The History and Heritage Podcast

How does a boy born in County Kerry become the face of Britain’s wartime recruitment?

In this episode of The History and Heritage Podcast, Liam Blake traces the remarkable journey of Herbert Kitchener, born near Ballylongford in the shadow of the Great Famine. From an Irish childhood shaped by land, empire, and tension, Kitchener rises through the British Army to global fame.

The episode follows his path across imperial battlefields, including the dramatic Battle of Omdurman, before returning to the moment that made him an icon during World War I.

It is the story of a man who began life in The Kingdom of Kerry… and became a symbol of another kingdom entirely.

Join Liam Blake as he takes you through the life of one of Ireland's most interesting of Daughters: Ninette de Valois!

 

Born Edris Stannus,  in Co. Wicklow, Ireland, she defied all expectations (particularly her father's) to become, in part thanks to her family's cook, the most famous and consequential dancers the world has ever seen

Most people think they know Ernest Shackleton.

An English imperial hero. A figure of polar legend. A product of empire.

But look closer.

Born in Kildare and shaped by the radical Quaker culture of Ballitore, Shackleton carried an Irish instinct for leadership long before the ice closed in around the Endurance. His famous calm under pressure — and his refusal to sacrifice men for glory — did not appear from nowhere.

They were formed.

In this episode of The History & Heritage Podcast, we trace the Irish roots of one of the most famous explorers in history, and ask a simple question:

Was Shackleton ever quite as English as we assume?

Listen now.

Arthur Wellesley is remembered as a British icon.
In reality, he was Irish-born, Irish-shaped, and surrounded by Irish soldiers at every stage of his life.

From his childhood at Dangan Castle in County Meath, through his years in the Irish Parliament, to India, the Peninsula, and finally Waterloo, this episode explores the hidden Irish foundations of the man known as the Duke of Wellington.

Along the way:
– disputed birthplaces and Irish memory
– the violin, the red coat, and self-reinvention
– Irish regiments at the heart of Europe’s greatest battles
– and the political legacy that still echoes today.

Not myth.
Not symbolism.
Just the real, complicated human story behind one of history’s most misunderstood figures.

Ireland and Poland are usually linked in the modern imagination by EU migration and contemporary politics.
But their relationship is far older — stretching back over 5,000 years.

This episode traces the long, forgotten connections between the two countries, from Bronze Age DNA and Baltic trade routes, through medieval Irish monks in Krakow, Irish mercenaries fighting for Polish kings, Polish famine relief in the west of Ireland, Cold War solidarity, and finally the modern Polish community in Ireland today.

Rather than treating Ireland and Poland as separate national stories, this episode argues that they are part of a shared European history — shaped by migration, empire, religion, and resilience.

It’s a history of two small nations on the edge of Europe, repeatedly meeting across time, often without realising it.