This week I am joined by Andrea Bolger who is talking about Ninette de Valois who was born in Wicklow (under a different but also unusual name) and went on to found the Royal Ballet Company. Listen to learn all about Ninette and her amazing ac

Lizzie Halliday the serial killer part 2

Dec 7th, 2020 50m 2s

This week Morgan finishes our two part episode on Lizzie Halliday. Listen in to hear about how things finally caught up with Lizzie, her trial and ultimate demiseNotes/ ReferencesKevin Owens: Killing Time in the Catskills: The twisted tale of

Lizzie Halliday the serial killer part 1

Nov 22nd, 2020 57m 21s

This week we're joined by writer Morgan Ormond for the fist in our two part episode on Lizzie Halliday. Lizzie was a 19th Century arsonist, bigamist, committer of grant theft horse (which is apparently a thing) and serial killer. Listen to hear

Maeve Brennan the voice of New York

Nov 9th, 2020 37m 27s

This week, guest Mairead Kiernan shares the tale of Maeve Brennan. Maeve was a glamourous and troubled writer who wrote for the New Yorker and Harper's Bazaar during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. A combination of Carrie Bradshaw, Nora Ephron and Gre

Bridget Cleary the Fairy Changeling

Oct 26th, 2020 59m 11s

We're starting Season Two with a bang as we tell the story of Bridget Cleary who was burned as a fairy changeling in 1895. Turns out we weren't too fond of fairies back in the day. Listen in to hear what led to Bridget's unfortunate demise.Gue

Kit Cavanagh the soldier

Jul 1st, 2020 29m 48s

Kit Cavanagh was a bar owner in Dublin whose husband went out to pay a bill and never came home. A year later, she learned that he had been enlisted in the army so she did what any self respecting wife and mother of three would do.... she dress

Teresa Deevy the overlooked Abbey playwright

Jun 17th, 2020 26m 12s

Teresa Deevy was a prolific playwright for the Abbey in the 1930s before going on to write for radio and television in Ireland and the UK. She also happened to turn deaf a decade before radio appeared in Ireland meaning she never heard any of h

Mother Jones, the most dangerous woman in America

Jun 9th, 2020 37m 12s

After tragically losing all of her children to yellow fever, Cork woman Mary Harris became the mother of a movement. She mobilized tens of thousands of workers all over the US to strike, unionize and fight against harsh working conditions, labo

Zandra Mitchell- Ireland's first professional saxophone player

May 26th, 2020 29m 19s

Zandra Mitchell led the type of life that doesn't seem real. She left Ireland at a young age and toured all around the globe as a jazz musician. She shared the stage with jazz legends and lived the interwar jazz lifestyle. She was also one of o

Lizzie Le Blond, Mountaineer

May 19th, 2020 30m 36s

This week Shaunna tells us all about Lizzie LeBlond who left a luxurious life in Greystones to become one of the world's first female mountaineers. She traveled to great heights especially considering that she didn't even know how to put on her

"Typhoid Mary" Mallon the unfortunate cook

May 12th, 2020 31m 20s

This week we uncover the story of "Typhoid Mary" the unfortunate Irish cook whose name has become synonymous with disease and pestilence. More than just a pop culture reference, listen now to hear her full story.Notes/ ReferencesDictionary O

Grace O'Malley the pirate queen

May 5th, 2020 33m 1s

To Hell, to Connacht or to the high seas. This week we dissect the folklore from fiction as we discuss the life of legendary pirate Queen of Connacht, Granuaile in part two of our pirate special. *Correction: In this episode Shaunna mistakenly

Anne Bonny the lesser known Irish pirate

Apr 28th, 2020 25m 42s

We have cabin fever so this week we are kicking off our two part pirate special with Anne Bonny, the lesser known Irish pirate. Forced to leave Kinsale at a young age due to questionable parentage, Anne ending up carousing around the Caribbean

Margaret Cousins the international suffragette

Apr 22nd, 2020 32m 27s

This week Shaunna tells us about Margaret Cousins a hippy with an iron core. Margaret graduated from smashing windows in Dublin to fighting for women's rights in India, with some mystical detours along the way.Notes/ Further Reading Women's

Kathleen Lynn the revolutionary doctor

Apr 14th, 2020 28m 44s

This week Maria and Shaunna come to you from lock down to talk about Kathleen Lynn your newest feminist icon. Dr Lynn was one of the first female doctors in Ireland, a revolutionary who was active in the 1916 Rising and War of Independence and

Lola Montez- dancer, seducer and wild child

Mar 31st, 2020 40m 54s

This week Shaunna looks at Lola Montez who we have decided is the 19th Century Cardi B. Lola was a wild child who traveled more than all of your Tinder matches combined, was an early burlesque dancer and almost toppled a monarch. Expect terribl

Mary Anthony O'Connell the angel of the battlefield

Mar 17th, 2020 46m 43s

We accidentally picked a health themed episode before all of the coronavirus stuff started to really kick off. Prescient? Maybe. This week's episode is about nun and nurse Sister Anthony O'Connell AKA the Florence Nightingale of the Civil War A

Eliza Lynch the heroine of Paraguay

Mar 10th, 2020 28m 24s

In this episode Shaunna tells us the fascinating story of Eliza Lynch who left famine struck Ireland as a child and went on to become the Heroine of Paraguay. Notes/ ReferencesHistory Ireland Americana: The Americas in the World Around 1850

Mary MacSwiney Ireland's last true republican

Mar 4th, 2020 30m 6s

Often overshadowed by Countess Markievicz, Cork woman via England, Mary MacSwiney was a revolutionary who was considered to be Ireland's last true Republican. This week we talk about her contribution to the Irish Republican cause and subsequen

Mary Swanzy artist extraordinare

Feb 21st, 2020 32m 47s

This week we look at artist Mary Swanzy. Mary was a contemporary of Picasso, one of Ireland's first cubist painters and fond of the odd snarky quipNotes/ References:Irish Examiner: Irish artist Mary Swanzy was a woman of many stylesCrawford

Petronella de Meath the first Irish "witch" burnt at the stake

Feb 14th, 2020 22m 50s

In episode two we're looking at Petronella De Meath, the first woman to be burnt at the stake in Ireland for witchcraft. This is despite the fact that witchcraft was not yet a crime in Ireland.Sources/ Further ReadingHistoric Kilkenny: Petron

Florence Newton the witch of Youghal

Feb 7th, 2020 25m 14s

In episode one we're looking at Florence Newton, the Witch of Youghal. Her arrest and subsequent witch trial in the 17th century is considered one of the best examples of an Irish witch trial.Sources/ Further ReadingSeymour, S. J. D. (1913).

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