Three Castles Burning
History
About
Three Castles Burning is a social history podcast, dedicated to the story of the Irish capital. Dublin is a city of many stories, Three Castles Burning tells some of the more forgotten ones.
Episodes
- Stephen's Green Shopping Centre: Dandelions and Developers
It would seem everyone in the city has an opinion on the shopping centre at the top of Grafton Street. With that in mind, it seems a good time for a potted history of it and the site it occupies. Controversial in its own day, the project w…
- Unquiet Ghost: The Bones of Roger Casement (with Rory Carroll)
In 1965, the body of Roger Casement was returned to Ireland. No longer condemned to the grounds of Pentonville Prison, he would be buried in Dublin's Glasnevin Cemetery, where he is one of the first graves a visitor encounters today. There…
- More Pricks Than Kicks: The Dublin of Samuel Beckett
Today marks the 120th birthday of Samuel Beckett. Inspired both by this milestone anniversary and by the wonderful new exhibition of the work of photographer John Minihan in the National Gallery of Ireland, this episode explores sites that…
- Quiet Revolutionary: The Life of Éamonn Ceannt
With the 110th anniversary of the Easter Rising upon us, it seems a good time to look at one of the less familiar figures of the story. Somewhat in the shadows, Éamonn Ceannt was a meticulous organiser, vitally important not only to the re…
- Drowning the Shamrock? The Gaelic League and the War on Pubs
In 1903, Saint Patrick's Day formally became a national holiday in Ireland, following a push from the Gaelic League. In the pages of their newspaper, An Claidheamh Soluis, a battle was waged for the closure of public houses on the day. Som…
- Little Wonder: David Bowie's Secret Gig at The Factory (with Ray O'Donoghue)
In 1997, David Bowie released Earthling, an album deeply influenced by the sound of drum and bass and industrial electronic music. Spending time in Dublin city, Bowie befriended the Quadraphonic collective, who brought the drum and bass so…
- Census City: Dublin 1926
The release of the 1926 census from the National Archives of Ireland is now imminent. These returns should give us fascinating insights into a post-revolutionary Ireland. In this episode, we look at the capital in 1926. It was a defining y…
- Before the Summer of Love: Emmett Grogan's Dublin Adventure
SERIES 4, EPISODE 1. Welcome back to a new series. Emmett Grogan was one of the defining figures of American counterculture in the 1960s. Though his name is almost completely unknown in Ireland, the author of Ringolevio: A Life Played for…
- From Rutland to Parnell: The Story of a Dublin Square (With Elizabeth Kehoe)
One of Dublin's Historians in Residence, Elizabeth Kehoe has developed a walking tour of Parnell Square which shines a lot on many aspects of its history. Walking around it, we encounter things as diverse as symbolic weapons in the mosaic…
- When Earley Met Gandon: Bringing Light to the Custom House
James Earley comes from a family rooted in the story of Irish stained glass. As an artist, his work often pays homage to Earley Studios and those who came before him. As part of Dublin City Council Dublin Winter Lights, he has brought an e…
- Simms City (with Gayle Cullen Doyle and Eoin Ó Broin)
More than just a resident of Oliver Bond House, Gayle Cullen Doyle is a vital voice within her community, advocating for and representing her neighbours. Eoin Ó Broin is the new author (with photographer Mal McCann) of a study on Herbert S…
- A Christmas Carol and Fenian Fears: Charles Dickens in Dublin
On three occasions, Charles Dickens would speak in Dublin. Each time huge crowds came to hear him speak in the Rotunda, with the crowds spilling out into Sackville Street and well beyond. A Christmas Carol was the highlight of all three to…
- Modernist Mausoleum or Masterpiece? The US Embassy in Ballsbridge (With Cormac Murray)
Cormac Murray is the author of a new study of the US Embassy in Ballsbridge. A visual feast, it explores one of Dublin's most unusual buildings in its architectural, social, cultural and political contexts. The work of John M. Johansen,des…
- The Making of a Brewery (with Ned Guinness)
The story of Guinness is one of great success, yes, but also turbulence. Together with historian Antonia Hart, Ned Guinness has produced a family history that doesn't shy away from the challenges faced, while shining a spotlight on some of…
- Lord Leitrim, John Twiss and the songs of our year (with Michael Steen)
Lord Leitrim, John Twiss and the songs of our year (with Michael Steen) This edition of the podcast is dedicated to the memory of Manchán Magan. Singer Michael Steen (a member of the An Góilín Traditional Singers Club) has developed an int…
- Castle Island Colossus: Remembering Con (With Roy Curtis and Brendan Conroy)
At a packed Oak Room in the Mansion House, a celebration of the life of the journalist Con Houlihan last Saturday brought the audience on a journey into the work and passions of one of Ireland's most beloved scribes. Born in Castle Island…
- Grainne Shaffrey in Conversation: On Cities, Towns and Our Built Environment
