On this week's programme: Cottage industry in post-medieval Ireland; How women made and sold butter in centuries gone by; and Power and powerlessness in Union Ireland

Cottage Industry in Post Medieval Ireland

The history of Ireland's economy is often told through the lens of agriculture - but beyond the fields and pastures, rural communities were home to a rich variety of cottage industries.

From linen and lace to butter and leather, these small-scale industries sustained families, shaped exports, and even laid the groundwork for modern manufacturing.

Myles is joined by Liam Downey, former director of Teagasc, and co-author of the book Cottage Industry in Post-Medieval Ireland, which was recently published by Wordwell. He explores the hidden history of these industries - their rise, decline, and lasting influence.

Joined in Butter: Irish Home Butter-Makers

Butter-making is one of the cottage industries which thrived in farmhouses in centuries gone by. Until about the 1880s, butter was made at home, on Irish farms. It was a skilled, shared tradition that brought women together. And as we hear in this report - by working collectively, these women weren’t just taking turns at the churn. They also found a way to secure better prices for their product.

Claudia Kinmonth has traced this history, beginning with the tools the women used to make butter. She spoke to our reporter Conor Sweetman.

Today, you can see an example of an old dash churn, and other tools of the trade at the Cork Butter Museum. Claudia's research into these women and the tools they used is featured in the book Irish Food History - A Companion, published last year by the Royal Irish Academy. That book is also available open access from EUT+ press. Claudia Kinmonth is also the author of the book.

Claudia Kinmonth is also the author of the book Irish Country Furniture and Furnishings: 1700-2000, published by Cork University Press.

Power and Powerlessness in Union Ireland

The Act of Union of 1800 ended Ireland's status as a separate kingdom, integrating it into an expanded United Kingdom. The parliament in Dublin was abolished, with Irish parliamentary representatives thereafter sitting in London. This bound Ireland ever closer to Britain, and extended British control over the island.

The history of Ireland in the Union is typically told through its best-known historical events and leaders. There has been much focus on oppression, resistance and the 'parliamentary tradition’.

But what about those ordinary people who lived in Union Ireland. What was their experience, how did they interact with the state, how should we approach that state’s history?

Those questions are addressed in the new book Power and Powerlessness in Union Ireland: Life in a Palliative State by Dr Ciaran O’Neill, Ussher Associate Professor in Nineteenth-Century History at Trinity College Dublin. Ciaran joins Myles to discuss the nature of state power during the Union, a time when the authorities often judged Ireland to be, as they put it, ‘ungovernable’. The book is published by Oxford University Press.