[Ep 2/3] Ireland's Last Aristocrat - The Life of Olive Packenham Mahon
Irish History Podcast
Fin Dwyer
4.7 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 28 September 2022
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Olive's unpublished diary and letters reveal a story of war, revolution and scandalous relationships in Ireland during the War of Independence.
After being raised in splendour with servants taking care of her every need (see part I), this episode follows Olive Packenham Mahon through the Irish revolutionary era. After the outbreak of World War I everything changed.
The Packenham Mahons and other aristocrats found themselves on the wrong side of history as revolution swept through Ireland.
Olive recorded her experiences in an unpublished diary and letters which provide the basis for this episode. While these recount an unusual perspective on the Irish revolution, they also reveal a love affair that scandalised her family!
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Artwork - Keith Hynes
Sound - Kate Dunlea
Narrations - Aidan Crowe and Therese Murray
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey folks, just a quick heads up before you dive into the episode. |
| 0:03.6 | My new book, Alita Legacy, a history of Ireland in 18 murders is coming out on September |
| 0:08.4 | the 14th. |
| 0:09.5 | You can still pre-order your copy today, or if you're going to be in Dublin next week, |
| 0:13.8 | it will be great to see you at the launch. |
| 0:16.2 | It's on at 6pm on Thursday, September the 14th in Hodges figures. |
| 0:20.8 | That's 6pm on September the 14th in Hodges figures on Dawson Street in the city center. |
| 0:26.2 | Swing in on your way home from work, it'll be a great event. |
| 0:28.8 | Sure I'll see you there. |
| 0:32.4 | Dear job hunters, on behalf of Guardian Jobs, I'd like to apologise for the amount of tabs you're about to open. |
| 0:38.2 | Your browsers are about to get busy. |
| 0:40.1 | We have lots of quality jobs, including roles in education, charity, green and government. |
| 0:45.4 | So as your browsing Guardian Jobs, you might think it's a fluke that the first job you click ticks all your boxes. |
| 0:50.7 | But soon you'll be 63 tabs deep, watching the sun come up and realising you need to start your actual job in an hour. |
| 0:57.6 | Search Guardian Jobs and find your next role before you can finish closing all those tabs. |
| 1:14.4 | Hello and welcome to the Irish History Podcast. |
| 1:17.1 | My name is Finn Dwyer, and this is Part 2 of Ireland's last aristocrat, the life of all of Pachanan Mahan. |
| 1:25.7 | In the last episode, Part 1, we covered the early years of Olive's life up to our marriage in 1914. |
| 1:33.1 | This was a story of big houses, servants, pump, ceremony and privilege. |
| 1:39.4 | This episode continues the story, but into a very different world. |
| 1:43.6 | We'll be focusing on World War I and the Irish Revolution. |
| 1:47.9 | This was an extremely dangerous time for aristocracies across the world, including Ireland. |
... |
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