The lecture series covers a tumultuous period in Irish history and examines the interaction of different groups (in particular unionists, moderate and radical nationalists, and the British), the causes and impact of events (such as the Home Rule Crisis, the Easter Rising, and the Treaty), and patterns of continuity and discontinuity in the period spanning the First World War.

Renowned Irish historian Professor Michael Laffan introduces his series of 10 lectures on The Irish Revolution. He talks about the history of the course, its structure as well as some of the key areas covered in the lectures.

Since it was first made available to podcast on History Hub in 2012, Professor Laffan’s highly engaging series has proven to be tremendously popular with academic and public audiences alike. For people interested in learning about this tumultuous period in Irish history the good news is that the series is now more accessible than ever.

The Irish Revolution was a module taught by Professor Laffan in the School of History and Archives, University College Dublin from the late 1970’s until his retirement in 2010. In association with the UCD College of Arts and Celtic Studies and History Hub.ie all 10 of the lectures were recorded by Real Smart Media and are available to download via iTunes, RSS feed and Soundcloud (links are below). The series was popular from the outset and was even the No. 1 podcast series on iTunes in Ireland shortly after its launch. To date there have been over 170,000 downloads/plays of Professor Laffan’s lectures.

Here is the full list of lectures:

Lecture 1 – The Home Rule Party

Lecture 2 – The Home Rule Crisis

Lecture 3 – Arthur Griffith, Sinn Fein, the IRB and the lead up to the Easter Rising

Lecture 4 – The Easter Rising

Lecture 5 – Aftermath of The 1916 Rising and 1917 By-Elections

Lecture 6 – The 1918 General Election

Lecture 7 – The War of Independence/Anglo-Irish War

Lecture 8 – The Anglo-Irish Treaty

Lecture 9 – Reaction to the Treaty and lead up to the Irish Civil War

Lecture 10 – The Irish Civil War

Some reaction to The Irish Revolution podcast:

“I would like to express my thanks to all concerned but particularly to Professor Laffan for taking the time and trouble to make his lecture series available to the general public. I have only had time to listen to the first four as yet, but am already captivated by his engaging lecture style and of course the subject” – Norman, UK.

“What a resource” – Fergal, Australia.

“I took this brilliant module as a student at UCD. It’s wonderful to have it available as a podcast now. Highly recommended!” – John, Ireland.

Image: Professor Michael Laffan lecturing in 2010 (Liffey)