Three Castles Burning

Like his father Jim Hand before him, promoter Brian Hand would build a real and lasting relationship with The Dubliners over many years. For singer and actor Phelim Drew, the band were like an extension of family. In this discussion, recorded live at the Luke Kelly Festival, we get into great personal memories of The Dubliners and what the band still mean today.

Contains some bad language.

Fifty years ago today, a series of no-warning car bombs erupted across Dublin and Monaghan.  This would prove to be the bloodiest day of the Troubles. Immediately, questions were raised about how this event had come to pass. In a new documentary, director Joe Lee and producer Fergus Dowd explore what happened on 17 May 1974. Warning: This episode is quite graphic in describing the day. This episode of the podcast is dedicated to the memory of Derek Byrne.

Temporary interventions into the Dublin streetscape have a curious history. This week, the livestream portal with New York made international headlines. For me, it recalled the CowParade, Bowl of Light and other such things.

When you put something out there on the street, there's no way of telling how people will respond.

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In 1970, the outdoor rock festival was a totally new idea in Ireland. Amidst press coverage of Woodstock and the Isle of Wight, focused on LSD and exagerated crowd trouble, the booking of Mungo Jerry, Thin Lizzy and others for Richmond Park would be the first Dublin experience of such a festival here. Why did this festival fail? And how, just a few short years later, had the festival become such an integral part of Irish youth culture?

To the Dublin press, the American Civil War veterans in Dublin cut an unusual shape. These ‘Yankee’ characters looked different, but they also behaved differently. Under the direction of Captain Thomas J. Kelly, these men would be centrally important to the Fenian uprising of 1867. While history remembers this as a skirmish on a hill in Tallaght, much more happened in March 1867 than that.

The story of Mount Jerome Cemetery is the story of Victorian Dublin. There, many of the great innovaters of the city are at rest. If Glasnevin brings to mind the Irish revolution, Mount Jerome instead makes us think of the nineteenth century. Still, there is great diversity in who is (and isn't) buied there. This is a story that touches on everyone from Charles Stewart Parnell to the so-called 'General.'

Thanks to Patrons of the podcast whose support made this research possible.

The labour leader Jim Larkin was international news when he departed Ireland in 1914. In America, Larkin would cross paths with the FBI founder J. Edgar Hoover, landing in prison for 'Criminal Anarchy'. What did all of this mean back in Dublin? My guest is Ronan Burtenshaw, author of a recent piece on Larkin for Jacobin magazine: https://jacobin.com/2024/01/jim-larkin-ireland-labor-150

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jim Larkin. In this two-part special, Ronan Burtenshaw (author of a recent piece exploring Larkin for Jacobin magazine) joins me to discuss this important and divisive revolutionary figure. Larkin in Dublin means 1913, but where did he come from? This story brings us from Liverpool Cathedral to the streets of West Belfast.

Ronan's piece: https://jacobin.com/2024/01/jim-larkin-ireland-labor-150) 

Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc is no stranger to this podcast. While his latest book explores 'The Disappeared' (launching this month from Merrion Press), he has also been undertaking a study of the far-right in Ireland historically. Moving beyond the familiar, like the Army Comrades Association ('the Blueshirts'), Pádraig's study begins with some more overlooked groups. Even before Oswald Mosley, the British Fascisti were a force with surprising connections to Dublin, and an active branch in the city.

SEASON 3!

A recent television debate on the Irish language in schools reminded me of a curious story from history. The Language Freedom Movement touches on many widely known figures in 1960s Ireland, including John B. Keane and the broadcaster Gay Byrne. In the Mansion House, a meeting descended into chaos.

2023 marks the 200th anniversary of the Royal Hibernian Academy, an institution which has moved across the Liffey owing to the flames of Easter Week, and which has championed the visual arts through an ever-changing Ireland.  Cristín Leach is the author of a new creative study of the body, which weaves history and art to tell the story.

