Hidden Histories

Today, May 22nd, marks the birthday of George Best - one of the greatest footballers of his or any other age. Voted European Footballer of the Year in 1968, it seems almost unimaginable that the following decade would bring him Leeside, and to Cork Celtic Football Club. What followed was something of a farce, that said much about the direction of domestic football in the 1970s. Gavan was joined by Donal Fallon for another episode of Hidden Histories to discuss.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art, also known as IMMA, turns 30 this year. Resting in an unlikely symbol of the old order - the 17th century Royal Hospital Kilmainham, since it first opened it has championed both Irish and international modern art. Donal Fallon, joined Gavan to explain how they chose the grounds, and he also shared tales of some of the unusual burials that have taken place there. On The Record with Gavan Reilly Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

A hundred years ago this weekend, three armed men lured a young Irishman from his home in Galway - days later his body was found in a bog having been shot through the head. His name was Michael Griffin, and he was just 28 years old. Keeping in mind the broader political picture in Ireland at the time one might be forgiven for thinking he was perhaps an IRA gunman but he wasn't -  he was a Catholic priest. In fact his strange death made it to the front of The New York Times and will even be commemorated this weekend in the west. So who was Fr. Michael Griffin? Gavan Reilly is joined by Donal Fallon for another episode of Hidden Histories to find out. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Not everyone’s so pleased with the result of the election in the U S - you might have seen Sammy Wilson, the DUP MP, tweet during the week that “Joe Biden is a parrot for Irish Nationalism and their falsehoods regarding the Belfast Agreement”, while a Tory backbencher highlighted “His Irish republican sympathies and ignorant comments on Brexit.” This is not the first time, in the long history of 46 US Presidents, that a man in office has caused fear on our neighbouring island. From Washington to Woodrow Wilson, London’s view of what Washington means for Ireland has long been documented. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

What links Bjorn from ABBA, Paul Robeson, and Leonard Cohen? The answer is young Irish revolutionary, Kevin Barry, hanged a century ago on this day in Mountjoy Prison. The song he inspired would become one of the most enduring songs of Irish history, but how did it come to such international prominence, and was Barry really just a boy, as the song recounts, or a young man of committed ideas? Donal Fallon joins Gavan Reilly for another episode of Hidden Histories to discuss. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Imagine you find yourself in the private library of William Ewert Gladstone, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and you go leafing through his shelves and find a signed copy of a literary masterpiece by an Irishman. You might think James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw or Oscar Wilde but you'd be wrong on all counts. It’s Bram Stoker, who signed a copy of Dracula for the Prime Minister at a time he was hoping Ireland could finally be allowed to determine its own affairs. At this time of year, there is an awful lot of focus on Stoker’s work - a book which we all know a bit about, but which might actually draw heavily on Stoker's own mother’s tales of a nineteenth century pandemic in the West of Ireland. Gavan Reilly is joined by Donal Fallon for another episode of Hidden Histories to discuss. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

This week marked the birthday of Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, who was born at Dublin’s Westland Row and is today buried in the impressive Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. An international celebrity and among the first such generation of stars, Wilde’s story is well known. But little known is the tale of how he launched himself onto the world stage - embarking on a year long tour of the United States in 1882. To him, “America is not a country, it is a world.” he said. Donal Fallon joins Gavan Reilly for another episode of Hidden Histories to discuss. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

The name ‘Fergus McCabe’ might not mean much to a lot of people, especially if you’re not a Dubliner but if you’re from the northside of the Liffey it’s a name that might matter a great deal. In fact northside residents like Mary Lou McDonald, Paschal Donohoe, Gary Gannon and even a man who lives in the Phoenix Park called Michael D. Higgins all paid tribute to him when his death was announced this week. His was a name which wasn’t widely known outside of his own community - Dublin’s North Inner-City - but he was a serious player in Irish politics in the closing decades of the twentieth century who was at the heart of the ‘Gregory Deal’ - a landmark moment in Irish political history. Donal Fallon joins Gavan Reilly for another episode of Hidden Histories to discuss. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

A century ago this weekend, events took place in Ireland which sound like the stuff of a hollywood movie. A man was tracked down across the country, shot using a gun belonging to a man he himself had allegedly overseen the killing of just a few months earlier. The whole affair would prompt sectarian riots and became a serious turning point in the turbulent tribal history of Ireland. The man’s name was District Inspector Oswald Swanzy. To discuss further, Donal Fallon joins Gavan for another episode of Hidden Histories. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.     You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

