The Schemes and Dreams of Lord Londonderry

Single Malt History with Gareth Russell

At the start of the 1920s, a firmly right-wing aristocrat became embroiled in the political chaos surrounding Irish independence, alongside the maintenance of the British state in Northern Ireland. How, and why, did the ultra-conservative Lord Londonderry decide to try a truly radical plan to save the new state's working-class children from inheriting the sectarian bitterness of previous generations? In this episode I talk about the Londonderry dynasty's role as they witnessed the Home Rule campaign, the struggle for Irish independence, the violence of the trenches in the First World War, and the creation of Northern Ireland.