Abie Philbin Bowman and Kate O’Malley learn about the extraordinary Willam Butler. A Catholic from Tipperary, he was held aloft by Daniel O’Connell as a baby, witnessed the famine, fought the Fenians in Canada, served as Queen Victoria's Aide-de-Camp, befriended Parnell, and openly supported Irish Home Rule. He nearly prevented the Boer War. 

Abie Philbin Bowman and Kate O’Malley learn about the extraordinary Willam Butler. A Catholic from Tipperary, he was held aloft by Daniel O’Connell as a baby, witnessed the famine, fought the Fenians in Canada, served as Queen Victoria's Aide-de-Camp, befriended Parnell, and openly supported Irish Home Rule. He nearly prevented the Boer War.&nbsp;

From workhouse girls to colonial Governors, and from Tangiers to Tasmania, Kate O'Malley and Abie Philbin Bowman uncover the fascinating stories of Irish people whose lives were shaped by their service in, or agitation against, the British Empire.

Irish Imperial Lives

William Butler: British Soldier, Irish Writer, Global Adventurer

Kate O’Malley and Abie Philbin Bowman learn about an incredible Irish woman, who helped educate girls from Canada to India. Teresa Ball, founder of the Loreto order, used her dowry to develop her first school, pioneering a business model that offered young women opportunities for education, travel and greater independence.

Kate O’Malley and Abie Philbin Bowman learn about an incredible Irish woman, who helped educate girls from Canada to India. Teresa Ball, founder of the Loreto order, used her dowry to develop her first school, pioneering a business model that offered young women opportunities for education, travel and greater independence.

Teresa Ball: Educating the Daughters of Empire

Lambert Blair: Teenage Trader to Slave Plantation Owner

Lambert Blair: Teenage Trader to Slave Plantation Owner

Abie Philbin Bowman and Kate O’Malley hear about a Meath man who conquered more land in India, more quickly, than Napoleon conquered in Europe. And yet, he is largely forgotten today - in part because he has been eclipsed by his ungrateful younger brother. Richard Wellesley - whose Irish ancestry dates back to the 12th Century, and whose descendants include the current British King Charles III - was a lifelong opponent of slavery and Supporter of Catholic Emancipation. Both his wives were Catholic. And he served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the time of Daniel O’Connell. 

Abie Philbin Bowman and Kate O’Malley hear about a Meath man who conquered more land in India, more quickly, than Napoleon conquered in Europe. And yet, he is largely forgotten today - in part because he has been eclipsed by his ungrateful younger brother. Richard Wellesley - whose Irish ancestry dates back to the 12th Century, and whose descendants include the current British King Charles III - was a lifelong opponent of slavery and Supporter of Catholic Emancipation. Both his wives were Catholic. And he served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the time of Daniel O’Connell.&nbsp;

William Butler: British Soldier, Irish Writer, Global Adventurer

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