This week, the press reported on the death of Elizabeth Ann-Dwyer, Dubliner and mother of Morrissey, singer from The Smiths. Her passing was a reminder of the enormous contribution of Irish blood to British popular music - of the eight parents of the musicians in The Smiths, only one was not born on the island of Ireland. From The Smiths to Dexy’s Midnight Runners - and through to Oasis - the contribution of Ireland’s Diaspora to Britain’s popular culture was extraordinary. To discuss further, Donal Fallon joins Sean Defoe this week for another episode of Hidden Histories. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.     You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

It’s not every week a striking piece of early 20th century Irish art makes it to the upper-echelons of the British popular music charts, but so it was this week with Oliver Sheppard’s remarkable The Death of Cuchullain, bracing the front of the new Fontaines DC record. Denied by Taylor Swift there - and the Coronas at home - the album cover has reignited interest in one of Ireland’s great artists who helped shape our collective identity of what it meant to be Irish, and whose incredible statue gazes on us from the window of the GPO. To discuss further, Donal Fallon joins Sean Defoe this week for another episode of Hidden Histories. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.     You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

The sad passing of Alan Parker during the week has led to much reflection on the English directors contribution to cinematic history, leaving behind a rich legacy of films spanning genres and themes. But perhaps his greatest legacy was what he did for Irish cinema - on its knees - with the incredible 1991 success of The Commitments. The film achieved immediate cult success - but the critics tended not to like it - and paved the way for a 1990s film revival in Ireland. To discuss further, Donal Fallon joins Gavan for another episode of Hidden Histories. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.     You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Right now, we should be watching the Olympics. Alas, in what is another twist in the Olympic Games' long and storied past, Tokyo 2020 has been postponed until 2021 meaning we'll have to wait a little longer to revel in one the world's most celebrated sporting events. Indeed, Ireland’s own Olympic history is a curious story in and of itself with victories under a colonial flag and victories against it, successful diaspora hammer-throwers, and even medals in poetry and portrait painting. Much like association football and cycling, there has been plenty of wrangling about just who represents Ireland, but there has been a surprising amount of joy for an Irish sporting story too. To take us through a whistlestop history of Ireland's Olympic exploits, Donal Fallon joins Gavan for another episode of Hidden Histories. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

The word of the summer appears to be ‘Staycation’. So across the island of Ireland, hundreds of thousands of us will holiday at home. But this is nothing new - indeed, going back a mere generation or two, it was standard practice.  The history of Irish tourism - both in and out of the island - is a curious tale that tells us much about the broader story of life in twentieth century Ireland. Imagine getting on a train with no clue where it’s going - this was the Irish Staycation. Sean Defoe is joined by Donal Fallon for another episode of Hidden Histories to discuss. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.     You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

This month marks a century since one of the strangest occurrences of the War of Independence. General Cuthbert Lucas was the most high profile British Army figure to be kidnapped by the IRA during the War of Independence. But, his story thankfully doesn’t end in execution. Rather, he befriended his captors, enjoying card games, a spot of tennis and a daily allowance of whiskey. Lucas maintained a communication with his wife - just recently published - and spoke highly of his captors. Gavan is joined by Donal Fallon for another episode of Hidden Histories to discuss. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.     You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

The future of the Green Party is somewhat uncertain, but its past is fascinating. Born as the 'Ecology Party' - later becoming 'Green Alliance' - the story of the party is entangled in the bigger picture of 1980s Ireland. Rumours of their demise, on more than one occasion, have been greatly exaggerated before and their history includes arrested TDs, environmental campaigns, and more besides. Gavan is joined by Donal Fallon for another episode of Hidden Histories to discuss. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.     You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

With scenes of violence on the streets of London, the issue surrounding statues and the commemoration of controversial historical figures has reared its head once more and here at home there has been particular focus on one statue - John Mitchel in Newry. The radical Irish nationalist turned Confederacy supporter and slavery advocate is not a widely known name today but there was a time when he was among the most famous Irishmen in the world. The current debate raises interesting questions for the GAA with clubs right across the island of Ireland named after Mitchel. But should the name stay or go? Gavan Reilly is joined by Donal Fallon for another episode of Hidden Histories to discuss. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

