Podcasts HistoryRecording the Revolution - The Harlan Strauss Tapes

Recording the Revolution - The Harlan Strauss Tapes

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In 1972, Harlan J Strauss, a young American PhD student, came to Ireland and interviewed veterans of the Irish independence struggle - men and women, at this po...

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General Sean MacEoin. Episode 1 of Recording the Revolution - The Harlan Strauss Tapes.
In our first episode of Recording the Revolution, Conor and Harlan sit down with Catherine O’Mahony, a producer at Scratch Films. Catherine and Aine O'Neill were working on a project several years ago when a source, Jim Dolan, told them about an interview transcript in his attic. Within days, Catherine and Aine had tracked down the interviewer Harlan Strauss and flew to Berlin to meet him, starting a new chapter in the history of the tapes at the centre of this podcast series. In this episode Conor and Harlan take a look at the extraordinary life of 'the Blacksmith of Ballinalee”', General Seán MacEoin who was a key military leader in both the War of Independence, and on the side of the Free State in the Civil War. Seán MacEoin was interviewed by Harlan on 16 March 1972.
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Introduction to 'Recording the Revolution' with Heather Delaney and Dr Conor Mulvagh
In this episode, series editor Heather Delaney talks to historian Dr Conor Mulvagh and finds out all about the Harlan Strauss tapes and why they are such an important archive.
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About Recording the Revolution - The Harlan Strauss Tapes

In 1972, Harlan J Strauss, a young American PhD student, came to Ireland and interviewed veterans of the Irish independence struggle - men and women, at this point in their 70s and 80s, who shared their experiences, sometimes for the first time. These audio recordings sat in Harlan's attic in Washington, DC for decades, unpublished and unheard. In 2022, Harlan brought them to Dublin and deposited them at the National Folklore Collection at UCD. This podcast explores the things those people said and how those who lived through the Irish revolution saw it fifty years after the fact. Harlan’s tapes offer often unparalleled insights into both the experiences and perceptions of revolutionaries reflecting back on their youth. Now, 50 years later, Conor and Harlan have teamed up to delve into these interviews and get an insight into the mind of an Irish revolutionary.

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