Frank Pantridge was born to a farming family near Hillsborough, County Down, on October 3rd, 1916. In 1934, he was accepted to the medicine program at Queens University Belfast (QUB). Graduating in 1939, he volunteered for WWII service the day after…
Irish Independent, July 1, 1932, with headline story on Anglo-Irish economic tensions Background to the Anglo-Irish Trade WarWhile the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 granted Ireland a measure of independence, many in the newly formed Saorstát &E…
James Plunkett, author of Strumpet City, one of the best books on Dublin, was born on 21 May 1920 in the Hibernian metropolis. Strumpet City details the lives of common Dublin folk and their hero, James Larkin. The novel is an excellent fiction…
In our latest Irish Stew Podcast episode, cohost Martin Nutty sat down with documentary filmmaker Alan Gilsenan and journalist John Walsh to explore their thought-provoking film, The Irish Question. We think this episode makes for good list…
Join IRISH STEW LIVE at the 1st Irish Festival!Tuesday, April 22 at 7 PM This Tuesday we'll be recording an episode before a live audience, a first for us and for the Origin Theatre Company’s 1st Irish…
Irish Stew Statement As proud supporters of the American Irish Historical Society (AIHS), we feel compelled to express our deep dissatisfaction with the recent decision to remove Dr. Elizabeth Stack from her position as Executive Director. Dr. Stac…
Larry Kirwan's Rockin the Bronx charts the last big wave of Irish emigration to America. Part of this migration fetched up in the Bronx's Bainbridge neighborhood in the early 80s. The denizens of Kirwan's novel are undocumented, undereducated, and u…
Yesterday was one of those podcast recognition moments. We struck gold at the Irish Pod Awards in The Society and Culture category and made the podium again with a bronze for the Best Hosting Duo/Trio category. Some months back, we were surprised to…
The histories of the less exalted in the right hands can make for fascinating reading. While much ink has been spilled writing of Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, and Hitler, less is known about how those figures affected the lives of the many who followed o…
There are now millions of podcasts scattered around the internet. To be brutally honest, most are not worth listening to. That is not the case with Transatlantic, which features two former guests we happened to have hosted twice on Irish Stew. We'd…
Sculptor Jerome Connor (1874 - 1943) was born in Coumduff near Anascaul in Kerry on February 23, 1874. At age 14, he emigrated with his family to Holyoke in Massachusetts. Jerome’s father, Patrick, appears to have worked as a stonecutter, and …
At Irish Stew, our podcast episodes are lengthy. We make no apology for that; we don't think we can come to grips with a person's life in 15 minutes. In truth, it is ridiculous to believe that we could do so in an hour, which is roughly the duration…
John Thomand O'Brien was born in Baltinglass, Wicklow, on the 24th of June 1786. He emigrated to Brazil in 1811 where he attempted to set up several businesses in Brazil and then Argentina. O'Brien's efforts in the commercial domain proved unsuccess…
At Irish Stew, our podcast episodes are lengthy. We make no apology for that; we don't think we can come to grips with a person's life in 15 minutes. In truth, it is ridiculous to believe that we could do so in an hour, which is roughly the duration…
Rory Gallagher, a rock guitarist, was born in Ballyshannon, Donegal, on the 2nd of March, 1948. He is frequently cited as the greatest rock guitarist you've never heard of, a testament to his unwillingness to compromise on the types of music h…
Charles Algernon Parsons (1854 - 1931) was born in London, the youngest child of William Parsons, the 3rd Earl of Ross. Like his remarkable father, who built the Leviathan Telescope at the family seat in Birr Castle, Charles decided to pursue a care…
At Irish Stew, our podcast episodes are lengthy. We make no apology for that, we don't think we come to grips with a person's life in 15 minutes. In truth, it is ridiculous to believe that we can do so in an hour, which is roughly the duration of ti…
Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington c. 1920 Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, suffragette, nationalist and feminist was born Johanna Mary Sheehy into a nationalist family in Kanturk, Cork on May 24th, 1877. She was educated in Dublin receiving both a batchelors and m…
Oisín Kelly was born, Austin Ernest Kelly, into a protestant family on May 17th, 1915. His father, William Kelly, was a school teacher and the family lived on James Street in the heart of working class Dublin on the south side of the River Li…
Daniel Pollen, the 9th Premier of New Zealand, was born in Ringsend in Dublin on the 2nd of June, 1813. Little is known of his early life, although some accounts indicated he initially emigrated to the United States where his father worked on the co…
William Ferguson Massey, the 13th prime minister of New Zealand was born near Limavady, Derry, to a tenant farming Protestant family on March 26th, 1856. Have you listened to our podcast? Get the latest on our Episode Page. In 1862, Massey&rsq…
At Irish Stew, our podcast episodes are lengthy. We make no apology for that, we don't think we come to grips with a person's life in 15 minutes. In truth, it is ridiculous to believe that we can do so in an hour, which is roughly the duration of ti…
Artificial Intelligence rendering of the Battle Of Farsetmore Likely more than a 1,000 men lay dead on the shores, or in the tidal waters of the river Swilly near Letterkenny in Donegal. The encounter at the ford of Farsetmore (Fearsaid Súil…
Mainie Jellett (1897 - 1944) Despite her short life, Mainie Jellett, made significant contributions to the arts in Ireland. Mainie was a pet name; she was born Mary Harriet Jellett on April 29, 1897, into a prosperous Dublin family at 37 Fitzwilli…