This week: The story of The Gaeltacht Civil Rights Movement known as An Ghluaiseacht; and the untold story of Republican women in the north during the Irish revolutionary period.

The Gaeltacht Civil Rights Movement

In the 1960s, Ireland's Gaeltacht communities were struggling with severe economic hardship. After years of neglect, people rallied in protest - calling for urgent political action to safeguard the future the Gaeltacht regions. It was a protest about the Irish language, the local economy and other challenges facing these areas.

Long plagued by emigration and a lack of job opportunities, activists were calling for a change, to ensure the survival of these communities. The activist campaign was called An Ghluaiseacht – literally, "The Movement", and a recently published book tells the story of this Gaeltacht Civil Rights Movement, which came together in 1969.

The book, written in the Irish language, is called An Ghluaiseacht: Scéal Chearta Sibhialta na Gaeltachta.

The author is Rónán Mac Con Iomaire, who joins Myles from the RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta studio in Casla, Connemara.

Rebel Women: Cumann na mBan in Belfast and the Glens of Antrim 1914-1924

The early years of the twentieth-century saw republicans in County Antrim fighting for their survival during a war intended to achieve the complete separation of Ireland from Britain. Throughout that struggle, local members of Cumann na mBan, whether in Belfast or elsewhere in the county, played an important role.

Not only did they raise funds, organise arms dumps and hide documents, but they provided weaponry for IRA operations, shelter for men on the run and care for the wounded. Consequently, those women also endured raids, intimidation and imprisonment.

While the wider history of Cumann na mBan – the Women's Council – has become better known, particularly during the recent Decade of Centenaries, the same cannot be said of its members and branches in Belfast and Antrim.

However, a new book by Dr Margaret Ward, Honorary Senior Lecturer in History at Queen's University Belfast, redresses that balance. Using a wide range of archival sources and information from relatives of those forgotten activists, she has uncovered many remarkable stories, some of which we will hear this evening. She joins Myles to discuss the book, Rebel Women: Cumann na mBan in Belfast and the Glens of Antrim 1914-1924.