Shows / Three Castles Burning
Three Castles Burning
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
Three Castles BurningFrom The Sack 'Em Ups to the Anatomy Act: Body Snatching in Dublin Graveyards (with Warren Farrell)
Historian Warren Farrell is the author of the forthcoming Curious Ireland, a follow-up to his best-selling social history of Glasnevin Cemetery. A tour guide…
Three Castles BurningThe Dublin of Magill Magazine: From Merrion Row to the Ballymun Towers
Vincent Browne's Magill magazine remains one of the most important publications of its kind in Irish history. Joined by Kevin Rafter (author of Fearless, a new…
Three Castles BurningBefore the Olympia: Dan Lowrey's Palace of Varieties
In the Victorian age, the entertainer Dan Lowrey created a truly special theatre, music hall and Palace of Varieties in the laneway of Crampton Court. Today…
Three Castles BurningA Tribute to Frank McDonald (1950-2026)
Marking the passing of one of the most significant commentators on the past and present of Dublin city, this episode draws from a different discussion with…
Three Castles BurningExecutioners: The Pierrepoint Family
Albert Pierrepoint was a household name in his own lifetime, even penning the best-selling memoir Executioner. A hangman who followed in the footsteps of his…
Three Castles BurningMadame Tussaud and Dublin: Guillotines and Escape Cars
In the early nineteenth century, Madame Tussaud spent several years in Dublin. Her waxworks and relics of the French Revolution proved a big draw for crowds…
Three Castles BurningBia Duit: Food in Dublin in 1904 (Live at The Signal House)
In Ulysses, the pub we know as J & M Cleary's appears as The Signal House. It seemed a good location to explore food in the time of James Joyce. Ann Marie…
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A Vision for Irish Theatre: Deirdre O'Connell (with Sabina Higgins)
At the recent Luke Kelly Festival, I was delighted to speak with Sabina Higgins (née Coyne) all about the Focus Theatre and Deirdre O'Connell. Bringing the…
Three Castles BurningCold War Football: Yugoslavia in Dalymount Park
In October 1955, the visit of Yugoslavia to Dublin caused real division in Irish society. A top-class football side on the world stage, opposition to communism…
Three Castles BurningCitizen or Lord? The Life of Edward Fitzgerald (with Fergus Whelan and Annie Hughes)
There could be nowhere more fitting to discuss the life of Edward Fitzgerald than upstairs in the Lord Edward, as part of Culture Date with Dublin 8. That he…
Three Castles BurningBack to the Census: The Story of Us (with John Gibney)
John Gibney is co-editor of The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census. On a sunny day, we sat on a bench dedicated in part to a man you'll find…
Three Castles BurningStephen'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…
Three Castles BurningUnquiet 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…
Three Castles BurningMore 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…
Three Castles BurningQuiet 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…
Three Castles BurningDrowning 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…
Three Castles BurningLittle 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…
Three Castles BurningCensus 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…
Three Castles BurningBefore 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…
Three Castles BurningFrom 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…
Three Castles BurningWhen 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…
Three Castles BurningSimms 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…
Three Castles BurningA 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…
Three Castles BurningModernist 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…
Three Castles BurningThe 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…
Three Castles BurningLord 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…
Three Castles BurningCastle 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…
Three Castles BurningGrainne 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…
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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…
Three Castles BurningFamine 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…
Three Castles BurningFighting 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…
Three Castles BurningTipperary 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…
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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…
Three Castles Burning'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…
Three Castles BurningPorter 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…
Three Castles BurningFrom '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…
Three Castles BurningThe 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…
Three Castles BurningStreets 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…
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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…
Three Castles BurningLeo 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…
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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…
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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…
Three Castles BurningA 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…
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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…
Three Castles BurningFrom 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…
Three Castles BurningTonehenge: 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…
Three Castles BurningNight 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…
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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…
Three Castles BurningRemembering 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…
Three Castles BurningThe 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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
Three Castles BurningDestination 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…
Three Castles BurningA 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…
Three Castles BurningOlympic 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…
Three Castles BurningNothing 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…
Three Castles BurningOn 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…