In this episode of Talking History: a roundup of exciting new exhibitions on the island of Ireland, including: the Irish manuscripts returning to the country for the first time in more than 1,000 years, with curator Matthew Seaver, Assistant Keeper at the National Museum of Ireland; the life, art and legacy of the husband of Constance Markievicz, with Dr Kathryn Milligan, Assistant Librarian at the Edward Murphy Library at the National College of Art & Design; and a new exhibition in Hillsborough Castle which explores the intimate bond between British royal clients and fashion designers, with Claudia Acott Williams, curator.

In this episode: from our earliest ancestors to today's global diaspora, we take a trip through 10,000 years of Ireland's history.

Featuring Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, Erasmus Smith's Professor of Modern History, Trinity College Dublin; Professor Bríona Nic Dhiarmada, Thomas J. and Kathleen M. O'Donnell Professor of Irish Studies and Concurrent Professor of Film, Television, and Theatre, at the University of Notre Dame in the United States; and Professor Eileen Murphy from the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen's University Belfast.

In this episode of Talking History, we're debating one of the most dramatic episodes of the Second World War: Operation Dynamo, the incredible evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk in May 1940.

Featuring: Prof Eunan O’Halpin, Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Irish History, Trinity College Dublin; Dr David Jordan, Co-Director of the Freeman Air and Space Institute and Senior Lecturer in Defence Studies at King’s College London; and Prof Jonathan Fennell, Professor of the History of War and Society at KCL, and president of the Second World War Research Group.

In this episode of Talking History, we're going back in time 10 years to remember how Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote, as we debate what the passing of the marriage equality referendum really meant for Irish history.

Featuring: Dr Mary McAuliffe, historian and Director of Gender Studies at UCD, co-editor of ‘The politics of gender and sexuality in modern Ireland’ and co-editor of ‘Sexual Politics in Modern Ireland’; Prof Sonja Tiernan, historian of modern Ireland, based at the Royal Irish Academy, and author of ‘The History of Marriage Equality in Ireland: A Social Revolution Begins’ and co-editor of ‘Sexual Politics in Modern Ireland’; Dr Brian Tobin, Associate Professor at the School of Law at the University of Galway, author of 'The Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Relationships: Emerging Families in Ireland and Beyond'; and Frances Fitzgerald, former Tánaiste and former Minister for Justice, who introduced that legislation to hold the marriage equality referendum and signed its commencement order that November.

In this episode of Talking History:

The social history of death and dying, with historian and bereavement counsellor Molly Conisbee

Vietdamned: How the World’s Greatest Minds Put America on Trial, with historian Clive Webb

And Alexander The Great: Lives and Legacies, with Stephen Harrison of Swansea University.

Talking History is searching for white smoke as we explore the history of the most unusual conclaves, including the one that lasted almost three years.

Featuring Dr Celeste McNamara, Assistant Professor in Early Modern European History, DCU; Dr Patrick Houlihan, Associate Professor in History at TCD; and Dr Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Historical Theology at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

In this episode, we bring you a roundup of history books: we explore how New York was invented in the 17th century, with Russell Shorto, director of the New Amsterdam Project at the New York Historical and senior scholar at the New Netherland Institute; we chart the fall of civilisations with Paul Cooper, podcaster and historian; and discuss why Mary MacSwiney opposed the treaty, with Dr Leeann Lane, lecturer in the School of History and Geography, Dublin City University.

This week is the 250th anniversary of the birth of JMW Turner, so we are playing back our show on one of the greatest landscape artists of all time.

Joining Patrick is Charlotte Topsfield, Prints & Drawings Curator, National Galleries of Scotland; Anne Hodge, Curator of Prints & Drawings, National Gallery of Ireland; and Niamh McGuinne, Paper Conservator, National Gallery of Ireland.