Undercover Irish

Eolan Ryng
  • 5.0 (3)
  • History
  • Updated Weekly

Undercover Irish is a podcast about Ireland's history, language, placenames and the stories that often get left out. Named one of the Irish Examiner's Top 10 Irish Podcasts of 2025. Episodes explore everything from forgotten places and revolutionary history to Gaeilge, Irish words and names, emigration, folklore and the links between Ireland and the wider world. Undercover Irish; Uncovering Ireland's Hidden Curriculum.

  1. 1d ago

    Cork's Kilmainham Ep. 4: The Firing Squads Return

    Cork's Kilmainham continues. In Episode 4, the story moves into the darkest period yet for Cork Military Detention Barracks. Following the death of Terence MacSwiney and the introduction of martial law, the barracks moves to the centre of the conflict in Cork. Men captured across the county are brought here, court martialled here and, increasingly, condemned to death here. This episode tells the story of Con Murphy, the first man executed in Cork under the new martial law regime, before moving to the failed Dripsey ambush and the five IRA prisoners who were sentenced to death. We also look at Maria Lindsay, whose warning to the British helped expose the Dripsey ambush, her extraordinary letter to General Strickland, and the unlikely figures who came forward to speak on behalf of the condemned men. The episode culminates on 28 February 1921, when six men were executed by firing squad at Cork Military Detention Barracks while their families and supporters gathered outside the walls. This is also the story of how one building became a physical link between some of the most important moments in Cork's revolutionary history. If you're new to the series, start with the earlier episodes: Episode 1 explores the origins of Cork Military Detention Barracks, its links to Fenian prisoners and the extraordinary story that eventually connects Cork with the Catalpa rescue. Episode 2 follows the story of Thomas Kent, executed here after the 1916 Rising, his secret burial and the later discovery of his grave. Episode 3 tells the story of Terence MacSwiney, his arrest as Lord Mayor of Cork, his first night in the detention barracks wearing the mayoral chain and the hunger strike that would eventually shake the world. And now, in Episode 4, the firing squads return. If you enjoy Undercover Irish, please follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, leave a rating or review, and share the episode with anyone interested in Cork history, the Irish War of Independence or Ireland's revolutionary period. You can also support the podcast on Patreon, where you'll find extra material connected to the series, including the free Hidden in Plain Sight booklet on Cork Military Detention Barracks. Search terms: Cork Military Detention Barracks, Cork's Kilmainham, Dripsey Ambush, Con Murphy, Maria Lindsay, Irish War of Independence, martial law Cork, Cork executions 1921, Terence MacSwiney, Thomas Kent, Irish revolutionary history.

  2. Sep 9

    Cork's Kilmainham Ep. 3: The Chain, the Cell and the Hunger Strike

    Cork's Kilmainham Episode 3: The Chain, the Cell and the Hunger Strike In Episode 3 of Cork's Kilmainham, we follow the extraordinary story of Terence MacSwiney, from prisoner in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising to Lord Mayor of Cork, and finally back into British military custody at the Cork Military Detention Barracks. The episode begins in the shadow of Thomas Kent's execution in May 1916, as Cork Volunteers were arrested, imprisoned and deported. Among them were Tomás MacCurtain and Terence MacSwiney, two men who would go from detention cells to Cork City Hall within four years. We trace the political transformation that followed: the 1918 general election, the establishment of Dáil Éireann, the Democratic Programme, the rise of the Republican courts, and Cork Corporation's decision to recognise the authority of the Irish Republic. Then came the murder of Tomás MacCurtain in March 1920 and MacSwiney's election as Lord Mayor. In August 1920, British forces raided Cork City Hall and arrested MacSwiney. He was brought directly to the Cork Military Detention Barracks, where he refused to surrender the Lord Mayor's chain and began the hunger strike that would ultimately make his name known across the world. The episode also looks at the remarkable Prudential Assurance Company case, a powerful example of just how far Republican institutions had begun to exercise real authority in Cork by the summer of 1920. From Cork to Brixton Prison, the story then became international. MacSwiney's hunger strike inspired protests, demonstrations and industrial action across Europe and the United States, from New York to Barcelona. After 74 days without food, Terence MacSwiney died in Brixton Prison on 25 October 1920. But the story began in Cork. Inside a building that still stands today. The Cork Military Detention Barracks was the place where Thomas Kent was executed, where Cork Volunteers were imprisoned and deported, and where Terence MacSwiney began the hunger strike that shook the world. This series is also an appeal to protect and preserve this extraordinary building before another piece of Cork and Irish revolutionary history is lost. If you haven't listened to the first two episodes of Cork's Kilmainham, go back and start the story from the beginning. Episode 1 explores the origins of Cork Military Detention Barracks, the Famine years, the Fenians and the extraordinary road to the Catalpa rescue. Episode 2 tells the story of Thomas Kent, his execution in 1916, his secret burial and Tadhg Barry's remarkable discovery of his grave. If you enjoy Undercover Irish, please follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Ratings, reviews and shares genuinely help more people discover the show. Support Undercover Irish on Patreon: patreon.com/UndercoverIrish Follow Undercover Irish on Instagram: instagram.com/UndercoverIrish Topics covered: Terence MacSwiney, Tomás MacCurtain, Thomas Kent, Cork Military Detention Barracks, Cork's Kilmainham, Cork City Hall, 1916 Rising, Irish War of Independence, Dáil Éireann, First Dáil, Democratic Programme, Republican courts, Prudential Assurance Company, Cork IRA, hunger strike, Brixton Prison, Cork history and Irish revolutionary history. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as éisteacht. (directory.libsyn.com)