The idea of slavery is of course inextricably linked to the idea of race, especially in the U.S. But when it comes to Ireland, the story of Irish involvement in the anti-slavery movement is embodied by the relationship between Daniel O’Connell and a man whose name you’ve probably heard: Frederick Douglass. In fact, such was their relationship that it was even recalled by Barack Obama during his speech at College Green in Dublin in 2011. Yet the story of Ireland’s opposition to slavery neither began nor ended with O’Connell, and many of the key names are totally forgotten. Donal Fallon joins Gavan for another episode of Hidden Histories to discuss. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.     You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Vera Klute’s Luke Kelly monument has been vandalised yet again - that is five times in a single year, making it one of the most vandalised monuments in the history of the capital, and Ireland more broadly. But why do these things happen? For as long as there have been monuments and art works in our public spaces they have been targeted, and not merely political works, but even fiberglass cows. Donal Fallon joins Gavan for another episode of Hidden Histories to discuss the peculiar phenomenon of defacing, damaging, and sometimes destroying monuments in this country. Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.     You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

There was curious breaking news this week - concerning the legendary Red Hugh O’Donnell.  Despite dying in 1602, he has propelled himself back into the news cycle - both in Ireland and Spain - as archaeologists in the Spanish City of Valladolid are hopeful they may find his bones in the week ahead. It is news that will be followed especially closely in Donegal, and for one Spanish City, it has been a welcome distraction from other things. Donal Fallon joins us with another edition of Hidden Histories.   Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.  

You may have heard this week about the death of Argentina’s Ambassador to Ireland, Laura Bernal, who was laid to rest a few days ago.  Of course given the current circumstances her funeral was much more muted and reserved than it might otherwise have been for a foreign diplomat. But even still, the circumstances of her burial are unusual - because she was not returned to Argentina to be laid to rest in her home country… she was instead buried in Foxford in Mayo. Why’s that? Well it’s because Foxford holds a special place in the history of Argentina… so much so that the Argentinian Navy even marched through the town last year. Donal Fallon is here to explain all.   On The Record with Gavan Reilly Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

We heard the news this week about the closure of Bewley’s on Grafton Street - a café that has been a Dublin institution almost as long as it has been open. Most of us will probably be familiar with its Quaker roots and the core of its history, but Bewley's is just one part of the broader, and fascinating history of coffee shops - and tea and coffee consumption - in Ireland. Probably now more than ever, we’re drinking plenty of tea and coffee in lock-down, but the story of these beverages is truly international, connecting Ireland to the world beyond these shores. Donal Fallon joins Gavan for another episode of Hidden Histories. On The Record with Gavan Reilly Listen and subscribe to On The Record with Gavan Reilly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

As the GAA is one of the things so many of us are going to miss from our summer calendars, it’s fitting to look back at what might have been the greatest GAA upset of all time. A final behind closed doors would be one thing, but an All Ireland Final won by London? That was truly once in a lifetime. Donal Fallon joins Gavan Reilly for the last edition of Hidden Histories.

‘How Green Was My Valley’ was released in 1941 and got nominated for 10 Academy Awards - winning four of them, including Best Picture. Today is Easter Sunday and that means there could be no better time to explore the strange story of two Easter Rising veterans who ended up acting side by side in this Hollywood blockbuster. And if that wasn’t already remarkable, they were on different sides of the Rising. Gavan is joined by Donal Fallon for another episode of Hidden Histories to tell us more.

Covid-19 has claimed more than 8,000 lives in the United States of America thus far - including the life of Tarlach Mac Niallais. Born in Belfast, Mac Niallais was one of the most significant players in the LGBT campaigning community in New York City, and a veteran of campaigning for LGBT equality in Northern Ireland before emigrating there. Donal Fallon joins Gavan Reilly for another episode of Hidden Histories to reflect on the impact Tralach's life had on so many and explore a past which touches on Ian Paisley’s DUP, the New York Saint Patrick’s Day parade, and the early history of Pride on the island of Ireland.

The 8th of March is International Women’s Day. While widely marked around the world today - as a day that honours womanhood and its achievements - the day has a somewhat surprising and divisive history, including here in Ireland. Donal Fallon joins Gavan O'Reilly to talk about the origins and history of the day.

2020 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Arms Crisis, a political scandal that rocked Fianna Fáil to its very core. High profile names like Haughey and Blaney, so central to 20th century Irish politics, were in the firing line, as accusations were made that Government Ministers - with the help of an Irish Army Officer - were attempting to arm the fledgling republican movement in the North. Reputations were both made, and destroyed, in the affair.  Donal Fallon joins Gavan Reilly to reflect on the story behind it.

