of the pub, Myles talks to Donal Fallon, author of 'The Dublin Pub'; and Perry Share and MoonYoung Hong, editors of 'The Irish Pub'.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Academy Awards
A short history of the Oscars, with Harvey O'Brien of UCD.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 28th December 2025
The Irish revolution in County Meath; The Donegal woman who helped launch the computer age; and Roger Casement is honoured in San Francisco.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Meath: The Irish Revolution, 1912-23
Ciaran Wallace joins Myles to talk about events in Meath during the revolutionary period.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Robert Casement honoured in San Francisco
Yvonne Judge reports from San Francisco, where Roger Casement was honoured with a plaque on the city's Rainbow Honour Walk.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kay McNulty: Irish pioneer of computer programming
Marc McMenamin reports, he talks to Turlough O'Riordan and Jane Grimson about the life of Irish-born tech pioneer Kay McNulty.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 21st December 2025
David McCullagh on how the Anglo-Irish Treaty was undone; and Terry Prone on the art of communication in public life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
From Crown To Harp: How The Anglo-Irish Treaty Was Undone 1920-49
David McCullagh on how Ireland quietly dismantled the Anglo-Irish Treaty - a peaceful revolution that transformed the Irish Free State into the Republic of Ireland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Terry Prone on her career in political communication
Terry Prone joins Myles to discuss her recently published memoir "I'm Glad You Asked Me That: The Political Years"See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 2nd November 2025
Irish-Americans in the Union military; and the collapse of the Boundary Commission a century agoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Boundary Commission
Marc McMenamin investigates who owns Lough Foyle; then Cormac Moore and Samuel Beckton join Myles to discuss the collapse of the Boundary Commission.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Green and Blue: Irish Americans in the Union Military, 1861-1865
Damian Shiels joins Myles to discuss the Irishmen who fought for the Union in the American Civil War; and whose stories are revealed in forgotten U.S. pension files.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 26th October 2025
The Igoe Gang’s pursuit of Michael Collins; The Gaynor sisters’ legacy of compassion and care in 19th-century Ireland; and the mysterious case of the Victorian female detectiveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective
At the West Cork History Festival, Myles speaks to Professor Sara Lodge about the real and imagined women who pioneered the detective story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Igoe Gang: The Secret War In Dublin 1920-21
Ultan Courtney joins Myles to discuss the shadowy police unit that hunted Michael Collins and his men during the Irish War of Independence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Compassion and Care in 19th-Century Dublin
Ian Kenneally reports on the lives of sisters Sarah Atkinson and Anna Gaynor ('Sister Mary John), and their work helping the most vulnerable in Victorian Dublin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Ordnance Survey in Ireland
Myles Dungan and guests explore the origins and legacy of the Ordnance Survey in Ireland. Featuring Finnian O’Cionnaith, Aengus Ó Fionnagáin, Paddy Prendergast and Catherine Porter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 12th October 2025
The Jews who tried to escape to Northern Ireland on the eve of World War Two; and a forgotten history of the occult.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age: A Forgotten History of the Occult
Raphael Cormack joins Myles to discuss the mystics, miracle-workers, and spiritual showmen of the interwar years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Northern Ireland, Vienna and the Holocaust
Noel Russell joins Myles to discuss his book 'The Saved and the Spurned', which tells the story of Jews in Vienna who tried to escape to Northern Ireland just before WW2.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 5th October 2025
The untold story of a brutal murder in Donegal; and Pirates, power, and the seas around Medieval Ireland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pirates, Power, and the Seas Around Medieval Ireland
Dr Simon Egan of Queen’s University Belfast explores how piracy, foreign fleets, and climate change transformed Ireland’s coasts in the 14th and 15th centuries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Finding Mary: The untold story of an Inishowen murder, 1844
Historian Dr Angela Byrne joins Myles with the untold story of a brutal murder in Donegal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 28th September 2025
Great Irish Wives; The Irish Priest Who Unearthed Rome's Past; and Irish links to professional American footballSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Joseph Mullooly: The Irish Priest Who Unearthed Rome's Past
Colm Flynn reports, he talks to Father Paul Lawlor at the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Great Irish Wives
Myles is joined by Nicola Pierce, author of the new book 'Great Irish Wives: Remarkable Lives from History'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ireland and the NFL
Ian Kenneally joins Myles to discuss some of the Irish and Irish-American figures who helped shape professional American football.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 21st September 2025
The Irish Civil War as a case study in counterinsurgency; Woodrow Wilson's Sheep; and the markets and lost industries of Dublins Northside.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How the Free State Won The Irish Civil War
Myles is joined by Dr Gareth Prendergast, whose new book examines The Irish Civil War as a case study in counterinsurgency.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dublin Festival of History