Over five generations, one family have played a unique role in the story of the Phoenix Park. More than that, the Flanagan family have a history that stretches back even earlier in the story of this beloved space. Joyce maintained that in the particular is contained the universal - can we tell the story of a place through this one unique tale?

The Lamplighters of the Phoenix Park is available now from all good bookshops.

Brendan Kelly is the author of a new history of Grangegorman and the asylum located there for generations. This conversation was recorded within the grounds of the site. What was the life of a patient in an asylum really like? Through letters, medical records and doctors' notes, Brendan Kelly gives us a glimpse inside Grangegorman and the lives of those who lived and worked there.

Not a particularly easy listen at times - and please note that some of the language, drawn from primary sources, reflects very different times.

Ridley Scott doesn't seem to get on with historians, but here is a nice little story all about Napoleon and his surprising Dublin connections. One of the most revealing and personal insights into Napoleon came from a Dublin doctor who spent time with him on the island of St Helena.

My Name Is Napoleon Bonaparte by Dónal Lunny and Frank Harte was released in 2001.

Nicola Pierce is the author of O'Connell Street: The History and Life of Dublin's O'Connell Street. It is a book as much about people as buildings, which charts the unique story of Ireland's most famous street. Now illuminated in a unique way as part of Dublin Winter Lights, we walked the street together on a busy evening chatting about its statues and landmarks. Thanks to the team at Dublin Winter Lights (www.dublinwinterlights.ie)

James Morrissey has produced a beautiful and important book exploring the history of Claddagh Records and Garech Browne. 'Real to Reel' explores a record label which championed not only Irish folk and traditional music, but also poetry and the visual arts. Now, the label has returned with great new talents including OXN. Both me and James Morrissey will be appearing at 'Banter' at Other Voices this weekend.

Thanks for your patience. We raised thousands of euro towards a good cause, as mentioned in the introduction here.

Roger Doyle has made an incredible contribution to Irish music across decades. In this discussion he talks about everything from his own musical beginnings to Operating Theatre, and from The Diceman (Thom McGinty) to James Joyce. Roger Doyle's music is available from https://rogerdoyle1.bandcamp.com/

This edition of the podcast is dedicated to the memory of my friend Hughie Friel.

(Image Credit: The cover of 'Spring is Coming with a Strawberry in the Mouth' by All City Records, image by Amelia Stein)

Irish supernatural writing did not begin or end with the great Bram Stoker. Indeed, even within Stoker's own family there were other great writers. In this very special edition of the podcast, actor Kathy Rose O'Brien brings to life four extraordinary authors, while Brian J. Showers of Swan River Press talks us through this genre. www.swanriverpress.ie

This December - most likely - marks the centenary of the birth of Anthony Cronin. His memoir of Bohemian Dublin, Dead As Doornails (1976),  remains a masterpiece. With Jimmy Murphy, I went through the book and its importance. With thanks to Ian Dunphy at the Museum of Literature Ireland for sound.

P.S, 'The Lamplighters of the Phoenix Park' is out now!: https://www.kennys.ie/shop/pre-order-category/the-lamplighters-of-the-phoenix-park-donal-fallon-with-james-and-frank-flanagan-9781399722810

Geographer Joseph Brady is the co-producer of a new study of Dublin in maps. This journey begins with the earliest depictions of the Irish capital, but brings us through some fascinating oddities. Did you know that the Soviet Union produced a map of the city for intelligence purposes, or that mapping Dublin's postcodes has proven surprisingly divisive? Dublin: Mapping the City is available now.

There are few careers in Irish music as extraordinary as that of Dónal Lunny. His name will forever be connected with the groups Emmet Spiceland, Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts. Yet beyond being a defining musician, he has made important contributions on the other side of the sound desk too. In this discusssion, recorded at Another Love Story, we pass through some of the greatest Irish albums of the twentieth century.

