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.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 10 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 4.
Appearances
Talking History with Patrick Geoghegan · The Irish Who Served In The British Army · 6 Aug 2026
podcast
Welcome back, we're Talking History.
When we think about the British Army and Irish history, our minds tend to think of rebellions, conquests and occupations.
But what was it actually like to be an ordinary soldier stationed in Ireland during the 18th century?
Thousands of red-coated soldiers lived in barracks across the country.
They trained, drank, deserted, married and quarrelled.
They interacted with their local communities.
And because Ireland did not possess a modern civilian police force,
soldiers were also called upon to enforce order.
The army in Ireland numbered between 12,000 and 15,000 men and had its own distinctive Irish military establishment.
And the story has now been told in a brilliant new book, The British Army, Society and Soldering in Ireland, 1699-1793.
It's part of the wonderful Irish Historical Monograph series published by the Boydell Press.
The author is Dr. Andrew P. Dorman.
And, Andrew, you're very welcome to the show.
Thank you very much, Patrick.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Can I begin with, I suppose, the question of who were these soldiers serving in the British Army but based in Ireland?
Because many of them were Irish.
That's very interesting what you're saying about the barracks and how they bring a benefit to the local community, but they also bring some disadvantages as well.
So are there mixed views because, you know, you're going to have some economic benefits, but you're also going to have a lot of soldiers who may be doing some good things, but maybe also getting into some difficulties and trouble?
And your book really explores the kind of the complicated relationship and even what the complicated history during that time, because it's not easy to just give a simple answer for why people are reacting in that way.
Showing 141–160 of 1,107 · page 8 of 56
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