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Vincent Browne's Magill magazine remains one of the most important publications of its kind in Irish history. Joined by Kevin Rafter (author of Fearless, a new history of the magazine published by New Island Books), we journey through some of its important Dublin stories and locations. From the heroin crisis in suburban Dublin to the failures of the Ballymun project, Magill reported truthfully and fearlessly on life in the capital. Available now from: https://thebookshop.ie/kevin-rafter-fearless-vincent-browne-magill-and-ireland-in-the-1980s-brand-new/

In the Victorian age, the entertainer Dan Lowrey created a truly special theatre, music hall and Palace of Varieties in the laneway of Crampton Court. Today, it has grown into the Olympia Theatre. The story of this theatre involves daredevil antics, the occasional tragedy and visiting celebrities. In this episode we meet characters as diverse as Peadar Kearney and the male impersonator Vesta Tilley. FÓGRA: The Dublin Festival of History launches this weekend!

Marking the passing of one of the most significant commentators on the past and present of Dublin city, this episode draws from a different discussion with McDonald from the one that featured in an earlier edition of the show. Reflecting on his own career and friendships, McDonald was in fine flying form as we chatted in Henretta Street. This episode is dedicated to his memory.

Albert Pierrepoint was a household name in his own lifetime, even penning the best-selling memoir Executioner. A hangman who followed in the footsteps of his father and uncle, Dublin was an important part of his story, including both Kilmainham Gaol and Mountjoy prison. In the years of the War of Independence, more than one plan was devised by republicans to keep his uncle Tom from carrying out an execution. In this episode, we look not only at the Pierrepoint family, but the strange history of capital punishment in Ireland.

In the early nineteenth century, Madame Tussaud spent several years in Dublin. Her waxworks and relics of the French Revolution proved a big draw for crowds here, packing out a gallery on Exchequer Street and touring the country. She would even create works honouring the leading Irish politician of the day. Her time in Ireland would shape her later world famous museum, and decades later it acquired a particularly gruesome relic connected to a violent day in Dublin.

In Ulysses, the pub we know as J & M Cleary's appears as The Signal House. It seemed a good location to explore food in the time of James Joyce. Ann Marie Duffin's fantastic page Bia Duit has been exploring food history and folklore, and she joins me to talk all things food in 1904.  Ken and Gwen from the brilliant Assassination Custard - a beloved institution on Kevin Street - brought along their own unique contribution to proceedings, with food inspired by the time. Support TCB at: www.patreon.com/threecastlesburning

At the recent Luke Kelly Festival, I was delighted to speak with Sabina Higgins (née Coyne) all about the Focus Theatre and Deirdre O'Connell. Bringing the Stanislavski acting system to Ireland in the 1960s, Deirdre transformed how young actors felt about the possibility of the theatre. The tiny Focus Theatre - with the support of Luke Kelly and others - had a massive impact on the theatre here, producing a generation of actors who would have real impact in the Irish arts. We talk about it, and Sabina's career more broadly, including the landmark television programme Insurrection (1966).

In October 1955, the visit of Yugoslavia to Dublin caused real division in Irish society. A top-class football side on the world stage, opposition to communism led Archbishop McQuaid and others to call for a boycott of the game. In a new book, Cold War Football: A History in Ten Matches, Alan McDougall and Tony Shaw examine this match and others like it, weaving Cold War tensions and the excitement of the beautiful game.

There could be nowhere more fitting to discuss the life of Edward Fitzgerald than upstairs in the Lord Edward, as part of Culture Date with Dublin 8. That he was born into privilege is clear, but Fitzgerald also rejected it, his sister recalling that "he was a Paddy and no more; he desired no other title than this." Annie Hughes is a singer and a member of An Góilín Traditional Singers. Fergus Whelan is author of Enemies of the State: Richard Musgrave, the Rebellion of 1798 and the Making of Sectarian Irish History.

John Gibney is co-editor of The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census. On a sunny day, we sat on a bench dedicated in part to a man you'll find in that census, and discussed what is in this extraordinary landmark census. We look at some interesting people, like the writer Dorothy Macardle, the widowed Maud Gonne MacBride and an influential Italian on Pearse Street. An earlier episode made some predictions, but here we are looking at the real thing. The Story of Us is available now in all good bookshops. Support TCB: www.patreon.com/threecastlesburning

It would seem everyone in the city has an opinion on the shopping centre at the top of Grafton Street. With that in mind, it seems a good time for a potted history of it and the site it occupies. Controversial in its own day, the project was overseen by the architect James Toomey, though it fell somewhat short of the original vision. What is to be done with this 1988 centre, and why has its proposed replacement irked so many? Support TCB: www.patreon.com/threecastlesburning

In 1965, the body of Roger Casement was returned to Ireland. No longer condemned to the grounds of Pentonville Prison, he would be buried in Dublin's Glasnevin Cemetery, where he is one of the first graves a visitor encounters today. There were political questions around Casement's body in the 1960s, and his final request was not honoured. Rory Carroll, author of the bestselling 'A Rebel and a Traitor: A Fugitive, the Manhunt and the Birth of the IRA' joins me to discuss Casement, life and afterlife.

Today marks the 120th birthday of Samuel Beckett. Inspired both by this milestone anniversary and by the wonderful new exhibition of the work of photographer John Minihan in the National Gallery of Ireland, this episode explores sites that are important to the story of Beckett and Dublin. Some, like Trinity College Dublin, will be familiar. Others, like the family business on Clare Street where he wrote some of his collection More Pricks Than Kicks are unmarked today. Our journey brings us to places as diverse as Elvery's sport shop and Kennedy's pub, as we get to walk in Beckett's footsteps across a city he did love, despite the challenges it put before him.

With the 110th anniversary of the Easter Rising upon us, it seems a good time to look at one of the less familiar figures of the story. Somewhat in the shadows, Éamonn Ceannt was a meticulous organiser, vitally important not only to the revolutionary movements of his time but traditional music too. His Dublin centred on Rialto, Dolphin's Barn, Crumlin and the surrounding areas, and in this episode we learn about Ceannt's importance to the story of 1916. (Thanks for your patience as we move - and thanks to all Patreon supporters as always)

In 1903, Saint Patrick's Day formally became a national holiday in Ireland, following a push from the Gaelic League. In the pages of their newspaper, An Claidheamh Soluis, a battle was waged for the closure of public houses on the day. Some publicans stood in opposition to this. This is the story of how a sober St Patrick's Day was achieved, and how it would take until the 1960s for change.