Emerald Gazette Podcasts
Emerald Gazette Podcasts is the audio companion to the Emerald Gazette collection, presenting Ireland’s history one century at a time. The complete series comprises 340 episodes arranged across 34 seasons, with ten episodes in each season. Every episode draws upon the historical research, evidence and publications of Emerald Archives while providing an accessible audio exploration of the people, landscapes, discoveries and questions that shape Ireland’s past.
Season 1
Emerald Gazette
Episode 001 — Emerald Gazette — Ice Age | Season 1 – Episode 1: 32000–31901 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Ice Age | Season 1 – Episode 1, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. In the first episode of Emerald Gazette, we introduce Ice Age — 32000–31901 BCE, Issue 001 of the 340-volume Emerald Gazette series.The episode explores Ireland during the late Ice Age, examining a landscape shaped by glaciers, severe climate, changing environments and animal life. It also considers what archaeology can — and cannot — tell us about possible human presence in Ireland during this remote period, distinguishing established evidence from informed interpretation and continuing uncertainty.The episode also introduces the wider Emerald Gazette project, which traces Irish history chronologically from 32,000 BCE to 1999 CE, one century at a time.This is the beginning of a journey through more than 34,000 years of Ireland’s past — starting in a world of ice, tundra and profound environmental change. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 002 — Emerald Gazette — Frozen Wilds | Season 1 – Episode 2: 31900–31801 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Frozen Wilds | Season 1 – Episode 2, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. It considers how evidence from geology, palaeoenvironmental research and archaeology helps us reconstruct a world for which direct human evidence remains extremely limited.Particular attention is given to the challenges of interpreting deep prehistory, separating established evidence from reasonable reconstruction and areas of continuing uncertainty. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 003 — Emerald Gazette — Glacial Silence | Season 1 – Episode 3: 31800–31701 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Glacial Silence | Season 1 – Episode 3, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. It explores what can be reconstructed from geological, climatic and palaeoenvironmental evidence, while considering the limits of the archaeological record for this exceptionally remote period.Particular attention is given to changing habitats, animal populations and the wider European environment, where shifting ice sheets and climate patterns influenced movement, survival and the development of ecosystems. As with earlier episodes, the discussion distinguishes carefully between established evidence, informed interpretation and areas where uncertainty remains.Glacial Silence continues the Emerald Gazette project’s century-by-century exploration of Ireland’s past, moving steadily forward through more than 34,000 years of history and bringing listeners deeper into the story of an island still dominated by ice, climate and profound environmental transformation. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 004 — Emerald Gazette — Tundra Horizons | Season 1 – Episode 4: 31700–31601 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Tundra Horizons | Season 1 – Episode 4, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. In the fourth episode of Emerald Gazette, we continue our chronological journey through Ireland’s deep prehistoric past with Tundra Horizons — 31700–31601 BCE, Issue 004 of the 340-volume Emerald Gazette series.This episode explores Ireland during a century still dominated by Ice Age conditions, examining the cold tundra environment, changing landscapes, animal life and the climatic forces that shaped the island. Drawing on geological, palaeoenvironmental and archaeological evidence, it considers what can be reconstructed with confidence and where uncertainty remains.Particular attention is given to the relationship between climate, habitats and the wider European environment, where changing ice sheets and ecological conditions influenced the movement and survival of animals and human populations.Tundra Horizons continues the Emerald Gazette project’s century-by-century exploration of Ireland’s past, carrying the story forward through more than 34,000 years of history, one century at a time. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 005 — Emerald Gazette — Frozen Valleys | Season 1 – Episode 5: 31600–31501 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Frozen Valleys | Season 1 – Episode 5, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. In the fifth episode of Emerald Gazette, we continue our chronological journey through Ireland’s deep prehistoric past with Icebound Ireland — 31600–31501 BCE, Issue 005 of the 340-volume Emerald Gazette series.This episode explores Ireland during another century of the late Ice Age, examining the immense influence of glacial conditions on the landscape, climate, wildlife and environment. We consider what geological and palaeoenvironmental evidence can tell us about this remote period, while distinguishing established evidence from interpretation and uncertainty.The episode also places Ireland within the wider European Ice Age world, where changing temperatures, advancing and retreating ice, animal movements and human activity were reshaping the continent.Emerald Gazette traces Irish history chronologically from 32,000 BCE to 1999 CE, one century at a time. