Do you know which Irish county had the highest population by the end of the 1800s? Well, read on and you will find out, that county is the subject of today’s Letter from Ireland.

The Pogues & More – A Different Sort of Irish Music (#735)

In today’s episode, we explore the different sort of Irish music that was coming onto the scene from the mid-1970s. We first look at the story of that great London-Irish band – The Pogues – and then onto the more subtle music of Paul Brady. In both cases, lots of background stories, music and craic.…

Pride, Prejudice & The Irish Origins of a Great Literary Family (#718)

In this episode of the Letter from Ireland podcast we take a literary turn! First off we have a look at that literary masterpiece of Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice – having fun with some of the Irish versions of the character’s surnames. Then, we trace our way from County Down to Yorkshire in…

An Irish Rebel Easter (#715)

As we approach Easter here in Ireland, the thoughts of many Irish people turn to the historic events around the Easter Rising of 1916. In this episode we talk about that time as well as another Irish leader who was killed 100 years ago this year. We also feature Irish rebel songs commemorating many of…

The Evolution of Irish Surnames – Where your Irish Surname fits

In this article, we look at Irish Surnames – their origins and evolution. See if you can find the Irish surnames in your family tree in one of the sections below.