From workhouse girls to colonial Governors, and from Tangiers to Tasmania, Kate O'Malley and Abie Philbin Bowman uncover the fascinating stories of Irish people whose lives were shaped by their service in, or agitation against, the British Empire.
Latest episodes
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29 min
William Butler: British Soldier, Irish Writer, Global Adventurer
Abie Philbin Bowman and Kate O’Malley learn about the extraordinary Willam Butler. A Catholic from Tipperary, he was held aloft by Daniel O’Connell as a baby, witnessed the famine,…
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30 min
Teresa Ball: Educating the Daughters of Empire
Kate O’Malley and Abie Philbin Bowman learn about an incredible Irish woman, who helped educate girls from Canada to India. Teresa Ball, founder of the Loreto order, used her dowry…
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28 min
Lambert Blair: Teenage Trader to Slave Plantation Owner
Lambert Blair: Teenage Trader to Slave Plantation Owner
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29 min
Richard Wellesley: Ireland’s Forgotten Napoleon
Abie Philbin Bowman and Kate O’Malley uncover the story of Richard Wellesley, a Meath man who conquered more of India than Napoleon did in Europe. A supporter of Catholic Emancipat…
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28 min
Musketeers, Maids and Memoirists: The Irish in Imperial Russia
Abie Philbin Bowman and Kate O’Malley explore the Irish who shaped Romanov Russia, from General Peter de Lacy’s bold campaigns to the Wilmot sisters of Cork, who bonded with Enligh…
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28 min
Grace O’Malley: Pirate, Chieftain, Traitor?
Kate O’Malley and Abie Philbin Bowman explore the fact, fiction and folklore of ‘Pirate Queen’ Grace O’Malley. Did she meet Queen Elizabeth I? Kidnap a lord’s grandson? How did she…
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12 min
Kamala Harris's link to Irish slave owner Hamilton Brown
We explore a family link acknowledged by Kamala Harris's father, to Hamilton Brown. Brown travelled from Ireland to Jamaica in the 1700s to work as a bookkeeper. He acquired severa…
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28 min
Charles Tegart, Police Intelligence Officer
Born in Derry, Charles Tegart abandoned his studies in TCD, to join the Indian Police. A keen linguist and master of disguise, Tegart frequently met his contacts at night, dressed…
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28 min
Charles Gavan Duffy, Premier of Victoria
Born to a poor Catholic family in Monaghan, Charles Gavan Duffy worked as a journalist, agitator for tenants’ rights, and MP. His failing health and political influence, led him to…
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28 min
The Irish of The Caribbean: Slave Owners and Whistle Blowers
Kerryman David Tuohy captained four ships transporting enslaved Africans to the Caribbean. Dublin sailor James Field Stanfield provided testimony to the abolitionists. As Governor…
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28 min
Commodore John Barry
Wexford born John Barry fled the Penal Laws as a cabin boy aboard his uncle’s ship. At 15 he sailed to Philadelphia. When the 13 colonies declared independence, Barry captured the…
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28 min
The Famine Orphan Girls sent to Australia
Between 1848 and 1850 over 4,000 girls were sent from Irish workhouses out to Australia, as part of a British scheme to help populate the colony. They were met with prejudice and h…
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28 min
William O’Brien, Second Earl of Inchiquin
Born in Cork, O'Brien was imprisoned in the Tower of London as a child. Fighting for the French in Catalonia, he was captured by Algerian pirates, lost an eye and was taken hostage…