Three Castles Burning: A History of Dublin in Twelve Streets is available now with free P&P from: https://www.kennys.ie/shop/three-castles-burning-a-history-of-twelve-dublin-streets-donal-fallon-9781848408722

A real privilege to talk to an artist who first emerged in the 1960s, and who is still making fantastic work today. Any discussion with Jim Fitzpatrick passes through subjects as diverse as Harry Clarke, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, Phil Lynott, Sinéad O'Connor and the world of Marvel. Recorded at the Electric Picnic, thanks to those of you who came along. This episode touches on some serious issues including the Dublin bombings, the Troubles and addiction.

Visuals can be viewed on Instagram at @threecastlesburning, on Twitter @fallon_donal and on Patreon.

Jim's work: https://jimfitzpatrick.com/

'Three Castles Burning' with free P and P: https://www.kennys.ie/shop/three-castles-burning-a-history-of-twelve-dublin-streets-donal-fallon-9781848408722

Seán O'Casey had a turbulent relationship with the Abbey Theatre. Now, his Dublin trilogy is back on the stage of the national theatre. Championed with his arrival on the stage in 1923, and denounced in 1926 with The Plough and the Stars, O'Casey remains one of the most inspirational figures of twentieth-century Irish theatre. Did you know that Alfred Hitchcock tried his hand at bringing O'Casey to the world of cinema? 

TCB book with free P&P in Ireland: https://www.kennys.ie/shop/three-castles-burning-a-history-of-twelve-dublin-streets-donal-fallon-9781848408722

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The body of Daniel O'Connell is at rest in Glasnevin Cemetery, an institution with which he is eternally linked. His heart? Well, that has been something of a mystery. Dublin artist Claire Halpin joins me this week to talk about her recent show in Rome, and a little intervention she made into the question of just what happened to the heart of 'The Liberator'.

https://clairehalpin2011.wordpress.com/

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Sinéad O'Connor.

The Foggy Dew is in itself a historic document. Written in 1919, this story of the Easter Rising and the contrasting World War has gone around the world. This episode of the podcast explores the song and its meaning, and how it came to bring together the incredible talents of The Chieftains and Sinéad O'Connor. 

The National Stadium on the South Circular Road has witnessed some really incredible nights. To some, it is the home of Irish boxing, a story that's connected to the sporting history of the Gardaí as well as the endless enthusiasm of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association. To others, it is a gig venue which recalls names like Planxty, Led Zeppelin and Leonard Cohen. Thanks for your memories!

In June 1963, President John F. Kennedy arrived into a city in crisis. As Dublin tenements seemed to be collapsing to the touch, the visit of a U.S President was a welcome distraction. In some ways, it was a distraction for him, too. History recalls New Ross, but in Dublin there were significant moments, captured brilliantly by reporters and writers like the poet Louis MacNeice. 

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Sincere thanks to the Dalkey Book Festival for the invitation to interview Roddy Doyle. This was a chance to talk about things as diverse as Maeve Brennan, the impact of the 1974 Dublin bombings, Myles na gCopaleen and more. A language warning on this one.

Bloomsday as we know it owes its existence to Brian O'Nolan, otherwise Myles na gCopaleen, otherwise Flann O'Brien. In 1954, he was the catalyst for gathering together a number of Dublin McDaidsian types who embarked on an epic journey of their own in honour of Leopold Bloom, Buck Mulligan and the cast of Ulysses. They didn't make it too far.

This week, we got some data from the 2022 Census. It seems a good time to look into the past. The census has always given us unusual insights into Ireland. We can find humour and protest in it too. 

See: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/

The Phoenix Park assassinations of May 1882 shook British politics. All had heard of the Fenians, but who were the Invincibles? Today, a cross in the grass on Chesterfield Avenue marks the location where these events played out - but who put it there?

Thanks for your patience! This new episode explores the incredible life and influence of Peadar Kearney, a key figure in the Cultural Revival then, and the folk revival now. My guest is Macdara Yeates of 'The Night Before Larry Was Stretched', a monthly singing session in The Cobblestone. He's also co-producing 'One Hundred Years of Brendan Behan'. https://ilfdublin.com/whats-on/one-hundred-years-of-brendan-behan/

The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists is a book that had a massive impact on British society. Some say it helped win a General Election, George Orwell called it essential reading. In Ireland, it is little known, despite the author coming from Wexford Street. This week, playwright Jimmy Murphy joins me to talk about the impact this book had on his own life and work.