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 006 — Emerald Gazette — Icebound Shores | Season 1 – Episode 6: 31500–31401 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Icebound Shores | Season 1 – Episode 6, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. We consider the continuing influence of glaciation, changing habitats, animal life and the wider European context in which Ireland’s prehistoric story must be understood.Drawing on archaeological, geological and palaeoenvironmental evidence, the episode distinguishes between established findings, informed interpretation and areas where the surviving evidence remains limited. Rather than imposing certainty on a period for which direct evidence is fragmentary, Icebound Ireland places this century within the broader sequence of climatic and environmental change unfolding across Ireland and north-western Europe.Emerald Gazette tells Ireland’s story century by century, from 32,000 BCE to 1999 CE, creating a continuous chronological journey through more than 34,000 years of history.For the complete chronological experience, begin with Episode 001 and listen in numerical order. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 007 — Emerald Gazette — Arctic Skies | Season 1 – Episode 7: 31400–31301 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Arctic Skies | Season 1 – Episode 7, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. Beginning with “Mammoth Cave’s Long Shadow” and concluding with “BIRM-166’s Broad Horizon,” the century reveals a landscape shaped by severe climate, changing environments, animal populations and the continuing forces of glaciation. Drawing upon the one hundred chronological annual studies contained in Issue 007, Arctic Skies examines evidence of change and continuity while placing individual discoveries within their wider environmental and European context. For the complete chronological experience, begin with Episode 001 and listen in numerical order. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 008 — Emerald Gazette — Glacial Winds | Season 1 – Episode 8: 31300–31201 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Glacial Winds | Season 1 – Episode 8, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. In the eighth episode of Emerald Gazette, we explore Glacial Winds, covering Ireland from 31300–31201 BCE and accompanying in the Emerald Gazette series.Across this century, Ireland remained shaped by the severe climatic conditions of the Ice Age. Drawing on archaeological, geological and palaeoenvironmental evidence, the episode examines changing landscapes, vegetation, animal life and the fragmentary clues that allow us to reconstruct this distant period.Beginning with Derryvree’s Silt Flora and concluding with Castlepook’s Open-Country Fauna, we consider what the surviving evidence can tell us while distinguishing established findings from interpretation and continuing uncertainty.Emerald Gazette tells Ireland’s story century by century, from 32,000 BCE to 1999 CE. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 009 — Emerald Gazette — Frozen Earth | Season 1 – Episode 9: 31200–31101 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Frozen Earth | Season 1 – Episode 9, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. In the ninth episode of Emerald Gazette, we explore Frozen Earth, covering 31200–31101 BCE, a century shaped by the severe climatic conditions of the late Ice Age.This episode examines Ireland’s frozen landscape within its wider European and North Atlantic setting, considering glacial conditions, changing environments, animal life and the archaeological evidence available for understanding this remote period. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 010 — Emerald Gazette — Tundra Plains | Season 1 – Episode 10: 31100–31001 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Tundra Plains | Season 1 – Episode 10, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. In the tenth episode of Emerald Gazette, we explore Tundra Plains, covering 31100–31001 BCE, as Ireland remained shaped by the harsh environmental conditions of the late Ice Age.This episode follows a century of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence, beginning with Maguirebridge’s buried sedgebed and concluding with Derryvree’s intertill garden. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Season 2
Emerald Gazette
Episode 011 — Emerald Gazette — Icy Wilderness | Season 2 – Episode 1: 31000–30901 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Icy Wilderness | Season 2 – Episode 1, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. In Episode 011 of Emerald Gazette, we explore Icy Wilderness, covering 31000–30901 BCE, as Ireland remained locked within the severe environmental conditions of the late Ice Age.Beginning with “Castlepook’s Uncertain Cut” and concluding with “Hyenahall’s Faunal Frontier”, this episode follows a century of surviving archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 012 — Emerald Gazette — Glacial Depths | Season 2 – Episode 2: 30900–30801 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Glacial Depths | Season 2 – Episode 2, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. In Episode 012 of Emerald Gazette, we journey through the century from 30,900 to 30,801 BCE, deep within the last Ice Age.Ireland existed within a world shaped by intense cold, advancing and retreating ice, frozen landscapes and dramatic climatic change. Human settlement had not yet reached Ireland, so the story of this period is reconstructed through geology, palaeoclimate research, archaeology and the environmental evidence preserved beneath the landscape.Glacial Depths explores what Ireland and the wider North Atlantic world may have looked like during this distant century, examining the forces of ice, climate and landscape that were gradually shaping the island that would emerge in the millennia ahead.Emerald Gazette follows Ireland’s story century by century, from 32,000 BCE to 1999 CE. