What if Ireland wasn’t just a land to live on—but a living body itself? In this episode of Undercover Irish, we trace the ancient impulse to personify the landscape, exploring how Indigenous cultures—from Celtic Ireland to Native America and Aboriginal Australia—map meaning onto mountains, rivers, valleys, and plains by imagining them as parts of a living, breathing being.

This episode blends mythology, linguistics, and cultural survival in a journey that reawakens our connection to place. Come with us—and learn to read the land as you would a beloved face.

Building Up and Tearing England Down!

In this jam-packed episode we dig into Dominic Behan’s razor-sharp ballad of the same name, tracing how a few mighty verses capture a century of Irish labour on Britain’s building sites and railways. First we pit two iconic renditions against one another—Christy Moore’s pub-roar 1969 and The Mary Wallopers’ lament of the 2020s.

From there we zoom out:

• Ballads as people’s textbooks – Why songs remember the names, jokes and grievances that official syllabi leave out, and how oral tradition keeps working-class history alive.
• The Irish navvy in Britain – Long journeys, shanty lodgings, “No Dogs, No Blacks, No Irish” signs, and the solidarity forged alongside Caribbean, South Asian and Eastern European co-workers.
• When labour organises, labour wins – From the mass pickets of the 1972 builders’ strike to today’s nationwide rail stoppages.
• Full-circle irony – The modern faces of union militancy in Britain—RMTs Mick Lynch, Eddie Dempsey and Unite’s Sharon Graham—all proudly tracing their roots back across the Irish Sea.

Whether you’re a folk-music nerd, a student of migration history, or just wondering why “lad culture” still belts out old rebel tunes after closing time, this episode shows how one ballad can tear down myths while building new bridges of solidarity. Tune in, turn it up, and get ready to sing along—and maybe organise—by the final chorus.

What do a New Zealand haka in Limerick and the ancient kingdoms of Ireland have in common?

More than you might think.

In this episode of Undercover Irish, we begin with a defining moment in Irish sporting history: the All Blacks performing the haka at Thomond Park in 2008. But have you ever stopped to ask—what does "Thomond" actually mean? And what ancient map of Ireland lies buried beneath the one we know today?

We trace a path back through time, cutting through the fog of colonial renaming to reveal the true, original Irish place names and the deeper meanings they held. From Munster to Meath, and through the historic sub-kingdoms of Thomond, Desmond, Ormond, and Westmeath, we explore a landscape where names were more than just labels—they were directional signposts, power structures, and cultural touchstones.

• 📜 The forgotten Irish meanings of Munster, Thomond, Desmond, Ormond, Meath, and Westmeath
• 🗺️ How these names reflected direction and geography within the Irish worldview
• 🧠 Why knowing these meanings reshapes our understanding of Irish identity, history, and land
• 🔥 How colonisation didn’t just rename places—it redefined reality
• 🌀 What reclaiming these names can do for cultural consciousness and linguistic revival

Whether you're a Gaeilgeoir, a history buff, or just curious about where you really come from, this episode invites you to see Ireland with new eyes and older wisdom.

Irish place names, Thomond meaning, Munster Irish history, Meath etymology, Irish geography, decolonising Ireland, Desmond Ormond Thomond, Westmeath Irish name, ancient Irish provinces, Gaeilge, lost Irish directions

🎧 Listen now to rediscover the Ireland hidden in plain sight.