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“Welcome to our new three-part food history series Hungry Gap, Fat Friars, Food Poverty. In this series we will explore food and drink production and consumption in Ireland and Britain over one thousand years starting at 1000 and ending in 2023 and learn how our ancestors coped during the good times and the bad times. The history of food is the history of your neighbourhood, of your country; it’s the history of the world. So, get yourself a snack, and join our food historians and community participants, on this one-thousand-year journey.”

Episode 1

The year 1000 may seem like a long time ago, but it’s a mere blip on the timeline in the history of human procurement and consumption of food and drink. We are entering a pivotal time in Irish and British history, but people still need to eat, so how did the food situation play out across society up until 1500? Here to help us navigate the culinary landscape of these five hundred years are Regina Sexton and Margaret Hickey.

Regina lectures in University College Cork, is author of A Little History of Irish Food, and presented an eight-part RTE television documentary of the same name. She has contributed to the Atlas of the Great Irish Famine and more recently, to the Coastal Atlas of Ireland, both published by Cork University Press.

Margaret Hickey is a prolific food writer, and former food and drink editor of Country Living magazine. Her most recent book, Ireland’s Green Larder: The Definitive History of Ireland’s Food and Drink was published in 2018. We will also hear a report from the Keating family in Rathfarnham who have recreated a medieval pottage, a Vox pop from 5th year students in St. Kevin’s College in Ballygall, and an interview by horticulture students from Colaiste Dhulaigh in Kilbarrack. with Tom Keogh on Keogh’s Farm in North County Dublin, where potatoes are grown to make artisan crisps.

The intro and outro music for the three episodes is from Tell Everybody, produced by artists from across Africa in 2015 to support UN efforts to create a sustainable future for all people and the planet. The song addresses the Sustainable Development Goals aimed at eradicating extreme poverty, fighting inequality and tackling climate change. Find out more about Tell Everybody and hear the full song on https://www.huffpost.com/entry/africa-song-tell-everybody-global-goals_n_55f85a1ae4b00e2cd5e822e4

Produced by Berni Dwan, with sound engineering support by Declan McGlade.

Made with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland Sound and Vision scheme through the Television License Fee.