Earlier this week, a Dublin City Councillor proposed bringing the body of James Joyce back to Ireland, on time for the centenary of the publication of Ulysses in 1922. Donal Fallon discusses the idea with Gavan on this week's episode of Hidden Histories.

Donal Fallon joins Gavan Reilly to take a look at some of the lesser known stories of the iconic Irish rock group Thin Lizzy for this week's installment of hidden histories

Donal Fallon talks us through the forgotten history of Dublin hurling, their last All Ireland success more than 80 years ago, and why the much loved sport never quite took off in Ireland's capital.

There were some chuckles earlier this week when Jacob Rees-Mogg evoked the name of Charles Stewart Parnell in the House of Commons, but Parnell himself would have been delighted to see his name trend on Twitter - he was, afterall, a master at bringing attention to his political cause. The Uncrowned King of Ireland brought the Westminster parliament to a standstill, but some of the leading British politicians of the day later admitted their deep respect for the father of filibustering. Gavan Reilly is joined by Donal Fallon of the Come Here To Me! blog for another episode of  Hidden Histories.

Ireland has witnessed a craft beer and distilling renaissance in recent years. Teeling Whiskey, Gunpowder Gin and more besides have emerged and made their mark on the whiskey world and more surprising is the re-emergence of Poitín. No longer a bootlegged commodity, the once mysterious drink is now appearing in cocktail bars in London and New York. So, how did it all go mainstream? Gavan Reilly is joined by Donal Fallon of the Come Here To Me! blog for another episode of  Hidden Histories.

Cork’s newest bridge carries the name of Mary Elmes, born on Leeside in May 1908.  Mary died in a French nursing home in 2002 at the fine old age of 93, but few around here knew the remarkable story of her life.  During the years of the Second World War, Mary Elmes was responsible for saving the lives of more than 200 Jewish children threatened by the Holocaust.  Hiding them and driving them to shelter at great risk to herself.  Donal Fallon of the comeheretome blog told Gavan about the extraordinary life of  Mary Elmes.

You may not have heard of the name Marcus Garvey or his politics but he was effectively the father of Black Nationalism and known by some as ‘the Black Moses’, a man who inspired the likes of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr - who referred to him as the first man “to give millions of Negroes a sense of dignity and destiny.” And while his name might be unknown to many Irish people, Irish politics was well known to him - because he named his HQ Liberty Hall, in honour of the Dublin version, and he even took sides in the Anglo-Irish Treaty! Donal Fallon joins Gavan Reilly in studio for another installment of Hidden Histories.

Harland and Wolff is in the news for all the wrong reasons, as the iconic ship building institution seems set to close its doors. Once employing thousands of men, the company now has a mere 130 men on its books, and seems set to close. Remembered for the Titanic, there is much more to the story of one of Ireland’s most iconic and controversial industrial giants, whose giant cranes are a much-loved feature of Belfast’s skyline. So it’s time for another edition of Hidden Histories; for which we’re joined by Donal Fallon.

Fifty years ago this week, Ireland - like the rest of the world - was transfixed by man landing on the moon. Moon fragments would be displayed at the American Embassy in the early 1970s, drawing thousands of curious onlookers, and Dublin streets were even renamed in honour of the men who set foot on the moon. Donal Fallon talks us through Ireland's reaction to the moon landing all those years ago.

Donal Fallon takes a closer look at the storming of the Bastille on this day in 1789 and the ripple effect of the French Revolution.

In a time long before Panti Bliss, there was Danny La Rue. Born in Cork in 1927, La Rue - real name Daniel Patrick Carroll - paved the way for later drag performers, even receiving an OBE for his work in the entertainment industry. A pre-decriminalisation gay celebrity of Irish stock, it is a fitting weekend for Donal Fallon to look back at one of Ireland - and Britain’s - most beloved entertainers.

Donal Fallon joins Gavan Reilly for this episode of Hidden Histories to discuss Michael O'Shea, who was an Irish 70s experimental musician.

Donal Fallon looks ahead to the 100th edition of the Liffey Swim by examining its rich and vibrant history.

With so much opposition to Donald Trump's visit to these shores next week, Donal Fallon has a look at previous presidential visits that were met with a less than enthusiastic Irish public.

Earlier this week, Garda detectives in Dundalk quizzed a man about an IRA attack. The attack happened in 1959, and the quizzed man is in his 80s. The man was quizzed in relation to a recently published memoir, My Life In The IRA. Donal Fallon joins Gavan to discuss.

