James Scully | Guest: Irish Stew Podcast

Historian / Author

James Scully is a retired primary school teacher and respected local historian from Banagher, County Offaly, who taught for decades at St Rynagh’s and has long been active in documenting the town’s heritage. A prolific researcher and writer on Banagher and Offaly history, he has produced work on subjects ranging from graveyards and local place-names to canal and waterways heritage, often in collaboration with local historical organizations.

A gifted communicator, he has a fondness for writers with an eye to the topographical context such as Joyce, Flann O’Brien, Trollope and the Brontes.

He is coauthor with Kieran Keenaghan of the recent local history volume That Beats Banagher! a book on the people and stories of the town that has attracted coverage and review pieces in multiple Irish media outlets.

Dec. 7, 2025

“That Beats Banagher!” with Historian James Scully & Horse Racing’s Mark Boylan

The Irish Midlands flow to the relentless rhythm of the River Shannon and along its banks the Irish Stew podcasters found themselves again, Day Five of their “Off the Beaten Craic in the Hidden Heartlands” wanderings, gazing across its broad expanse from the docks of the County Offaly town of Banagher. There, cohosts John Lee and Martin Nutty met local historian James Scully and caught up with an old friend of John’s, Mark Boylan, who covers horseracing for The Irish Field, to explore the his...

Guests: James Scully , Mark Boylan

Listen to the Episode