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 013 — Emerald Gazette — Frozen Ridges | Season 2 – Episode 3: 30800–30701 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Frozen Ridges | Season 2 – Episode 3, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. This episode examines the environmental character of Ireland during an intensely cold phase of the Upper Palaeolithic, focusing on the formation, preservation and interpretation of frozen upland and ridge landscapes. It considers how glacial movement, exposed terrain, sedimentary processes and changing ice margins shaped the physical geography of the island and influenced the habitats available to plants, animals and any possible transient human visitors. Particular attention is given to the limits of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence, demonstrating how fragmentary deposits, later glacial disturbance and uncertain chronological relationships complicate attempts to reconstruct conditions with precision. The episode places these surviving traces within the broader climatic history of northwestern Europe and explores what Ireland's frozen ridges can reveal about landscape change, environmental resilience and the challenges of interpreting human presence during one of the least documented periods of the island's past. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 014 — Emerald Gazette — Cold Horizons | Season 2 – Episode 4: 30700–30601 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Cold Horizons | Season 2 – Episode 4, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. In Episode 014 of Emerald Gazette, we explore Cold Horizons, covering 30,700–30,601 BCE, a century in which Ireland remained shaped by the severe environmental forces of the Late Pleistocene.This episode examines what the surviving geological, climatic and archaeological evidence can reveal about Ireland during this remote period. Against a landscape repeatedly altered by ice, cold conditions and changing habitats, we consider the limits of the evidence, the uncertainties surrounding possible human activity, and the wider European context in which Ireland's prehistoric story must be understood.Rather than treating gaps in the archaeological record as empty history, Cold Horizons explores what climate reconstruction, glacial geology, palaeoenvironmental research and comparative archaeology can tell us about an Ireland that existed thousands of years before the better documented phases of human settlement.Emerald Gazette tells Ireland’s story century by century, from 32,000 BCE to 1999 CE, distinguishing established evidence from interpretation while bringing the country's deepest past into a continuous chronological narrative. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 015 — Emerald Gazette — Icebound Valleys | Season 2 – Episode 5: 30600–30501 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Icebound Valleys | Season 2 – Episode 5, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. Journey into Ireland between 30,600 and 30,501 BCE, a world of shifting ice, exposed valleys and fragile tundra landscapes.In this episode of Emerald Gazette, Gerard J. Hannan explores the evidence preserved beneath and around Ireland’s glacial terrain: wetlands, sediments, changing vegetation, animal life and the careful limits of what archaeology can tell us about this remote Ice Age century.Icebound Valleys is the companion episode to Emerald Gazette Issue 015. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Emerald Gazette
Episode 016 — Emerald Gazette — Tundra Shadows | Season 2 – Episode 6: 30500–30401 BCE
This episode presents an evidence-led examination of Emerald Gazette — Tundra Shadows | Season 2 – Episode 6, concentrating on the principal findings, historical questions and interpretive problems revealed by the surviving evidence. In the sixteenth episode of Emerald Gazette, we explore Tundra Shadows, covering the century from 30,500 to 30,401 BCE.Ireland remained locked within the immense climatic forces of the Late Pleistocene. Across the wider North Atlantic world, glaciers, tundra landscapes and rapidly changing environmental conditions shaped the possibilities for animal and human life. Particular attention is given to the relationship between evidence and interpretation, to areas in which certainty remains limited, and to the wider significance of the surviving evidence for understanding Ireland’s past.
Listen, Read, Explore
New episodes are added regularly as the Emerald Gazette collection continues to grow, bringing fresh stories, research, and historical insight to listeners. Every podcast episode is completely free to listen to, with no subscription or payment required. Emerald Archives members receive an additional benefit: each episode is linked directly to its corresponding Emerald Gazette volume. By selecting the Read the Book button, members can open and explore the full digital edition associated with that episode. This allows listeners to move easily from the podcast to the published Gazette, combining audio storytelling with detailed reading, sources, illustrations, and expanded historical context.