Show Notes
Between 1848 and 1850 over 4,000 girls were sent from Irish workhouses out to Australia, as part of a British scheme to help populate the colony. They were met with prejudice and hostility, described as ‘ignorant creatures' barely able 'to distinguishing the inside from the outside of a potato’. We trace the story of one, Eliza Fraiser.
More from Irish Imperial Lives
Abie Philbin Bowman and Kate O’Malley learn about the extraordinary Willam Butler. A Catholic from Tipperary, he was held aloft by Daniel O’Connell as a baby, witnessed the famine, fought the Fenians in Canada, served as Queen Victoria's Aide-de-Camp, befriended Parnell, and openly supported Irish Home Rule. He nearly prevented the Boer War.
Kate O’Malley and Abie Philbin Bowman learn about an incredible Irish woman, who helped educate girls from Canada to India. Teresa Ball, founder of the Loreto order, used her dowry to develop her first school, pioneering a business model that offered young women opportunities for education, travel and greater independence.
Lambert Blair: Teenage Trader to Slave Plantation Owner
Abie Philbin Bowman and Kate O’Malley uncover the story of Richard Wellesley, a Meath man who conquered more of India than Napoleon did in Europe. A supporter of Catholic Emancipation and opponent of slavery, he was later overshadowed by his brother. His legacy includes ties to King Charles III and Daniel O’Connell’s Ireland.
Abie Philbin Bowman and Kate O’Malley explore the Irish who shaped Romanov Russia, from General Peter de Lacy’s bold campaigns to the Wilmot sisters of Cork, who bonded with Enlightenment figure Princess Dashkova. They also uncover servant Eleanor Cavanagh’s letters describing life among Russia’s serfs and palaces.