This week: The Making of Eamon De Valera; The first Irish team to summit Everest; and the Great Irish Fossil Hunt

The Making of Eamon De Valera

Before Eamon De Valera became one of the most dominant and divisive figures in modern Irish history, he went by "Eddie" – a quiet boy, raised in a labourer's cottage in rural County Limerick.

Born in the United States, he was sent to Ireland in at the age of 2 and half, to live with his grandmother and a bachelor uncle. His mother stayed behind in New York, remarried, and rarely visited her son. The identify and whereabouts of his father was an enduring mystery – one that haunted him.

A recently published book looks at De Valera’s life, up until the founding of the Fianna Fáil Party in 1926 – and examines how his character was shaped by these early experiences, and a childhood marked by isolation. It’s called Dangerous Ambition: The Making of Eamon De Valera. The author is Colum Kenny, who joins Myles in studio. The book is published by Wordwell.

The Irish Expedition to Everest, 1993

In May of 1993, an Irish team reached the summit of Mount Everest for the first time – a landmark achievement, that was years in the making. In this report, Ian Kenneally talks to Frank Nugent, a member of that 1993 team. Frank reflects on the expedition and its enduring legacy.

And along the way, he recalls another Irishman – a figure from an earlier time - whose journey helped to shape his own. He explores the links to the 1921 Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition, led by Charles Howard-Bury of Belvedere House, near Mullingar.

The Great Irish Fossil Hunt

Ireland's earliest history is quite literally written in stone. It’s a history that can be traced through the fossil record - the remains of ancient creatures, plants and animals, that are preserved within rocks.

They lived here long before humans did - long before, even, the dinosaurs roamed the Earth. And it’s not just on our coastlines, or on remote rocky outcrops that we find these fossils. Often we’re walking on them, or walking past them every day - without even realising it.

A new campaign from University College Cork, The Great Irish Fossil Hunt, is inviting the public to help uncover and record this ancient history, and send in photographs, which will be used to create a new fossil map of Ireland, to be launched later this year.

To talk about Ireland’s remarkable fossil heritage, Myles is joined by Maria McNamara, Professor of Palaeontology at UCC.

You can go to the UCC’s website Ireland’s fossil heritage – where there’s photos, pictures of all the common fossils – so you can check your fossil discovery against what’s on our website.

You can also submit your finding – upload your photo, along with the GPS co-ordinates of where you found it. And they’re accepting submissions until the 31st of August, so you have the rest of the Spring, and the entire summer to go fossil hunting.