We look at two of Ireland’s minority religions – the Methodists and the Quakers. We tell stories, share music and make a surprising connection from a village in county Cork to the first Quaker colonies in Pennsylvania.

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…

Murder in The West of Ireland – (#708)

In this episode we cover two infamous real life murder cases in the west of Ireland during the 1800s. The first murder was as a result of mass evictions from an Irish estate during the famine – and the second involved a travesty of justice where the accused were tried in a language they did…

Have you Visited the Irish Famine Museum?

A couple of weeks ago, we were on an Irish road-trip around the north-west counties of the island. One of the most striking locations was a place called Strokestown Park House in County Roscommon. And that is the focus of our letter today. The Strokestown Park estate sits in the middle of 11,000 acres in…

Irish Surnames and Their Counties

Do you have Irish surnames in your family tree? If the answer is yes, then read on – and discover more about the surnames of Ireland, where they come from – and see if you can spot some of your Irish surnames.