Three Castles Burning

Donal Fallon

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.

  1. 30 SEPT.

    Castle 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 work and passions of one of Ireland’s most beloved scribes. Born in Castle Island (two words, he insisted) in 1925, Con became the heart of the Evening Press newspaper on Dublin’s Burgh Quay. His love for his native Kerry, sport, literature, the theatre, St Patrick’s Athletic, the public houses of Dublin and more besides are all explored here. One of Ireland’s great actors of the stage, Brendan Conroy reads march reports and other pieces from Con, while the journalist, writer and friend of Con, Roy Curtis, held the attention of the room throughout with his beautiful memories of a man who influenced him greatly. Recorded at the Dublin Festival of History.   Thanks to all Patreons of the podcast (www.patreon.com/threecastlesburning) The Dublin Pub is available (with free post and packaging) from independent bookshop TheBookshop.ie.

    58 min
  2. Grainne Shaffrey in Conversation: On Cities, Towns and Our Built Environment

    10 SEPT.

    Grainne 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 Dublin and beyond, with projects including 14 Henrietta Street and Wicklow Head Lighthouse. Fifty years on from Patrick Shaffrey producing The Irish Town: An Approach to Survival, Grainne Shaffrey joins me to talk about the journey since. This event was part of the brilliant Seán Corcoran Series in Drogheda’s Highlanes Gallery, an annual event dedicated to the life, work and memory of one of Ireland’s great collectors and local champions: www.seancorcoranseries.com/ (Image: William Murphy shot of 14 Henrietta Street. Creative Commons. With thanks to William for his on-going photography capturing Dublin.)

    1 h 1 min

  3. 1 SEPT.

    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 while barely a teenager. In the 1980s he would come to manage the team he had supported since his childhood, St Patrick’s Athletic, before going on to historic victories with Ireland’s youth teams in the 1990s. In this discussion, we touch on everything from the 1966 World Cup Final to the visit of the Al-Helal Football Academy in Gaza to Dublin. A little language in this one.  With thanks to Naoise Nunn and all at Mindfield/Electric Picnic. For more on Kerr’s story, see Joe O’Rourke’s ‘The People’s Champions’ exploring his 1989/1990 league winning side. Support Three Castles Burning, an independent ad-free podcast, at www.patreon.com/threecastlesburning Or at www.ko-fi.com/threecastlesburning

    55 min

  4. 24 AOÛT

    Famine 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 much to how we understood the events that reshaped Ireland. While the crisis recalls rural Ireland, Dublin was central to the story, as the location of the Castle Administration and a bustling port. In this episode we touch on the peculiar story of Alexis Soyer, chef to London’s Reform Club, who would arrive in the city in 1847. Establishing a soup kitchen in front of the Royal Barracks, Soyer’s intervention was widely condemned in the contemporary press. Rot is available now in all good bookshops.

    35 min

  5. 12 AOÛT

    Fighting 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 provided the imperative for a municipal fire service. While Captain James Robert Ingram’s name is associated with the ‘Whiskey Fire’ of 1875, there were many other significant fires, including the destruction of Dublin’s Theatre Royal. This all occurred in a time when a new scientific approach to firefighting was taking shape, thanks to the pioneering writing of James Braidwood, influenced by the Great Fire of Edinburgh. This episode explores the emergence of modern firefighting, and how Edinburgh and London paved the way for what followed in Dublin. Las Fallon is the author of The Great Liberties Whiskey Fire (2025) available from Chapters Bookshop and online from Kenny’s at: https://www.kennys.ie/shop/the-great-liberties-whiskey-fire-fallon-las-9781916742673-1

    33 min

  6. 26 JUIL.

    Tipperary 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 Premier County reach an All Ireland Final, hundreds gather to remember Seán Treacy on the morning of the game. What began this tradition, and why is it growing in popularity?

    29 min

  7. 15 JUIL.

    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 border, was a defining part of the showband scene that withstood the changing musical tastes of the country from one decade into the next. Where did the Showband Scene come from, and what were its lasting impacts on music in Dublin and beyond?

    32 min

  8. 30 JUIN

    ‘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 drew revellers from near and far to Donnybrook, but a combination of social reformers successfully brought about its demise in the 1850s. In this story, we meet characters as diverse as prize fighter Dan Donnelly, and civic reformer James Haughton.  This month marks the twentieth anniversary of the passing of the great Frank Harte, a truly remarkable man and Dubliner, who brought this fair to life in his singing.

    35 min
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À propos

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.

Informations

  • Création
    Donal Fallon
  • Années d’activité
    2019 - 2025
  • Épisodes
    100
  • Classification
    Tous publics
  • Copyright
    © Donal Fallon
  • Site web de l’émission
    Three Castles Burning

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