Context is key

As an Irish genealogist, I spend a lot of time explaining context. This comes in many forms. In reports, I have paragraphs to help clients understand different sources like Griffith’s Valuation or the Tithe Applotment books. I contextualise census material by explaining that the building a family lived in housed other families in a number of rooms and therefore the building is considered a tenement – this tells us something about the socio-economic status of a family.

When I’m teaching, I do this verbally with anecdotes and slides.

I also love a good podcast, but don’t worry, I’m not about to start one to add to my schedule of activities! I’ve put together a selection that are good for Irish history and family history. There are a myriad of different podcast apps out there and I’m not particularly recommending any one here. Some of the links below will take you to a podcast app if the show doesn’t have an independent website, but please don’t construe this as an endorsement.

Any student of Irish history needs to understand our complicated history with Britain, now almost a millenium in the making. With thanks to my pal Gina for the recommendation, the Empire podcast presented by William Dalrymple & Anita Anand is nearly finished a series on Ireland. Now, don’t worry, I’m not asking you to listen to 2 Brits englishsplain* Irish history – each episode features an Irish historian as well. They start way back in the 12th century and are just now reaching the beginning of the Irish Free State. I don’t agree with absolutely everything the Irish guests say but sure it wouldn’t be fun if I did. *Thanks to my cousin for this phrase!

If you’d rather listen to all Irish people, then I highly recommend Fin Dwyer’s Irish History Podcast. Episodes here average about half an hour so they’re a nice quick listen. The range of topics is vast so cherry pick your interests.

Another podcast featuring Fin is the Transatlantic podcast he hosts with fellow historian Damien Shiels. Now in its second season, they are charting the history of Irish people in North America. Fascinating stuff, especially for those in the diaspora and important for Irish people to be addressing this important facet of our history.

If you’re interested in Irish women and crime, then have a listen to the Bad Bridget podcast all about this topic. I read the companion book & loved it.

A very new kid on the block in podcast form is Sharon Slater’s Limerick Life, all about Limerick history. Sharon’s blog is very long running on the same topic and she’s published several books on the topic so there’s plenty to get stuck into.

A straight-up family history podcast, Andrew Martin’s show The Family Histories Podcast has now run for 8 seasons. Each episodes features a guest who has some involvement in genealogy. They talk about an ancestor and brick walls. I featured on this podcast way back in 2022, which you can still listen to here.

Of course, you might prefer to cherry pick individual episodes of relevance. I always enjoy You’re Dead to Me, which is a comedy-history hybrid and recently had a great a laugh listening to their episode on Gráinne Mhaol (Grace O’Malley) who is often depicted as a pirate queen. Another long-running podcast called In Our Time: History has a good but dense episode on the 1798 rebellion.

Finally, national broadcaster RTÉ’s award-winning Doc On One needs to be mentioned. Doc on One is a long running radio show featuring both contempory and historical subject matter. I recently really enjoyed this one on the new Imirce database of Irish immigrant letters home.

What other pods do you enjoy on these topics? Please let me know in the comments.