Shaffrey Architects was established in 1967 by Patrick and Maura Shaffrey. Based on Ormond Quay,the practice has made a real and meaningful contribution to Dublin and beyond, with projects including 14 Henrietta Street and Wicklow Head Lig…
- Brian Kerr in Conversation: Drimnagh, Libya and Beyond
Brian Kerr's voice is instantly familiar as a broadcaster, and his contribution to Irish football is extraordinary. Born in 1953, his first coaching role came while barely a teenager. In the 1980s he would come to manage the team he had su…
- Famine Soup: Alexis Soyer, Trevelyan and The Great Hunger in Dublin
Padraic X. Scanlan is the author of Rot: A History of the Irish Famine. Framing the crisis in Ireland within the broader picture of Empire, this book brings much to how we understood the events that reshaped Ireland. While the crisis recal…
- Fighting the Flames: Captain James Robert Ingram
In 1860, a blaze in the Kildare Street Club led to the death of three workers and the destruction of an institution. Together with other fires of the era, this provided the imperative for a municipal fire service. While Captain James Rober…
- Tipperary So Far Away: Remembering Seán Treacy on Talbot Street
Niamh Hassett and Sean Nugent join me in this special edition of the podcast, exploring a wonderful Tipperary tradition on Dublin's Talbot Street. When the Premier County reach an All Ireland Final, hundreds gather to remember Seán Treacy…
- Mohair Suits in the National Ballroom: The Showband Era
This month brings the fiftieth anniversary of the tragic murders of members of The Miami Showband. This band, drawing its members from both sides of the border, was a defining part of the showband scene that withstood the changing musical…
- 'A Perfect Prodigy of Moral Horrors' - The Donnybrook Fair
The Donnybrook Fair is recalled in ballad and memoir as a notorious and chaotic annual event, but what really went on there? Over centuries, the annual fair drew revellers from near and far to Donnybrook, but a combination of social reform…
- Porter Wars: Patriotism and Pints (with Christina Wade)
Christina Wade's new history of Irish beer is a masterclass in social and economic history. In the context of Dublin, it tells us a lot, especially about the challenges that faced breweries in turbulent times. In this episode, we look at h…
- From 'Peelers' to Gardaí: How the Dublin Metropolitan Police and An Garda Síochána merged (with Paul Maher)
The first ever Kilkenny Law Fest took place last weekend. On its bill, a discussion with Superintendent Paul Maher of the Garda Historical Society. Paul did so much in the Decade of Centenaries to involve the force, and it was great to tal…
- The Animal Gangs: An Irish Peaky Blinders?
A nice mention for the podcast recently on Crime World inspired me to go back to the subject of the Animal Gang. Seperating fact from folklore, just who made up the so-called Animal Gang of 1930s and 1940s Dublin. Was there one gang, or do…
- Streets Broad and Narrow: Tony Gregory and Molly Malone
Tony Gregory remains one of the most beloved TD's in the history of the city. Lately, talk of the Molly Malone monument has reminded me of the story of Gregory's activism on behalf of Dublin's largely female street traders, and his comment…
- Blueshirt Bluster? The March on Dublin
Historian Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc has just produced Burn Them Out, a history of the Irish far-right. One of its most intriguing chapters studies the Blueshirt movement, tracing its development from an association of veterans into something muc…
- Leo Burdock and Ivan Beshoff: Fish, Chips and Revolution
Both Patrick Leo Burdock and Ivan Beshoff were revolutionaries, though in very different circumstances. These two names remain stalwarts of the Dublin chipper landscape, but did you know a branch of Leo Burdock's was raided in 1941, or tha…
- The End of Monto: A Century On
This edition of the podcast contains adult language and themes and is not suitable for younger listeners. This special live edition of the podcast was part of Abair, an annual programme within the Saint Patrick's Festival. Joining me is Ca…
- The Dawning of the Day: Last Orders at the Early House
In Dublin, just a handful of public houses now open at seven o'clock in the morning. Where did these early houses come from, and what has influenced their decline? On this journey across the city, we visit a pub financed by the Beamish & C…
- A Complete Unknown? When Dylan came to Dublin
Bob Dylan's 1966 visit to the Adelphi Cinema is a concert on which there is very little agreement. Torn apart by one Dublin reviewer, many who were there describe the gig in different terms entirely. For many in attendance, it was an extra…
- Traditional Singing from Dublin (with Macdara Yeates)
Described by The Irish Times as 'raucous, bawdy, reflective and wistful in turn', Traditional Singing from Dublin is more than just an album of songs. Inspired by figures as diverse as Liam Weldon and Seosamh Ó hÉanaí, this work has a stro…
