Learning history, can come in many forms. There’s the main stream travel, sites, books, biographies and the writings of academic heavyweights…or the ultimate method: the classic oral tradition. For Irish history, Davy Holden, commands the oral tradition and is unique with his informed and passionate delivery. When he speaks, it is as if the past was happening just down the road.
As he told me: “Irish history is my favourite thing in the world! The success of my channels is not because I’m an ‘Irish history expert’. In fact, I’m far from an expert. I think it’s just the passion that my viewers and myself have for it. If you’re really truly passionate about a topic, that can definitely pass through the camera lens and people can see it and connect with it.”
First off, he is too humble: he IS an expert. I watch him on YT and Instagram and had the good fortune to have met him. He is fun, engaging, factual, and worth the time to Follow; and you do not need to be of Irish descent –this is the history of the longest subjugated people in the Western world. It is is incredibly human in the rawness of pain and joy. I especially enjoyed his “Irish Rebel Songs” webinar; he tied so many disparate threads together to get to the 1916 Rebellion.
There are a lot of people going to Ireland these days; last time I was in Kerry, I heard more German and Australian accents than anything else. So there’s a lot more interested people than just the 33 million of Irish descent in the USA or the over 80 million worldwide. Irish history is a human history of tragedy and triumph.
Just dip a toe into his content and enjoy it.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davy_holden/?hl=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@davyholden/videos
Website: https://davyholdenhistory.com/
Philosophy
I had a chance to walk with Davy in his native Kilkenny — been there twice before, but learned more in an hour with him than two days of touring about. (Head for the churches before the castle). I asked him about how he approaches the telling of Irish history.
“Here’s a rough breakdown of why I do what I do. Although Ireland has thousands of years of history, in another sense, it is still quite a young country. Some of Ireland’s most impactful moments in history only took place 100 years ago. Ireland has had a long and troubled past, and you can see it yourself when you meet someone with Irish ancestors, they wear their heritage on their sleeve. Being proud of their Irish heritage is a massive part of these people’s identity – it’s incredible!”
Outspoken Traveler 
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