  3. Sep 4

    Cork's Kilmainham Ep. 2: 1916, Thomas Kent, Tadhg Barry and the Hidden Grave

    When we think of the executions of 1916, we think of Kilmainham Gaol. But Cork has its own surviving 1916 execution site. In this episode of Undercover Irish, we return to Cork Military Detention Barracks and tell the story of Thomas Kent, the east Cork Volunteer executed there on 9 May 1916 and secretly buried within the military grounds. We trace Kent's life from Castlelyons to Boston, where he became involved in Irish-language and cultural organisations, through the Land War and his imprisonment for land agitation, and into the Irish Volunteers in the years immediately before the Rising. We then follow the events of 1916 in Cork, the gun battle at Bawnard House, Kent's court-martial and execution, and the decision to deny his family his body. The story then turns to another remarkable Cork revolutionary: Tadhg Barry — republican, socialist, trade unionist, journalist, Irish-language activist and major GAA figure. Imprisoned in the same military complex at Christmas 1916, Barry was shown the hidden burial place of Thomas Kent by a sympathetic guard. He marked the spot, fell to his knees, kissed the ground and later recorded the moment in a poem. That poem was published in 1921, the same year Barry himself was shot and killed while interned at Ballykinlar. We also look at the role of Cork railway workers in keeping Kent's memory alive, the eventual identification of his remains, and his State reinterment in Castlelyons in 2015. And finally, we return to the question hanging over this entire series: What should happen to Cork Military Detention Barracks now? The grave marker remains. The execution site remains. The prison remains. And yet the building is under threat of demolition. If Kilmainham teaches us the importance of preserving the places where history actually happened, then Cork still has a choice to make. And Thomas Kent is only the beginning. Because thirteen other republicans were later executed within this military complex, while Terence MacSwiney spent the first night of his world-famous hunger strike here. That story continues in the next episode of Undercover Irish ,Uncovering Ireland's Hidden Curriculum. Follow Undercover Irish on Instagram for more Irish history, heritage and hidden stories. Support the podcast on Patreon and help keep independent Irish history projects like this going.

  4. Aug 27

    Cork's Kilmainham Ep. 1: From Famine to Fenians, From Cork to the Catalpa

    Show Notes After far too long away from the podcast, Undercover Irish is back with a new series exploring the extraordinary history of Cork Military Prison, a building I have come to think of as Cork's Kilmainham. Hidden in plain sight, this building has connections to the Great Famine, the Fenians, 1916, hunger strikes, courts martial, executions, the War of Independence and the Civil War. And now it is set to be demolished!!! In this first episode, we go back to the beginning. We look at the prison's construction in the 1840s, the enormous British military presence in Ireland during the Famine years, and the Victorian ideas of discipline and punishment that shaped the building itself. We then explore an early controversy over the appointment of a Catholic chaplain, against the background of the Penal Laws, Protestant Ascendancy and Catholic Emancipation. From there, the story moves into the extraordinary world of Fenian infiltration of the British Army. At the centre of that story is Thomas Darragh, a decorated Protestant British soldier and former Orangeman who became a committed Fenian, recruited within the army, was arrested and sent to Cork, court-martialled and sentenced to death. His story takes us from Cork to transportation, Fremantle Prison in Western Australia, and ultimately to one of the most daring prison escapes in Irish history: the rescue of six Fenian prisoners aboard the Catalpa in 1876. This series is also part of my appeal to save Cork Military Prison. Before we can protect a place, we have to understand what happened there. And this story is only beginning. Follow Undercover Irish on Instagram for clips, images and updates on the campaign to save the building. And if you'd like to support the podcast and help me continue researching and producing stories like this, you can support Undercover Irish on Patreon.