Myles is joined by Mary Muldowney, Dublin City Council Historian in Residence, who’ll be giving a number of talks as part of the upcoming festival.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Woodrow Wilson's Sheep
Colm Flynn reports from Washington DC, he talks to Stewart McLaurin about a flock of visitors to The White House in 1918.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Imirce Collection of Irish Emigrant Letters
Myles Dungan and guests discuss the Irish emigrant letters in the Imirce Collection at the University of Galway. With Breandán Mac Suibhne, Daniel Carey, Marie-Louise Rouget and Helen Hayes Sweeney.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 4th May 2025
Leaving Certificate History; and Testimony at the Border in 1925See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Leaving Certificate History
Deirdre Mac Mathúna and Sean Delap join Myles to talk about the history exam paper, and the past, present and future of history education.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Testimony at the Border, 1925
Myles is joined by Cormac Moore, author of the new book 'The Root of All Evil: The Irish Boundary Commission'.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 27th April 2025
The Papal Conclave; The Fenian Invasion of Canada; and Padraig Yeates on The Truth Recovery ProcessSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Truth Recovery Process
Padraig Yeates joins Myles to discuss the Truth Recovery Process, a proposal to address the legacy of The Troubles.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Fenian Invasion of Canada, 1866
Ian Kenneally reports, he talks to historians David Doolin and John Gibney about the Fenian Invasion of Canada in 1866.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Papal Conclave
Dr Jessica Wärnberg joins Myles to discuss the origins of the Papal Conclave.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Irish Nationalism in Britain, 1912-1922
Myles is joined by Dr Darragh Gannon, author of 'Conflict, Diaspora, and Empire: Irish Nationalism in Britain, 1912-1922'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 20th April 2025
Professor Louise Ryan on migration, oral history and the Irish in Britain; plus Darragh Gannon on Irish Nationalism in Britain in the revolutionary decade.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Professor Louise Ryan on migration, oral history and the Irish in Britain
Louise Ryan talks about her research into migrant groups in Britain and her oral history interviews with Irish migrants in Britain.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Irish Expedition to Everest, 1993
Ian Kenneally reports, he talks to mountaineer Frank Nugent about the historical background to the Irish Expedition to Everest in 1993.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 13th April 2025
The Making of Eamon De Valera; The first Irish team to summit Everest; and the Great Irish Fossil HuntSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Making of Eamon De Valera
Myles is joined by Colum Kenny, author of the recently published book 'Dangerous Ambition: The Making of Eamon De Valera'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Great Irish Fossil Hunt
Professor Maria McNamara of UCC on Ireland’s fossil heritage, and the campaign to create a new fossil map of Ireland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Reading Espionage Fiction
Myles is joined by Martin Griffin, author of 'Reading Espionage Fiction: Narrative, Conflict and Commitment from World War I to the Contemporary Era'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 6th April 2025
The Little Rock Nine; The Grangegorman Histories Project; and how Espionage Fiction can reflect real life historySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Grangegorman Histories Project
Jonathan Creasy reports, he talks to Dr Brendan Kelly and poet Lianne O'Hara about how poetry can reveal the hidden history of the Psychiatric Hospital at Grangegorman.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Little Rock Nine
Melba Pattillo Beals of the Little Rock Nine talks to reporter Colm Flynn; and Myles is joined by historian Cecelia Hartsell.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Power and Powerlessness in Union Ireland
Ciaran O'Neill joins Myles to discuss his recently published book, 'Power and Powerlessness in Union Ireland: Life in a Palliative State'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Cottage Industry in Post Medieval Ireland
Liam Downey joins Myles to discuss poteen, lace, leather, and the other small-scale industries that sustained rural Ireland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 30th March 2025
Cottage industry in post-medieval Ireland; how women made and sold butter in centuries gone by; and Power and powerlessness in Union IrelandSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Joined in Butter: Irish home butter-makers
Conor Sweetman reports, he talks to Claudia Kinmonth about this skilled, shared tradition that brought women together.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Documents on Irish Foreign Policy 1969-1973
Michael Kennedy, John Gibney and Melissa Baird join Myles to discuss how politicians and diplomats responded to The Troubles, the Cold War and Ireland's accession to the EEC.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Full Show Podcast - 16th March 2025
The life of Donegal Storyteller Seumas MacManus; The Lough Ree Monster; and the legacy of T. K. Whitaker.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
T.K. Whitaker: Irishman of the 20th Century
Anne Chambers joins Myles to discuss the many aspects of T.K. Whitaker’s work that have particular resonance for Ireland and the world today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Lough Ree Monster
Ian Kenneally shares the saga of the strange creature spotted by three priests, in Lough Ree back in 1960.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
