Patrick Geoghegan

speaker

1,107 appearances 10 recordings 1 series first heard May 2026 last heard 7 Aug

Patrick Geoghegan’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

Trend

recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 10 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 4.

Appearances

newest first · ▶ plays the moment

Talking History with Patrick Geoghegan · Wellington and Ireland · 24 May 2026 podcast

He is the author of the acclaimed three-volume biography Napoleon, as well as Europe under Napoleon. matched

And he's also the editor of Volume One of the Cambridge History of the Napoleonic Wars. matched

Well, you're all very welcome. matched

And Sheila, I might begin with you, and I might begin with the Irishness of Wellington. matched

Because despite being born in Ireland, he's never really recognized as an as an Irishman. matched

But it's something that I think hangs over. matched

It's a shadow that hangs over his legacy. matched

And it really does show the tensions or that complicated relationship we have with that Anglo-Irish identity and with people who have go on and develop careers in Britain because sometimes in Ireland we're very quick to claim someone of Irish descent or Irish legacy. matched

But here we have someone who, you know, defeats Napoleon at Waterloo, who goes on to become British Prime Minister, but because of that Anglo. matched

Anglo Irish connection and because he's perceived as being maybe an enemy of Irish nationalism, we we don't really want to acknowledge him, even though there is that Wellington monument that's that was opened one hundred and sixty five years ago. matched

I was at a wonderful event in the Stevens Green Club in Dublin just before Christmas and it was built around uh the the anniversary of the birth of Daniel O'Connell. matched

But the the the current, the present Duke of Wellington was the special guest, and he spoke very powerfully and movingly about his his family's connections with Ireland and the role of his ancestor in passing Catholic emancipation. matched

And it it was clear that it meant a lot to him and it really brought home matched

the home I think that this is an aspect of that story that is often neglected and overlooked. matched

Gareth, can we talk about Napoleon now that he has been introduced into the discussion? matched

Because when you look at the two of them as military commanders and as generals, I think Napoleon is often seen as the the genius, the mastermind, the one who who produces these extraordinary victories at Austerlitz and so on. matched

And and Wellington is seen as the chance victor of a matched

of a battle, which was how uh Daniel O'Connell uh dismissed him. matched

And and I think Wellington doesn't quite get the credit, perhaps as a military commander, or or is it the case that Napoleon was so far ahead of him? matched

I wonder Gareth whether it was the peninsula campaign that really um was the making of of Wellington and that he he he he learned the the significance or just how important terrain was and he he learned so much about logistics and you really see uh the defeat of Napoleon in that campaign, not just for what was happening there, but also in the way he was developing as a commander. matched

Showing 1021–1040 of 1,107 · page 52 of 56