History of the Black Death in Ire

Transported by rats and fleas in the trading vessels plying between Ireland, England, and France, the plague appeared in Dublin and Drogheda in the summer of 1348. By land and sea it penetrated many regions, reaching outwards to Waterford, Youghal, Cork, and Limerick, wiping out whole communities in its path.

Maria Kelly goes in search of the 'Great Pestilence' whose consequences are often obscured by the intricate and tumultuous history of the time and traces how the Irish reacted to this seemingly invisible killer.