First off the Bad Bridget podcasts, which tell the story of Irish women who emigrated to America and whose American dream did not end so well - we really enjoyed the first few episodes. They are all based on the research of, and presented by, Dr Elaine Farrell of Queen's University Belfast and Dr Leanne McCormick of Ulster University who are joined by Derry Girls’ actress, Siobhán McSweeney.

Also linked to the USA, but a slightly more successful (or lucky) life story - a profile of Rex Ingram in the Irish Times caught our eye. He was a pioneer in the early days of Hollywood who directed The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, in its time one of the biggest movies ever made. It took six months to shoot (unheard of at that time) and involved 12,000 people. Born in Dublin in 1892, he spent most of his childhood in Kinnitty, Co Offaly where his father was the Church of Ireland rector. Rex emigrated in 1911 and never returned to Ireland. Ironically his original surname was Hitchcock, but in 1915 he took his mother's name as a surname instead.

An interesting post on the Irish Family Detective website about a celebrated 19th century murder case from Coachford, Co Cork, when a doctor Philip Cross was convicted and hanged for the murder of his wife after having an affair with his children's governess.

The National Library of Ireland has a number of excellent online exhibitions on its website which are listed here and which showcase its collections. Subjects include the Dublin Lockout: 1916; W.B. Yeats and the First World War.

And finally, something completely different and not specifically Irish history either - a fascinating article in History Today magazine about clerical celibacy and its consequences in the medieval period. Its author, Dyan Elliott, is Professor of History at Northwestern University in the USA.