  5. Jun 18

    What Irish Surnames Remember — Part 2: The Names That Came Ashore

    Support on Patreon Undercover Irish — Podcasts on Irish History, Language, Songs and Story. | Patreon What Irish Surnames Remember — Part 2: The Names That Came Ashore Irish surnames are not only a story of Ó, Mac, Ní and Nic. They are also a story of arrival. In Part 2 of What Irish Surnames Remember, we look at the names that came into Ireland through conquest, sea-roads, settlement, exile, work and migration — and how many of them became part of the Irish story. From Norman names like FitzGerald, Burke, Power, Roche and Barry, to Norse-linked names like Doyle, MacAuliffe, MacManus, Cotter and MacIver, this episode explores how surnames can carry memory of contact across water. We also look at names like Lynch, where one spelling can hide more than one history, and Walsh and Joyce, names that show how yesterday's outsider can become tomorrow's local surname. Along the way, we ask: When does a name become Irish? Is it when it begins in Irish? When it has an Ó or a Mac? When it is spoken here? When it is written into records here? When it gathers Irish memory? This episode also touches on later names that came ashore: Huguenot names, Jewish names, German names connected to Ardnacrusha, and Dutch names connected to Verolme Dockyard — reminders that Irishness was never purity. It was layering. Core idea: A name does not have to begin in Ireland to become part of Ireland. In this episode: Norman names: Fitz, de, Burke, Power, Roche, Barry and FitzGerald "More Irish than the Irish themselves" Surnames and placenames: names as maps Norse and Viking traces: Doyle, MacAuliffe, MacManus, Cotter and MacIver Why Lynch is a warning against simple surname stories Walsh, Joyce and names crossing the Irish Sea Huguenot and Jewish names in Ireland German names at Ardnacrusha and Dutch names at Verolme Dockyard Why Irish surnames are about contact, not purity How Mac points us toward the upcoming Ireland–Scotland series Next series: After these two surname episodes, we cross the water into the Ireland–Scotland series: shared Gaelic worlds, language, myth, migration, colonisation, Highland and Irish experience, sectarian echoes, revolutionary links, and the sea-roads between the two places. Support the podcast: If you enjoy Undercover Irish, you can support the show on Patreon. Patreon helps keep the research, writing and production going, and I'll be sharing bonus notes and extra material from the Ireland–Scotland series there.

  6. Jun 10

    What Irish Surnames Remember — Part 1: Ó, Mac, Ní & Nic

    Support the podcast: If you enjoy Undercover Irish, you can support the show on Patreon. Patreon helps keep the podcast going and supports the research, writing and production behind each episode. What Irish Surnames Remember — Part 1: Ó, Mac, Ní & Nic Irish surnames are not just family labels. In this episode of Undercover Irish, we look underneath familiar names like O'Brien, Sullivan, McCarthy, Maguire, O'Neill and McBride to explore the older Irish naming system hidden inside them. Before we cross the water into the upcoming Ireland–Scotland series, we pause to ask why names mattered so much: to families, to communities, and to colonial power. We explore how Ó and Mac carry ideas of descent, sonship, clann and lineage — and how women's forms like Ní, Nic, Uí and Mhic reveal a richer grammar of relationship than English surnames usually show. The episode also looks at the pressure of anglicisation: how Irish names were translated, shortened, misspelled, legally challenged, and pushed through English-speaking systems of law, schooling, census-taking and administration. From Edmund Spenser's hostility to the Ós and Macs, to the symbolic court cases around Irish names and lettering, this episode asks what happens when a naming system is treated as something to be controlled. Core idea: If placenames are memory on the map, surnames are memory in motion. In this episode: Why O'Brien is really Ó Briain What Ó / Ua means How Mac and Mag work Why Ní and Nic are not just "female versions" of surnames What Bean Uí, Bean Mhic, Uí and Mhic reveal How Irish names carry clann, kinship and memory How colonialism and anglicisation fogged, but did not erase, the Irish naming system Why this episode sets up the coming Ireland–Scotland series

