On this week's programme: The women left behind after Robert Falcon Scott's fatal expedition to the South Pole; The life and work of the Yeats sisters; and stories of the Irish in Italy during WW2.

Snow Widows

We begin this evening with the race to reach the South Pole, in the early twentieth century. In January of 1912, five men walked through an alien world of snow and ice, in the face of bitterly cold polar winds.

Much has been written about the famous Terra Nova Expedition, which saw Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his team of explorers attempt to reach the last great undiscovered place on Earth. But now, for the first time, the focus is on the women in their lives.

Author Katherine MacInnes is the author of the book Snow Widows: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expedition Through the Eyes of the Women They Left Behind. That's published by William Collins.

Katherine spoke to our reporter, Colm Flynn.

The Yeats Sisters

The Yeats sisters, Elizabeth and Susan, were important figures in the Irish cultural Revival. Somewhat forgotten compared to their more famous siblings, the poet WB Yeats and the painter Jack Yeats, now a light is being shone on their lives and their prodigious work.

There's an inaugural symposium happening in Dundrum in July, part of a project to revive and expand public knowledge and understanding of the Yeats sisters. Elizabeth was an art teacher, author and publisher. Susan, known as "Lily", was a skilled embroiderer.

For decades, they worked on their own enterprise, Cuala Industries - producing books, broadsheets, greeting cards, calendars and hand-colored prints - many exclusively featuring original work from women artists and poets.

Myles is joined on the line from Donegal by art historian Dr Angela Griffith of Trinity College Dublin

Also joining us from Sligo is Eunan McKinney, who has been leading the Yeats Sisters Commemoration Project, which aims to shine a light on the sisters pioneering work

The symposium takes place at Taney Parish Hall in Dundrum on Saturday the 15th of July - you can find more information about this event here on the project's official website.

You can also view some of the Cuala Press material here, as part of Trinity's Digital Collections.

Italy and the Irish During World War Two

During World War Two, there were hundreds of Irish citizens based in Italy. There were diplomats, journalists, priests and members of religious orders – many of them were part of the resistance to the fascist regime, while a few enthusiastically supported it.

A recently published book explores the links between Ireland and Italy in the period 1939 to 1945. It's called Roman Imbroglio: Italy and the Irish During World War Two

The author is Isadore Ryan, who joins Myles on the line from his home in Paris - to talk about some of the individuals profiled in his book. You can also find more information about some of these individuals on his website, irishinitaly.org