Hot Press announces today an exciting new podcast in the form of Airbrushed.

Fronted by Hot Press reporter Niamh Browne, Airbrushed is designed to give listeners an insight into the private lives of some of the formidable women who shaped the country, including Chief Medical Officer of the Irish Republican Army Dr Kathleen Lynn, schoolteacher turned sniper Margaret Skinnider, and the woman who negotiated the the condition of surrender of 1916 Elizabeth O'Farrell.

There will also be episodes exploring the less militant social justice champions such as Helen Chevenix and Eva Gore-Booth.

Niamh Browne will be joined by co-host and fellow journalist Alana Daly Mulligan as they traverse these hidden stories alongside UCD historian, lecturer, and Director of Gender Studies Dr Mary McAuliffe.

As well as a deep dive into the revolutionary politics of these remarkable women, Airbrushed will take a look at the private lives of these figures and the women they decided to spend their lives with.

Niamh Browne and Alana Daly Mulligan at the Republican plot in Glasnevin. Photo: Emily O'Brien

Speaking on the show, co-host Alana Daly Mulligan said: "It’s been such a rewarding experience working with Niamh again, especially on a topic we care so much about.

"What started as a half-mad conversation over a pot of tea and a bucket of paint, has become something truly unique. I’m so proud of this work and of Niamh for having the initiative to keep running with this despite the obstacles in the way".

"Airbrushed has been a fascinating rabbit hole that I've spent the bones of the last year burrowing into", Browne adds.

"We thought it was high time to celebrate the radical ideas of Eva Gore-Booth and her contemporaries, and I can't think of any better collaborators than Hot Press and Alana".

Questions on the nature of these women's relationships with their partners alongside their role in Irish history will be delved into, explored and hopefully answered in a tender and warm retelling.

First up in Airbrushed is Dr Kathleen Lynn, who is predominantly known for her role in Ireland's 1916 rising as the Chief Medical Officer of the Irish Citizens Army.

The debut episode will examine how the daughter of a Church of Ireland Clergymen in Mayo became a gun yielding revolutionary and a tireless activist for women's and children's rights.

Born in the West of Ireland, suffragist, a trade union activist, a republican and, in all likelihood a queer woman.

In the weeks leading up to the rising, Lynn ferried guns around the city for the republican army.

She also taught the revolutionary women’s organistaion Cummann na mBan first aid, which is how she came into contact with her lifelong partner Madeleine ffrench-Mullen.

Dr Lynn was elected vice-president of the Sinn Féin executive in 1917, and a TD for Dublin in 1923, although she didn’t take her seat. She failed to get reelected in 1927.

Not only revolutionary in her role in 1916, Lynn also campaigned tirelessly for workers’, women’s and children’s rights 1919 she co-founded Saint Ultan’s Hospital for Infants on Charlemont Street, providing much needed medical and educational support to impoverished infants and their mothers.

During the 1920s and 30s she was a crucial part of the campaign to eradicate tuberculosis, introducing the BCG, or Bacillus Calmette-Guérin - the inoculation to prevent tuberculosis in 1937.

Dr Lynn died on September 14, 1955, at St Mary's Nursing Home in Dublin and was given a full military funeral. She is buried at Deansgrange Cemetery alongside Madeleine ffrench-Mullen . A portrait of Dr Lynn by Lily Williams hangs in the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin.

Here, we discuss all this and more with Dr Mary McAuliffe, historian, lecturer and director of Gender Studies in UCD. Dr McAuliffe is the author of Richmond Barracks 1916: We Were There, 77 Women of the Easter Rising, as well as the co-editor of Dr Lynn’s published diaries, available here.

The first Episode of Airbrushed is out now on the Hot Press Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Listen below: