Talking History with Patrick Geoghegan

We're looking at the history of American presidential debates as we explore some of the worst mistakes and iconic quips candidates have made and debate whether they can be the making or the breaking of a future president. Featuring Dr Daniel Rowe of the University of Oxford, Dr Sandra Scanlon of UCD, Dr Daniel Geary of Trinity College Dublin, and Dr Lewis Defrates of Maynooth University.

This episode of Talking History centres on the life and legacy of Oliver Cromwell and the massacres in Ireland. Featuring Prof John Morrill, emeritus professor of British and Irish history at the University of Cambridge, Prof Ronald Hutton, Professor of History at the University of Bristol, Prof Micheál Ó Siochrú, Head of the School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin, and Alice Hunt, Professor of Early Modern Literature and History at the University of Southampton. Hosted by Patrick Geoghegan.

We're shining a spotlight on one of the most significant yet overlooked figures in art history, Berthe Morisot, and we'll find out how she became a founding member of the Impressionist movement. Featuring art historian Dr Sinéad Furlong-Clancy of the National Gallery of Ireland and the Hugh Lane Gallery; Dr Timothy Stott of Trinity College Dublin; Janet McLean, curator at the National Gallery of Ireland; and Dr Sabine Kriebel from University College Cork.

As the iconic musical comes to Dublin, we explore the life and legacy of one of America's most influential founders, Alexander Hamilton.

In this episode of Talking History, the kaleidoscopic history of London from the Swinging 60s to the 1980s, with John Davis, emeritus fellow in modern history and politics at The Queen’s College, University of Oxford; spycraft in the age of Elizabeth I, with Nadine Akkerman, professor of early modern literature and culture at Leiden University and OED bibliographer Pete Langman; and humanitarianism and the reconstruction of European intellectual life after the First World War, with Tomás Irish, Associate Professor in Modern History at Swansea University.

To mark the 85th anniversary of the start of the Second World War, we'll find out about the Irish men and women who fought in the Resistance, with authors Clodagh Finn and John Morgan; we'll talk about the North Strand bombing and the different ways the war was experienced north and south, with author Michael B. Barry, and we'll go in search of Nazi spies in Ireland with author Marc McMenamin.

In this episode, we'll continue our series on Ireland's major political parties, as we look at the history of Fine Gael, and debate its successes and failures. Joining host Patrick Geoghegan is former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, as well as Dr Maurice Manning, former Chancellor of the National University of Ireland and former Fine Gael TD and Senator, Dr Elaine Callinan, lecturer in History at Carlow College, Dr Mel Farrell, historian and author of 'Party Politics in a New Democracy: The Irish Free State, 1922-37', and Prof Ciara Meehan, Dean of Students at University of Galway and author of 'The Cosgrave Party: a history of Cumann na nGaedheal, 1923-33'.

In this episode: a new look at the Irish Civil War and how many were killed, with Donal Ó Drisceoil of UCC; ritual and belief in Pagan Ireland, with John Waddell, formerly Professor of Archaeology in the University of Galway; and the forgotten Irish radicals whose dream of a Communist future brought them to Moscow in the 1920s, with historian Maurice J. Casey.

In this episode of Talking History, we're investigating the resignation of President Nixon 50 years ago, the only time an American president has been forced from office in disgrace. Joining Patrick to explore this is Nixon Library resource archivist, Greg Cumming; Sandra Scanlon who lectures in American history at UCD and is an expert on American political culture and its relationship with US foreign policy during the Cold War; Sarah Thelen who lectures in the Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning at UCC, who is an expert on Nixon and the silent majority as well as patriotism and the Nixon White House; and Prof Luke A. Nichter who is Professor of History and James H. Cavanaugh Endowed Chair in Presidential Studies at Chapman University and the author of Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968.

In this episode of Talking History: the women who married Henry VIII have come to be encapsulated in a six-word rhyme - divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. But what were their real lives and legacies? A new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, called Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII's Queens, charts and reveals the extraordinary stories of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. Joining Patrick to discuss this is Dr Charlotte Bolland, curator of the exhibition, and the Gallery’s Senior Curator of Research and 16th Century Collections, managing the display of the collection in the Tudor galleries; Dr Nikki Clark, who wrote the essay in the catalogue about Ladies in Waiting, and is the author of The Waiting Game: The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens and Gender, Family, and Politics: The Howard Women, 1485–1558; and Dr Nicola Tallis, who wrote the essay about the Queens’ Jewels in the catalogue, and has published All the Queen’s Jewels, 1445–1548: Power, Majesty and Display.

In this episode: Irish First Ladies & First Gentlemen, 1919-2011, by Dr Bernadette Whelan; Cartomania: Celebrity & Photography in the 19th Century, by Paul Frecker; and Brian Friel: Beginnings by Dr Kelly Matthews.

