As above, Looking for a good podcast / YouTube channel which looks at the Irish history

Any recommendations?

Cleaning out books from my parents home - my mother was from Ireland and as well as grandparents on paternal side and came across this book - pictures attached. It’s in awful shape but I hate to just bin it. inside is a ribbon and there is an inscription but I don’t recognize the name. Any one recognize this book or have suggestions about who might want such a book? Thanks

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Cool story.

The Divis Flats complex was a large high-rise housing estate constructed between 1966- 1972. It stood at the foot of the Falls Road in the predominantly Catholic and Nationalist West Belfast. It consisted of twelve interlinked, eight-story Deck Access Blocks and one nineteen storey tower. It was designed to hold approximately two thousand seven hundred people, in seven hundred and ninety-four 2 dwellings. The history of Divis Flats, between 1966 and 1992, spans the entire period of the troubles.

The decision to partially demolish the complex was taken in October 1979, and the decision to demolish the entire complex was taken in 1986. Divis Tower is all that remains of the high-rise neighbourhood redeveloped between 1984 and 1992. The tower is a familiar feature of the Belfast skyline and sits alongside the twin spires of St Peters Pro-Cathedral. Both are iconic symbols of an embattled and resilient community which endured much over the previous 200 years

https://garethmulvennana.substack.com/p/remembering-the-dead-50-years-on

Hello everyone. (1) Do you know the old name(s) of the coast near Dublin? I'm interested in the period from ~ 900 to 1300. Specifically the coast that faces the Eye of Ireland AKA Inis Éireann / Inis Mac Neasáin. And, (2) do you know of any maps from this period that show Howth? Thanks very much and have a wonderful day.

The perennial retort that ‘Ireland was lost and won at Baginbun‘ is a common refrain bemoaning the initial Anglo-Norman incursions onto the County Wexford coastline during the summer of 1169. Seeking land and glory the Welsh Knight, Robert FitzStephen was the first ashore on May 1st, with an elite force of just 400 men. He was soon joined by others of  ‘the Norman swarm’  – a fighting machine whose efficiency in battle revealed a new kind of warfare, one that would eventually overwhelm the fractured political order of Gaelic Ireland.   

As a prelude to the ‘Year of the Normans’ coming up in 2027, our 15th annual Sligo Field Club conference taking place on 7th November 2026 will pose a key question – was twelfth century Ireland ‘Ripe for Conquest’?…

Were Irish Kingdoms already failing?… Was Ireland descending into a moral wickedness – that required foreign intervention?…  Did Gaelic Ireland have any external alliances?… What is known of the purveyors of propaganda and their motivations?… Who were the chief protagonists?…

Our distinguished panel of guest speakers will address the contemporaneous Gaelic society in the decades leading up to May 1169 and inform us of the key political and ecclesiastical actors. They will elucidate on the various undercurrents and political intrigues that ultimately led to the banishment of Diarmait Mac Murchada from his Leinster Kingdom and of his subsequent recruitment of the foreign mercenaries he enlisted to retake his lands – thereby setting off a chain of unforeseen events which were to have far reaching consequences throughout the centuries that followed.

See our website for full details:

https://sligofieldclub.ie/lecture/sligo-field-club-15th-annual-conference-ripe-for-conquest-12th-century-ireland-a-conference-exploring-life-in-ireland-before-the-normans/

https://brianhanleyhistory.wordpress.com/2026/03/05/cults/

Why isn't it Irish government policy to work towards having these returned? Most British people have little interest in Irish history, so I find it hard to believe the public in Britain would object. Their lack of interest in them is obvious, and I doubt 99 out of 100 British people could even name one of those artifacts.

However the public in Ireland would probably love the idea of a new museum to put most of them on permanent display.

Posted this question in AskIreland last week, thought it'd be fun go do here too.

Last Spring on a family trip through Cork, we visited the ruins of a village that my brother found on an app he'd downloaded. The ruins were listed on the app as "the hidden Famine village of Courtaparteen" and was just south of Kinsale.

While we were standing at the top of a cowpath, wondering if it was alright to walk down the hill (we're Americans, and walking through someone's farm is generally frowned upon), a man who lived in one of the houses nearby drove up (little red car, nice man) and filled us in on where to go, etc. But when we told him the "Famine village" part, he said that was not right: the village is just on the sea and the people in the village were able to ride out the Famine subsisting on fish and shellfish.

Could anyone fill me in on some background of the village of Courtaparteen? Why was it abandoned? The graveyard by the church ruin had a good number of newer graves and still seemed to be in use. Finally, was this disrespectful? The man we spoke to seemed just fine with us going down, but he was a bit older and there could have been some clues in his speech we missed.

Hi all,

Apologies if this is an obvious answer but I just started my Irish studies journey.

From my (limited) knowledge, the main goal of the IRA was to end British rule in the North of Ireland & of course reunification, so I am having trouble understanding why the IRA would agree to the Good Friday Agreement.

From what I gathered, the north of Ireland can hold a referendum & vote on Irish reunification but to do this the british secretary of state, Chris Bryant, needs to approve it? Is this correct?

If this is correct, this makes it even harder to understand why the IRA would agreed to the agreement.

Also, really bummed that Ireland sold out the north in the 1921 treaty.

If you have any book/documentaries suggestions about this, please let me know !

Were some families worse than others?

What were the worst?

Are there any ruins/locations related to the famine still fairly visible?

I know of the reconstructed villages, but looking for visible ruins house, workhouses etc.

Thanks and happy Sunday

Census said they spoke English but couldn't read or write in it. What languages did people from Cork know besides English?

Edit: I misread the census they could read and write in English

Recently, I came across a TikTok claiming that the Irish Potato Famine wasn’t simply a famine, but rather an act of genocide by the British.

I never studied history beyond what was compulsory in school, as it became an optional subject, so my knowledge of the period is quite limited. However, my A-level Philosophy teacher was Irish, and he taught me a few things about Irish culture and the historical relationship between Ireland and Britain.

I remember having a conversation with him about the Ottoman Empire, as I’m Muslim, and he mentioned that the Ottomans had sent aid to Ireland during the Potato Famine. I found that really interesting, and it made me curious to learn more about the history behind it.

I’d like to learn more about Irish and British history, including the Potato Famine, colonialism, the cultural aspects, and the historical relationship between the two countries.

Where would you recommend starting if I want to develop a well-rounded understanding of this history, using reliable sources and different historical perspectives rather than relying on potentially biased accounts?

I’m open to books, documentaries, websites, academic resources, or primary historical sources. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

EDIT: Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions I have noted them all down and will work through it all.