The area between Smithfield and Capel Street has historically been known as 'The Markets'. A recent event gave some idea of what this area could be. Today, we're exploring it with a hopeful message for the future.

This week marks the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Archbishop John Charles McQuaid. I visited the studio of acclaimed artist Robert Ballagh, who has just painted the Archbishop. In the 1980s, Ballagh painted Noël Browne, the Minister for Health who clashed with McQuaid. These two works are connected in many ways.

The story of U2's emergence is connected to the broader story of late 1970s Dublin. From the Project Arts Centre to the explosive visit of The Clash to the unlikely setting of Trinity College Dublin's exam hall, this episode brings you behind the scenes of the recent documentary U2: A Sort of Homecoming. 

Arran Henderson of Dublin Decoded knows the streets of Dublin inside out. On a walk through streets I always think of as part of a different Dublin story, he showed me how Werburgh Street, Fishamble Street and others were all central to the story of early Dublin theatre. On this journey we meet some interesting characters, from a pioneering nationalist theatre director to the much-feared Lord Deputy of Ireland. Dublin Decoded tour tickets are available from dublindecoded.com

(Image: Thomas Wentworth)

One of the most eagerly awaited books about the city in recent years, Dublin: A Writer's City is a triumph. In this edition of the podcast, presented as part of the Young Hearts Run Free series, author Chris Morash brings us on a journey across literary Dublin. (Event poster by Niall McCormack)

This episode of the podcast explores some of the most peculiar films shot in Dublin over many decades. From Fu Manchu to the Bogside, we're looking at times directors turned Dublin into somewhere else.

(Reupload, apologies due to podcast hosting gremlins!)

Part II of the Brendan Behan centenary special, this journey brings us through some surprising places. From Littlewood's London to strange times in North America, this is the story of the fame and fall of Brendan Behan.

This week marks the centenary of the birth of Brendan Behan. Over two editions, Three Castles Burning will explore the life and times of this remarkable talent. In the first part, we look at Behan's revolutionary days and the impact of Borstal on him.

Musician Joe Chester has produced a beautiful musical tribute to Lucia Joyce, the dancer and illustrator. Daughter of James Joyce, Lucia was born in Trieste in 1907. She would spend more than four decades of her life in institutions after being diagnosed as schizophrenic in the mid-1930s. 'Lucia' by Joe Chester is his first major composition for classical guitar & strings, inspired by her journey.

Support TCB: www.patreon.com/threecastlesburning

This week, a new app launched exploring the history of Dublin's Docklands. Where do the Docklands begin, and what remains are left of its industrial past? This episode explores the changing fortunes of Dublin's Docklands, and the working class communities who lived and worked alongside it. Oh, and a disappearing elephant!

Dublin Discovery Trails: https://doorsintodocklands.com/

When Pele visited Dublin with Santos in 1972, one Irish newspaper proclaimed him to be "Soccer's Sinatra."

In a country that came late to television - and which fell in love with the global game thanks in no small part to the magic of Pele in the 1970 World Cup - Santos vs Bohemians/Drumcondra was the hottest ticket in town. The game proved somewhat lacklustre, but many will never forget seeing Pele on Irish soil.

Happy New Year!

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Luke McManus has produced North Circular, a documentary which brings the viewer on a journey from the Wellington Testimonial all the way through the north inner-city. He chatted to me about the NCR, the various people who call it home and what it means for Dublin today.

North Circular info:  https://twitter.com/northcircular_

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Each year, Dublin City Council hosts the Winter Lights festival, lighting up key buildings and sites around Dublin. Myself and historian Fergus Whelan went for a walk through some of the 2022 locations, from the Marshalsea Prison to Wolfe Tone Park. Did you know that the 'Father of the Scottish Enlightenment' is buried in Dublin, or that Smithfield was once transformed into Checkpoint Charlie? For more see:  Dublin Winter Lights. 

