logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
27m 15s

Addiction in Irish History

FIN DWYER
About this episode

At the turn of the 20th century alcoholism was a major problem in Irish society. The island had 17,300 pubs while around 40% of all prison sentences were alcohol related. There was a general sense alcohol addiction was out of control. The stereotype of the happy-go-lucky drunk certainly masked the reality of the Irish alcoholism.


In this podcast I explore addiction in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century by focusing on the life of one woman - the Sligo native Sarah Garvey.


***My latest book A Lethal Legacy - A History of Ireland in 18 Murders is out now. Get your eBook, audiobook, kindle or hardcopy here A Lethal Legacy | Linktree***



Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/irishhistory.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
NORAID: Did Irish Americans Fund the Provisional IRA?
The history behind the enimagtic Irish republican organisation in the US. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. 
44m 32s
Jul 2
Irish Asylums: A Dark History We Don’t Talk About. Why?
In the 1950s, more than 20,000 people—over one percent of the adult population of Ireland—were locked away in mental asylums. This was the highest rate in the world, with more people confined in asylums than in all other institutions, including prisons, combined.Yet, despite thes ... Show More
37m 54s
Jun 25
Banned: The Hidden History of Contraception in Ireland (Listener Favourite)
While we’re on the last week of our summer break, we’re bringing you one of our most popular episodes from the back catalogue.For over four decades, contraception was not just taboo in Ireland—it was illegal. From 1935 to 1979, selling contraceptives and even accessing informatio ... Show More
28m 12s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
The Irish Potato Famine
Between 1845 and 1852, Ireland suffered an appalling famine after the repeated failure of the potato crop, its national staple. But though caused by a natural blight, a combination of ancient prejudices, simmering tensions and political short-termism turned a national emergency i ... Show More
57m 5s
Mar 2022
A Personal Tour of Modern Irish History
Fintan O’Toole was born in Dublin in 1958, the same year that T.K. Whitaker, a member of the Irish government, published an influential report suggesting that Ireland open its doors economically and culturally to the rest of the world. O’Toole’s new book, “We Don’t Know Ourselves ... Show More
51m 46s
Mar 2024
Irish in America: Poverty to Power
At least 23 of the Presidents of the United States can have their ancestry traced back to Ireland. So why did this diaspora come to America? What was their reception like? And how have they reached the top of the power structure so regularly? We are finding out in this episode wi ... Show More
47m 1s
Feb 2018
Prohibition - Drying Out | 2
When a German U-boat torpedoed the RMS Lusitania on Friday, May 7th, 1915, Americans found two new enemies: Germany and the beer it was so associated with. Anti-German sentiment grew, and with it hostility to the breweries founded in the 19th century by German immigrants. Soon, t ... Show More
29m 49s
Apr 2008
Yeats and Irish Politics
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the poet W.B. Yeats and Irish politics. Yeats lived through a period of great change in Ireland from the collapse of the home rule bill through to the Easter Rising of 1916 and the partitioning of the country. In May 1916, 15 men were shot by the B ... Show More
42m 17s
Mar 2024
St Patrick (Repeat)
Though St Patrick is honoured by millions of revellers worldwide every year, few know more about him than the popular myths concerning shamrocks and snakes.The real story of St Patrick reads like an adventure story, involving kidnapping, enslavement, and daring escapes. But how d ... Show More
54m 47s
Mar 2022
Saint Patrick
Man, myth or legend... who was the real Saint Patrick? Did he really banish all the snakes from Ireland? Where does the shamrock tradition come from? And was he even Irish? In this episode, Tristan is joined by Professor Lisa Bitel of USC Dornsife to find out more about the true ... Show More
38m 45s