"There were spies, informers and degenerates of every kind and we were here to do business." These were the words an IRA activist describing his desperate, shadowy quest to source weapons for the IRA in Europe. But who were these people who traded weapons and information to support the IRA campaign in Ireland. \

In this episode of Brothers in Pain: The IRA in a Revolutionary World, Dr. Brian Hanley goes beyond the battlefields to uncover the hidden networks of the Irish Revolution. From the dangerous underworld of the continent to clandestine shipments across the Atlantic, we meet the smugglers, gun runners and fixers who operated in the shadows. This is the true story of the individuals who made the revolution possible in the face of impossible odds.

Support the show: www.patreon.com/irishpodcast

Written, Researched & Narrated by Dr Brian Hanley

Producer Fin Dwyer

Sound Kate Dunlea

Note from Brian :

In researching these episodes I have been indebted to the work of the following scholars;

Anna Lively, Bruce Nelson, Terry Dunne, David Brundage, Niamh Coffey, Gerard Shannon,

Maurice Casey, Kelly Anne Reynolds, Chris McNickle, Joe Doyle, Liz Gillis, FM Carroll, Patrick

Mannion, Jimmy Yann, Niall Cullen, Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc, Keith Jeffrey, Arthur Mitchell, John

Borgonovo, Kate O’Malley, Michael Doorley, Robin Adams, Kevin Kenny, Fearghal McGarry,

Catherine M. Burns, Síobhra Aiken, Patrick J. Mahony, Darragh Gannon, Matthew Pratt

Guterl and James R. Barrett.

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

The Irish War of Independence often conjures images of guerrilla fighters on lonely mountainsides, on the run from the Black and Tans. While that is part of the story, Ireland’s struggle for independence unfolded against the backdrop of a world in total crisis. As empires frayed and global movements for equality surged, the IRA sought out their own 'Brothers in Pain' navigating a shadow world of smugglers, gun runners, and unlikely international allies from the Soviet Union to the United States.

This overlooked international dimension is the focus of a new series on the Irish History Podcast, hosted by historian Dr. Brian Hanley. This marks a new chapter for the show as we expand to two episodes per week.

Brothers in Pain: The IRA in a Revolutionary World officially begins this Friday, March 20th. In this preview episode, I speak with Brian about what you can expect from this unique series as we uncover the story of the Irish Revolution as you have never heard it before.

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On March 17th, thousands of St. Patrick's Day Parades take place across the globe. New York's parade, dating back to the 1760s, draws three million people and reinforces the stereotype that the parade is an American invention. Yet parades have been taking place since at least the early 17th century. The real origins of St. Patrick's Day Parade are far more complicated, and far more contentious, than anyone imagines.

In this episode, originally released on Transatlantic, the Irish American history podcast I make with Damian Shiels, we explore this history with Dr. Cian T. McMahon from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Cian challenges the myths surrounding the parade's origins and reveals how it became one of the world's most contested cultural events. He examines how it reflects the constantly changing nature of Irish identity and explores how women and LGBTQ+ activists fought for the right to participate in a celebration that was often fiercely controlled.

Cian T. McMahon is Professor of History at the Department of History and Honors College at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He was the co-editor of The Routledge History of Irish America and is the author The Coffin Ship: Life and Death at Sea during the Great Irish Famine and The Global Dimensions of Irish Identity: Race, Nation and the Popular Press, 1840-1880.

Note from Fin: I have updated this episode since it was first published to correct a mistake in the original version. In the intro, I mistakenly referred to the LGBT community as the "LGB community", omitting the T. I understand that this term is often used in a way that denigrates the trans community. That was entirely unintended on my part, and I am very sorry.

Sound by Kate Dunlea.

Listen to American Emigrants in Irish Folklore on Transatlantic, An Irish American History Podcast: https://shows.acast.com/transatlantic/episodes/37-memories-of-home

Support the show: Patreon.com/irishpodcast

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