History of Ireland: Bite-sized episodes for the casual history fan

The Premise (from Apple Podcasts):

The Irish Republic's foundation is one hell of a story, complete with spying secretaries, pig thieves, politicians, poets, school teachers and the world's biggest empire. In quick, bite-sized episodes, we're going to explore the causes, characters and aftermath of the Irish War of Independence.

Series or standalone:

Series, technically, though you can skip around if you know about some of the events already.

Begin listening to:

Episode 1: Setting the Scene

Format:

History narrative

Host(s):

Kevin Dolan

Sound/production quality:

Very good

Rating/age suitability:

Fine for all ages but probably more appealing to teen/adult

Approximate length of episodes:

10-15 minutes

Curricular ties:

If you cover Irish history at all, these could be helpful as an intro to the major events.

Similar recommended pods:

Irish History Podcast; British History Podcast

Podcast Librarian’s Review:

I have a casual interest in history, but I usually have a hard time listening to history pods, especially if they start wayyyy back. It can just be too much for someone who is not truly a history buff. But that’s why I’m really into this pod, which I actually just started listening to today. Each episode is only 10-15 minutes, which makes it very easy to digest. The host, Kevin Dolan, presents well-researched stories about Ireland’s history but with a bit of personality and commentary, which keeps it from getting dry. He is a self-described history nerd, not a historian, who realized while living in Australia that he didn’t know all that much about his home country’s history. Rather than starting at the very beginning of Ireland’s history (like 10,000 years ago), Kevin begins with the lead up to the 1916 Uprising and focuses on the importance of the War of Independence. There’s plenty of material—the podcast is just about to turn 2 years old, and he’s only in the 1920s at present. Obviously, there’s a lot to come, and with bite-sized episodes, I’m excited to follow along and get caught up on Irish history.