Dermot Looney has spent years working away on a history of Saint Patrick's Athletic. The final product, which includes a beautiful introduction by Brian Kerr, is something much broader - an important social history of Inchicore. Saint Pat's emerge as a club strongly connected to the railway works, and with surprising connections from the very beginning. Saints Rising is available now.

What can we learn about a subject by looking at 100 objects? Thanks to Siobhán Doyle, author of a new study 'A History of the GAA in 100 Objects', for getting into material culture, museums and the social history of the Gaelic Athletic Association with me. From Michael Cusack (was he 'The Citizen?') to yellow sliothars, we're talking about.....stuff.

Support Three Castles Burning: www.patreon.com/threecastlesburning // www.ko-fi.com/threecastlesburning

Hans Holzer was a well-known broadcaster and author in the United States, perhaps the most famous 'ghost hunter' of his day. In 1965 and 1966, he made research visits to Ireland. In Dublin, he heard some amazing stories, and went in search of ghosts in some familiar and lesser-known places.

Sam Stephenson (1933-2006) is one of the most important - and divisive - architects in the history of the Irish capital. As the Central Bank returns to view, we're looking at it and other Stephenson projects in the city. Some, like the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies (DIAS), have recently become protected structures. Others have already been lost.

A young Edna O'Brien fell in love with Dublin. The city would shape her life and her work. It brought love, lust, learning. Now, at 91, her play Joyce's Women takes to the stage of the Abbey Theatre. This podcast explores how Dublin impacted on her, and how she impacted on it.

Housing is today the issue of issues in Ireland, but what can we learn from looking back? Over the course of a century, the Irish state has had successes and failures when it comes to housing. Eoin Ó Broin is the author of Home: Why Public Housing is the Answer, he's also someone firmly at the centre of the political debates around housing in Ireland today. On a wet day in a field in Laois, he answered my questions and a few from the floor. With thanks to Naoise Nunn and Mindfield at Electric Picnic.

When standing in front of Clery's today, and beside the Larkin statue, it is difficult to imagine this was once the site of a brutal police riot in 1913. Just what happened on the first Bloody Sunday in twentieth century Irish history? This is the story of Larkin, the ITGWU and a city of tension.

In recent weeks, a headstone was unveiled in Deansgrange Cemetery honouring Kathleen and Stephen Behan. The parents at 70 Kildare Road in Crumlin, their children would produce an astonishing array of songs and plays capturing the Irish experience. This podcast includes voices from the day, as well as rich archive.

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From The Rag Trade to The Castle Lounge, South William Street has come on a great journey. Now, the street is set for significant change. This journey brings us through the changing fortunes of a city, and while the Georgian buildings may speak loudest on the street, there is much more to South William Street.

 In Temple Bar, a plaque honours the Hirschfeld Centre. At Bow Lane East, an aging sign is all that remains of Incognito, a gay sauna that made it to the front of the international press in the early 1990s for all of the wrong reasons. Then there's Dublin Castle, a site of joy and scandal. These are just some of the many sites of memory that help us tell the story of Gay Dublin.

*This episode contains some explicit language.*

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In June 1962, Sylvia Beach was in the last months of her life. She unveiled a tower in Sandycove as a museum to James Joyce. Without her, would the world have known the significance of that place? Her little Parisian bookshop will forever be bound to Dublin.

Last week, a series of commemorative brass plaques were unveiled on Dublin 8's Donore Avenue in honour of six victims of the Holocaust with connections to Dublin. These memorial stones are part of a truly global project honouring the victims of the Holocaust, but marked the first on Irish soil. This edition of the podcast explores the background to this project.

Joseph Brady is a geographer with a special interest in the changing landscape of the city and county of Dublin. A discussion on Dublin since the 1970s brings us through things like smog, the stinking Liffey, the quays and the changing docklands. Some change was good, some wasn't, and some remains on the table.

