Why Didn't Irish People Eat Fish During the G...

In the late 1960s, the Provisional IRA and what became modern Sinn Féin emerged from a bitter split in the Irish republican movement. This split would shape not only the Troubles but also Irish politics down to the present day.However, for the last five decades, the story of how ...  Show more

The 18th century was a golden age of Irish smuggling. It's estimated that as many as one third of all luxury goods entering Ireland were brought in by smugglers. Far from being a fringe activity, smuggling was woven into the wider economy and remarkably was often a community ente ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss why the potato crop failures in the 1840s had such a catastrophic impact in Ireland. It is estimated that one million people died from disease or starvation after the blight and another two million left the country within the decade. There had been ...  Show more

In the 1840s, famine hit Ireland with devastating consequences. But what were the circumstances that turned a potato blight into a catastrophe that shattered societal structures and caused around a million deaths? Padraic X Scanlan speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the causes and i ...  Show more

How did the memory of the Great Famine shape Irish identity? Could it have been prevented? From 1845 to 1852, a disease decimated potato crops across Ireland. Farmers of small plots who relied entirely on this monoculture were launched into complete destitution. Desperate famili ...  Show more

Christine Kinealy answers listener questions on the devastating famine that struck Ireland in the mid-19th century Christine Kinealy answers listener questions on the causes and consequences of the devastating famine that struck Ireland in the mid-19th century. Speaking to Ellie ...  Show more