Liberty or Death: The South Falls to the Rebels
Irish History Podcast
Fin Dwyer
4.7 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 12 November 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As my series on the 1798 Rebellion returns, this is a great point to dive in to the story...
In this episode we see major fighting break out as the south of Ireland erupts in revolt. Rebel forces sweep through the countryside in Co Wexford as loyalist strongholds fall one after another. However as the violence escalates carefully laid plans quickly unravel, and the first major battles left irish society reeling.
This podcast explores how ordinary people found themselves caught up in events beyond their control, as the hopes of an Irish republic collided with the brutal reality of rebellion. From the streets of Dublin to the fields of Wexford, this episode traced how the southeast fell to the rebels in events that would transform Irish history.
Written, Produced and narrated by Fin Dwyer
Additional Research: Styewart Reddin
Voice Actors:Aidan Crowe and Therese Murray.
Sound by Kate Dunlea
Support the show Patreon.com/irishpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Irish History Podcast. My name is Finn DeWire and in this episode, |
| 0:10.2 | we're returning to the story of the 1798 Rebellion. This is the episode where the rebellion truly |
| 0:16.9 | kicks off. We'll see all good plans go out the window on both sides as the south-east |
| 0:22.7 | of Ireland erupts into rebellion, leading us into the first major battles with results |
| 0:27.9 | that stun everyone. I'm so excited to share this episode with you, so we're going to dive straight |
| 0:33.3 | in. Now, if we want to learn more about the 1798 rebellion, I have a full bibliography linked below |
| 0:38.6 | and I update that every few episodes to reflect the sources I'm using. Also, I want to say thanks |
| 0:44.7 | for all your feedback and questions about the series so far. Keep them coming because I am planning |
| 0:49.7 | an episode where I'm going to answer any queries and questions you have when the series is |
| 0:53.9 | complete. Finally, I do want to answer any queries and questions you have when the series is complete. |
| 0:54.9 | Finally, I do want to take this opportunity to express a heartfelt gratitude to everyone supporting |
| 1:00.2 | the show on Patreon and Supercast. I've been writing this series on and off for nearly two years, |
| 1:06.0 | and while that time was needed, it's only possible because of your support, so thanks very much. If you'd like to |
| 1:12.6 | join the listeners who support my work on Patreon, you can get early access to add free versions |
| 1:18.4 | of the show at patreon.com forward slash Irish podcast. Now we're going to kick off the episode in Dublin |
| 1:26.9 | on the night of May the 23rd 1798. |
| 1:30.3 | Because of events that happened that night, everyone wakes up on May the 24th in what the rebels would call the first day of liberty. |
| 1:39.4 | Additional narrations are from Aidan Crow and Thras Murray. Additional research is by Stuart Redden and the sound is by Kate Dunley. |
| 1:51.4 | As the sun set over Dublin on May 23rd, 1798, the male coach hotel on Dawson Street was a hive of activity. |
| 2:01.5 | The awaiting travellers shuffled their feats, waiting for their coaches to appear, dreading what would |
| 2:07.1 | be a long journey ahead. Then, a few minutes before 10pm, there was a surge of activity. The |
| 2:13.6 | mail coaches heading for Waterford Corp. Col Kilmican Galway drew up before the hotel. |
... |
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