In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump, we will be looking at shootings in American presidential history as we find out about US presidents, and presidential candidates, who faced the shadow of the gunman. President Biden has since announced his decision to drop out of the presidential race. Joining Patrick Geoghegan is Michael Cullinane, the Lowman Walton Chair of Theodore Roosevelt Studies at Dickinson State University, Public Historian for the Theodore Roosevelt Association, author of 'Remembering Theodore Roosevelt', and contributor to the design and curation of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library due to open in 2026; Daniel Mulhall, former Ambassador of Ireland to the United States; Sean Defoe, Political Correspondent for Bauer Media; and Dr Sandra Scanlon, who lectures in American history in the UCD School of History and is an expert on American political culture and its relationship with US foreign policy during the Cold War.

Patrick and his panel reflect on the early history of the Olympic Games, from ancient Greece to the revival in more modern times, discussing their historical significance, cultural impact and enduring legacy. Featuring Nigel Crowther, Emeritus Professor in Department of Classical Studies at University of Western Ontario; Supervising Professor at International Olympic Academy, Olympia, Greece (2004-05); Former Director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies; Dr Siobhán Doyle, Curatorial Researcher at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks; Dr Jim Parry, Visiting Professor, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University, Prague; and Dr Nigel Spivey, Senior Lecturer in Classical Art and Archaeology in the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge.

Joining Patrick Geoghegan to delve into the lives and works of the Yeats sisters are: Dr Róisín Kennedy, Assistant Professor, School of Art History and Cultural Policy, UCD; Dr Caoilfhionn Ní Bheacháin, Associate Professor in Communications, University of Limerick; Susan O’Keeffe, Director of Yeats Society Sligo; and Dr Billy Shortall of Trinity College Dublin, who worked on the Cuala Press Project.

Ahead of the reopening of Notre Dame later this year, Patrick Geoghegan looks at the construction and re-construction of one of the most iconic cathedrals in the world. Joining him are: Dr Emily Guerry, Senior Lecturer in Medieval European History at the University of Kent, Dr Caroline Bruzelius, Professor Emerita of Art and Art History at Duke University, Dr Jennifer M. Feltman, Associate Professor of Art History and Medieval Art at the University of Alabama, and Dr Meredith Cohen, Associate Professor of Medieval Art and Architecture at UCLA.

From the marriage bar to unequal pay - we're finding out about the status and position of women in the independent Irish state and the long fight for equality. Patrick is joined by Dr Mary McAuliffe, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, and Director of Gender Studies at UCD, Dr Deirdre Foley, Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of History, Trinity College Dublin, and Dr Sarah-Anne Buckley, Associate Professor in History at the University of Galway.

In this episode of Newstalk's Talking History: From Tudor to Stuart: The Regime Change from Elizabeth I to James I, by Susan Doran, Professor of Early Modern British History at the University of Oxford; The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York, with Prof Tyler Anbinder, formerly of the Department of History, George Washington University; and ‘Reeling in the Queers – Tales of Ireland’s LGBTQ Past’, with Dr Páraic Kerrigan, Assistant Professor in the School of Information and Communication Studies at University College Dublin.

In this episode of Talking History on Newstalk, we're looking at the history of the Leaving Certificate - 100 years old this year - and debating its impact on Irish education . Featuring: Dr Orla McCormack, Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Limerick; Deirdre Mac Mathuna, Past President and now Public Relations Officer for the History Teachers’ Association of Ireland and a lecturer at Trinity College Dublin in History Pedagogy; Dr Hazel Murray, cybersecurity lecturer at Munster Technological University; and Dr Colm Mac Gearailt, postdoctoral researcher on the ‘Cartlann’ archive at University of Galway.

In this D-Day special, Talking History explores the D-Day landings on the 80th anniversary of the Longest Day, and how they changed the course of the Second World War. Joining host Patrick Geoghegan is: Prof Richard Overy, professor of history at the University of Exeter, and author of ‘World War II: The Definitive Visual History Volume I: From the Munich Crisis to the Battle of Kursk 1938-43'; Dr Mark Jones, Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Global History at University College Dublin; Professor Jonathan Fennell, Professor of the History of War and Society at King’s College London and co-founder of the Second World War Research Group; and Dr Rachel Lance, author of 'Chamber Divers: The Untold Story of the D-Day Scientists Who Changed Special Operations Forever'.

Patrick Geoghegan and his panel explore the life, times and legacy of William The Conqueror. Was he a hero who instituted great changes, brought in legal and administrative innovations, and unified England, or a villain and invader who conquered it in a dramatic overthrow? Featuring Prof George Garnett, Professor of Medieval History at St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford; Prof Virginia Davis, Professor of Medieval History, Queen Mary University of London; Prof Seán Duffy, Professor of Medieval Irish and Insular History, Trinity College Dublin; Dr Marc Morris, a historian who specializes in the Middle Ages; and Prof Hugh M. Thomas, author of The Norman Conquest: England after William the Conqueror.