Episode 3 – In Aimsir Chogaidh (In Time of War)

In 1601, the Gaelic lords of Ulster faced the English in the Battle of Kinsale. Its outcome would decide the fate of Ireland for centuries to come – and it was fought in near Arctic conditions. Now, scientists have discovered the cause of this extreme weather – a massive volcanic eruption on the other side of the world. Information locked in tree rings and the ice core of Greenland is a sort of “Lost DNA” that allows us to map the weather in times past. It could explain how the most important battle in Irish history was won and lost.