  7. Jun 5

    When Ireland Speaks in a Woman's Voice: From Ériu to Elmes

    When Ireland Speaks in a Woman's Voice: From Ériu to Elmes Ireland was named after a woman. Most of us know that Ireland is called Éire in Irish, but far fewer know about Ériu, the mythological figure whose name survives in the very name of the country itself. In this episode of Undercover Irish, we follow the women hidden in Ireland's landscape. From Ériu, Banba and Fódla, to Boann and Sinann, from the holy wells of Brigid and Gobnait to the modern commemorations of Mary Elmes and the women of Cumann na mBan, we explore how women have been remembered on Ireland's map for centuries. Along the way we delve into the Dindshenchas, Ireland's medieval "Lore of Places", uncover the stories behind some of our most famous rivers and placenames, and ask an important question: If women are everywhere in Ireland's oldest landscape, why do they seem so much less visible in the streets and public spaces of modern Ireland? This is a story about memory, mythology, language, landscape and the changing ways Ireland remembers its past. In this episode: Ériu, Banba and Fódla The Dindshenchas – Ireland's Lore of Places Boann and the River Boyne Sinann and the River Shannon Macha, Tailtiu and Carman Brigid and the female sacred landscape Holy wells Victorian commemorative culture The Ladies' Land League Cumann na mBan Mary Elmes, Rosie Hackett and modern public commemoration Support Undercover Irish If you'd like to support the podcast and gain access to bonus episodes, early releases, behind-the-scenes research and exclusive content, you can join us on Patreon: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/why-some-irish-160221927?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link This week's Patreon-exclusive episode: Why Some Irish People Don't Say "The Famine" A look at the language of memory, An Gorta Mór, and what the words we choose reveal about Irish history. Follow Undercover Irish Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow along on social media for updates, bonus content and upcoming episodes. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as éisteacht. Ní saoirse go saoirse na mban.

  8. May 30

    What Irish County Names Really Mean: Part 2

    Ireland's county names are more than simple labels on a map. They are records of invasion, settlement, religion, trade, conquest, resistance, and survival. In Part 2 of What Irish County Names Really Mean, we explore how saints, Vikings, colonists, and mapmakers left their mark on Ireland's counties — and how older Irish identities survived beneath those layers. Along the way we discover: Why Dublin's Irish and English names describe two completely different places. How Viking settlements helped create Ireland's first true cities. The story behind Waterford, Ireland's oldest city. Why Wexford, Wicklow, and Donegal preserve both Irish and Norse identities. How Saint Brigid, Saint Cainneach, Saint Comán, and Saint Columba became immortalised in county names. The connection between Derry's oak groves and Kildare's sacred oak. Why Edmund Spenser believed language was key to conquering Ireland. How the Ordnance Survey transformed Ireland's placenames. Why Irish placenames are some of the most important historical records we possess. Counties featured in this episode: County Dublin — Baile Átha Cliath / Dubh Linn County Waterford — Port Láirge County Wexford — Loch Garman County Wicklow — Cill Mhantáin County Donegal — Dún na nGall / Tír Chonaill County Kildare — Cill Dara County Kilkenny — Cill Chainnigh County Roscommon — Ros Comáin County Down — An Dún County Longford — An Longfort County Derry — Doire / Doire Cholmcille This episode also explores: Viking Ireland Early Christian Ireland Monastic learning The Plantation period Anglicisation of Irish placenames The Ordnance Survey Language, identity, and power If you enjoyed this episode, check out Part 1: What Irish County Names Really Mean – Gods, Tribes and Landscapes Before Ireland Had Counties Follow Undercover Irish wherever you get your podcasts, and if you know someone who's fiercely proud of their county, send them this episode. Because every county name tells a story — and some of those stories are over a thousand years old.

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About

Undercover Irish is a podcast about Ireland's history, language, placenames and the stories that often get left out. Named one of the Irish Examiner's Top 10 Irish Podcasts of 2025. Episodes explore everything from forgotten places and revolutionary history to Gaeilge, Irish words and names, emigration, folklore and the links between Ireland and the wider world. Undercover Irish; Uncovering Ireland's Hidden Curriculum.

Information

  • Creator
    Eolan Ryng
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    Undercover Irish

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