Brady's new study Dublin from 1970 to 1990: The City Transformed is available now.

Thomas Kinsella from The Ranch was one of Ireland's great poets, but Dublin - and working class Dublin especially - was at the very heart of his work. This podcast explores what we might call Thomas Kinsella's Dublin, from his home on the border of Inchicore and Ballyfermot to Wood Quay.

"In writing The Playboy of the Western World, as in my other plays, I have used one or two words only that I have not heard among the country people of Ireland, or spoken in my own nursery before I could read the newspapers."

Why did Synge's masterpiece cause such trouble in the Dublin of 1907, and was it really a 'riot' or something else?

The story of 24 April 1916 is well told. What about the day before?

In Dublin, the eve of an insurrection was a strange day of rumour, horse racing tips and - in Phibsborough - a kidnap saga.

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This edition of the podcast explores some of the poetry of the late Vincent Caprani. A proud Italo-Irish Dub, Caprani wrote some excellent and memorable poems about the city and its people. He died last October. Contains bad language, but plenty of soul.

Alderman Tom Kelly is one of Dublin's great forgotten heroes. A Councillor who championed housing (even before the houses of the city were collapsing in 1913) he came from Dublin's tenements and insisted on the need to replace them with good quality housing. Part of his legacy is The Tenters, a series of streets in Dublin 8.

Cathy Scuffil is a Historian in Residence to Dublin City Council and an authority on Dublin 8.

Dublin is a city and county with some brilliant and downright odd street names, reflecting all from industrial history to the moon landings. This week we're exploring some of the more unusual ones, and looking at some names which have somehow survived major change.

(Podcast thumbnail: William Murphy, Flickr)

We're back! Series 2, Episode 1.

In recent weeks, there has been much talk about the Russian Embassy on Orwell Road. The story of Ireland's connections to the former Soviet Union is a sometimes surprising journey, taking in all from the Lockout to the (alleged) Russian Crown Jewels.

Kathryn Milligan is the author of one of my favourite books on Dublin in recent years, Painting Dublin: 1886-1949. It explores how various artists have depicted the Hibernian Metropolis. We share a great love for Harry Kernoff, and in this episode she shares great insights into the man and the artist.

How can we compare the handing over of Dublin Castle with key moments in the history of other nations like India or Barbados? How accurate was the depiction of the transfer of power in Neil Jordan's 1996 classic Michael Collins? Kate O'Malley, co-author of The Handover (with John Gibney) joined me to explore what the handing over of Dublin Castle meant in the context of Empire.

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of Dublin's first female Lord Mayor, Kathleen Clarke. A founding member of Fianna Fáil, her time in the Mansion House brought her into serious confrontation with the party. She transformed the  symbols of the city and paved the way for the nine other women who have followed her.

It is sixty years since the arrival of Irish television. De Valera launched the station into the world, telling viewers that "I must admit that sometimes when I think of television and radio and their immense power I feel somewhat afraid." What did television mean for Dublin?

January is a time for thinking about mental health. Few names are as important in that story in an Irish context as Jonathan Swift, the founder of Saint Patrick's Hospital. Swift transformed the area around his Cathedral, ensuring work and dignity for the people of the Liberties, but the hospital remains the most important part of his legacy.

Dublin has been well served by photographers, men and women who have captured the Hibernian Metropolis in all of its glory and tragedy. A new exhibition tells the story of photography in Ireland from 1839 right up to the present.  

(Thumbnail: Elinor Wiltshire image of Arbour Hill, NLI)

In 2002, Dr. Ruth McManus published her landmark study Dublin 1910-1940, shaping the city and suburbs. Now, ahead of its twentieth anniversary, it is back on our shelves. Ruth joined me to talk about all things planning and suburbia in a Dublin that was changing rapidly.

Agnes Bernelle brought the spirit of Berlin to the stage of Dublin. Described in one obituary as "a true Bohemian", she was a guiding light to a generation of Irish performers. Her story passes through Blitz-era London, the development of young Phil Chevron and more besides.