- From The Nation to Shane MacGowan: Finding James Clarence Mangan (with Bridget Hourican and Warren Farrell)
In Glasnevin Cemetery, James Clarence Mangan's grave lists him as 'Ireland's National Poet.' Today, he is a curiously overlooked character. His influence on figures as diverse as Philip Lynott and Shane MacGowan is explored in this podcast…
- Tonehenge: Edward Delaney's Wolfe Tone Monument
In 1898, tens of thousands of people paraded in Dublin for the unveiling of a foundation stone to a Wolfe Tone statue. So why did it not happen? Only in 1967 did Edward Delaney's tribute to Tone appear on St Stephen's Green. In this podcas…
- Night at the Museum
These are exciting times at the Collins Barracks branch of the National Museum of Ireland. This week, the first Harry Clarke display at the museum opens, showcasing six works by Ireland's most beloved stained glass artist. The Museum is al…
- The Stained Glass Artist From a Dublin Tenement
The story of Michael Healy is one that tells us much about the Dublin of his time. Born into a working class inner-city family in 1873, Healy was shaped by the artistic and cultural movements of the time, becoming a central figure in the s…
- Remembering The SFX Hall (with Paul Page and David Bell)
In the heart of Dublin's north inner-city, the SFX was one of the defining venues of Dublin's music scene. U2, The Smiths, New Order, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Pogues are just some of the acts to have taken to the stage in the Jesu…
- The Women of Bram Stoker's Life: Memory, Folklore and Patriotism (with Marion McGarry and Eva Jane Gaffney)
Bram Stoker's life and career was shaped by the strong women around him. Charlotte Stoker, his mother, raised him on folklore and stories of her own youth, while Speranza (Lady Jane Wilde, the mother of Oscar) was a key influence in expand…
- Irish Food History: From B.C. Times to the Grogan's Toastie
Irish Food History: A Companion is an extraordinary thing - a moment in Irish publishing history. Coming in around 800 pages, it covers everything from archaeology and food to the pub grub of today. Full of archival images, poetry, recipes…
- Paula Meehan: History and Poetry
Paula Meehan is a poet for whom history is a constant source of inspiration. In this discussion at the Dublin Festival of History, she reads a number of poems written throughout the Decade of Centenaries, as well as other work shaped by th…
- Lee Miller: From Hitler's Bathtub to The Palace Bar
Lee Miller is best recalled now for her defining images of the Second World War. With Kate Winslet playing the role of Miller in a new film, it seems a good time to explore Miller's visit to Dublin in the winter of 1946. Sent by Vogue to p…
- Catriona Crowe in Conversation (Live at the Seán Corcoran Series)
Catriona Crowe is former Head of Special Projects at the National Archives of Ireland. She is Ireland's most recognisable archivist, and someone to whom all historians of modern Ireland are indebted. At the recent Seán Corcoran Series ( ww…
- The Moore Street Woman who Fought the Nazis (with Clodagh Finn and John Morgan)
Clodagh Finn and John Morgan have produced an important history of the involvement of Irishmen and women in the anti-fascist movements of the Second World War. One of the most extraordinary stories they have uncovered is Catherine Crean, a…
- Destination Anywhere: Getting Around the Hibernian Metropolis
This year marks four decades of the DART. Along with that, the Luas has turned twenty. These two services have radically changed how we live in Dublin, but where did they come from and how did Dublin's transport history shape them? This ep…
- A Sensation Once Again: Brian Warfield of the Wolfe Tones (Live at Mindfield, EP)
Seeing the inevitable headlines on the horizon around the Wolfe Tones performing at Electric Picnic, I decided to reach out to Brian Warfield for a chat about his book, The Ramblings of an Irish Ballad Singer. Amongst other things, Brian s…
- Olympic Glory: Jack B. Yeats and The Liffey Swim
The Liffey Swim is a beloved painting, and one of the most visited works in the National Gallery of Ireland. A century ago, it led to the first Olympic medal of the new Free State. With calls for the creative arts to return as a competitiv…
- Nothing Highfalutin: The Brilliance of Hilary Heron (with Billy Shortall)
At the Irish Museum of Modern Art, a new exhibition explores the life and work of artist Hilary Heron. Like many, I came away from it amazed that this important modernist sculptor was not better known here. Born in Dublin in 1923, her work…
- On Tommie Potts and The Liffey Banks (with Martin Hayes)
More than just one of Ireland's most beloved musicians, Martin Hayes is also the author of Shared Notes: A Musical Journey. In his memoir he introduces us to a host of brilliant characters, ranging from childhood friends and relations in E…
- Adoration and Protest: Orson Welles and Dublin
Orson Welles made his stage debut in Dublin. To him, The Gate Theatre would always be a part of the story of his own life development and professional career. Later, he returned to scenes of protest against the same theatre for hosting him…