The village of Bohola in Mayo is a quiet place. It has a population of 203, and its Wikipedia says “it consists of 2 pubs, a post office, and a Catholic Church.” Yet Bohola produced the remarkale O’Dwyer brothers, William and Paul O’Dwyer. Emigrating to the United States at young ages, the O’Dwyer’s became leading figures in the New York legal and political arenas in the 1930s and 40s, with William central to the prosecutions that led to the eventual collapse of the infamous ‘Murder Inc.’ mafia. Donal Fallon tells us all about this remarkable pair.

In recent years, images of refugees fleeing from war torn regions have made a deep imprint on our collective consciousness, and debate surrounding sustainable immigration is one which has been ongoing for many years - not just since the European Refugee Crisis back in 2015. In fact this year marks the 40th anniversary of the arrival of 200 of the so-called Vietnamese ‘Boat People’ in Ireland, fleeing from the ravages of war in their home country. In a time when the Irish were more accustomed to emigration than immigration, this were a somewhat curious spectacle, but what happened to them? Donal Fallon joins Gavan for another episode of Hidden Histories.

Sports fans among you will have heard the urban myth that the German soccer team’s away kit is green because they borrowed the colour from Ireland. Indeed, Ireland has lent its colours to other sports, and today we’re going to talk about motor racing and specifically ‘British Racing Green’ - the colour worn by British motor racers. In 1903, the Irish public - and beyond - were captivated by something called the Gordon Bennett Cup, the first ever motor-race to be held in these islands. Motorsports were illegal in England, and so the fast-paced event took place in rural Ireland. The first ever closed-circuit motor race, it brought massive media attention onto Ireland. Donal Fallon joins Gavan Reilly for another episode of Hidden Histories

Easter Sunday is, for the State and many others, a day of reflection and commemoration. We know the names of many who died in the Easter Rising – but sometimes, it is the stories of those who survived that can fascinate. Easter Rising volunteer Diarmuid Lynch for instance, in the midst of a food crisis which threatened starvation, led a group of men who ‘commandeered’ pigs destined for exportation, slaughtering them and distributing the bacon to Dublin’s poor. The story made heroes of Volunteers in 1918, in the very streets where they’d been booed and jeered two years earlier. Donal Fallon joins Gavan Reilly for another episode of Hidden Histories.

Rabindranath Tagore is perhaps the most famous poet you’ve never heard of, but his bust sits in St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin, not far from one honouring W.B Yeats. With this weekend marking the centenary of the Amritsar Massacre - an event which had a profound impact on the Indian poet - it seems only right to honour “the Bard of Bengali”. For another edition of Hidden Histories; Sean Defoe is joined by Donal Fallon to discuss.

In April 1919, members of the global media gathered in Limerick to report on a transatlantic Air race beginning in the county. It didn’t go ahead. Instead, visiting journalists from England, Europe and America found themselves covering the story of the so-called ‘Limerick Soviet’, one of the most dramatic episodes of revolutionary Ireland. Donal Fallon has been looking into the life of Jimmy Hasty and joins Gavan for another episode of Hidden Histories.

It’s probably fair to say that only the League of Ireland die-hards among you might have ever heard of Jimmy Hasty. But there was a time when Jimmy was known all across the country, not only for his outstanding footballing skills, but for the fact that he also only had one arm. Known as the 'One Armed Wonder' Jimmy was tragically killed on the streets of Belfast in 1974, shot dead in an unprovoked sectarian attack. Donal Fallon has been looking into the life of Jimmy Hasty and joins Gavan for another episode of Hidden Histories.

‘Garradrimma’, in Co Westmeath has, like many places in Ireland, its own troubles - family breakdown, crisis pregnancy, and the likes - but there are two things that are slightly less usual about Garradrimma. The first is that it doesn’t exist, it’s a fictional place that exists only in writing… and the second is that all of those very 21st-century problems, were described in 1918. All of these themes were in a book, The Valley of the Squinting Windows… which, as you might expect for a book dealing with such “non-traditional” family values, was burned at the bonfires when it was published… All of which sounds like a perfect topic for Hidden Histories with Donal Fallon.

The story of Saint Patrick is truly international – he was, afterall, a Welsh missionary, bringing the word of Rome to the people of Ireland. Saint Patrick’s Day will be celebrated globally today, but it is a little known  fact that Saint Patrick is also the patron saint of another nation – Nigeria. Bound to Ireland today by migration, and historically by colonial pasts, just how did Patrick become the Patron Saint of that nation? Donal Fallon has been looking into it for another episode of Hidden Histories