His name is celebrated as an important figure of parliamentary democracy in the United Kingdom. Cromwell dispatched a tyrannical king, was the first Republican and an advocate for democracy. In Ireland his lasting effect is one of a genocidal tyrant. His consideration of the Irish people as inhuman and was self-professed , and the inhumanity for which he inflicted arguably places him in a position of contempt higher than any royal.In Irish folklore this contempt is plain to be seen, Cromwell is written as the personal assistant of the satan, if not the devil incarnate. 'An cogadh a chriochnaig ..read more

After the Plantation of Ulster in 1606, three McDonnell brothers, dispossessed, made their way south. One of them settled on swampy uncontested land in Dublin, claiming themselves as its monarch.   Welcome to MUD ISLAND. A refuge at the fringes of Dublin Society, Aran and Luke seek to learn of its colourful history of Smugglers, Highwaymen and MORE. From secret passages to the bloody pirate escapades of Art Granger, its hard to believe what is now Ballybough and Fairview was a muddy slobland soundtracked by savage fights between the Mud Islanders and the Revenue Men, and stories of b ..read more

THE black stuff, stout, porter. IT'S synonymous with Ireland, but why? WHAT'S the difference between stout and porter? PISRÓGS barrels into an episode of songs, stories and accounts all about the substance we love to make us silly. MOST importantly we look at GUINNESS. YOU probably know all of the tremendous work that Guinness has done for Ireland, Dublin and it's workers. BUT there's a darker side to the black stuff that will have you saying... "Wait the Guinness family said WHAT during the 80s?" AS with anything involving a feast of pints, this episode will have you loving and hating yoursel ..read more

Unbeknownst to Luke when we started recording this episode, it was going to be dominated by Rat stories. There are Bananas too. Some may say we had too much fun recording this one, I say there's never such a thing. Join us in the fun backed by the beautiful ambient music of Gareth Quinn Redmond ..read more

OH THE BRAIN, the thing piloting your swiping fingers and fidgeting thumbs right now. HE'S a pretty complex boy, BUT would you believe that all the way back in the 7th century a monk by the name of Bricin was poking holes in injured warrior's skulls AND doing a damn good job on it too? LEARN about the: THOUSAND-year-old medical art of trepanation. GOD of medicine in Ireland and the surprisingly terrifying origin of the River Barrow. BRAIN BALLS and the man whose head exploded when he heard of a certain someone's crucificion ..read more

THE black stuff, stout, porter. IT'S synonymous with Ireland, but why? WHAT'S the difference between stout and porter? PISRÓGS barrels into an episode of songs, stories and accounts all about the substance we love to make us silly. MOST importantly we look at GUINNESS. YOU probably know all of the tremendous work that Guinness has done for Ireland, Dublin and it's workers. BUT there's a darker side to the black stuff that will have you saying... "Wait the Guinness family said WHAT during the 80s?" AS with anything involving a feast of pints, this episode will have you loving and hating yoursel ..read more

LOCALLY sourced IRISH FOLKLORE, stories, cures and laughs based on the words YOU, the listener, chose via our instagram: @pisrogspodcast (God help us) THE boys titter their way through tales of: GEESE screaming down children's necks, WEASELS jumping down horses ears, GIANTS stealing cows, EELS eating loved ones!  ALL served with piping hot tea and the musical styling of Gareth Quinn Redmond. REVENGE, biscuits, CRYSTAL BALLS, biscuits, THE PÚCA and tea.... TIS ALL in there and it's all sourced directly from the National Folklore Collection's Dúchas Archive ..read more

THE first Irish witch burning, and the first known record of a Coven in the world. PETRONILLA de Meath was tortured, interrogated and eventually burnt at the stake on the 3rd of November 1324, in Kilkenny. HER charge? Witchcraft. "AND though she was indeed herself an adept in this accursed art of theirs, she said she was nothing in comparison with her mistress, from whom she had learned all these things and many more." DE Meath was maidservant to Alice Kyteler, a woman whose Husbands all had the unfortunate habit of dying . . . soon after marrying her. WAS Kyteler: INNOCENT? MONEY-GRABBING? A ..read more

TALES from local areas submitted by YEE (@pisrogspodcast on Instagram). THIS episode unwinds forgotten yarns from Dromore West SLIGO, Birr Co. OFFALY and Inchicore DUBLIN.  VENGEFUL knights, evil spirits, cursed churches, stolen BUTTER.  A lean mean and captivating spin through the land of IRE ..read more

AWOO, ehem.  IN this episode a priest and our old friend 'Gerald of Wales' come across a pair of werewolves, they have a chat with them and give them a bit of communion for their trouble. LYNCANTHROPY, the transformation of humans into wolves.  IT'S a phenom that transcends borders, there are werewolves in Germany, Greece, The Balkins . . . and the counties Kilkenny and Laois. OSSORY was a kingdom in Ireland which spread across these two counties, give or take.  ..read more