163-690: The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 34,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of homo sapiens to around 10,500 to 7,000 BCE. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Quaternary , around 9700 BCE, heralds the beginning of Prehistoric Ireland , which includes the archaeological periods known as the Mesolithic , the Neolithic from about 4000 BCE, and
326-713: A three-year guerrilla war , which ended in a truce in July 1921 (although violence continued until June 1922, mostly in Northern Ireland). In December 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was concluded between the British government and representatives of the Second Dáil . It gave Ireland complete independence in its home affairs and practical independence for foreign policy, but an opt-out clause allowed Northern Ireland to remain within
489-588: A Home Rule bill through parliament, it looked certain that one would finally pass in 1914. To prevent this from happening, the Ulster Volunteers were formed in 1913 under the leadership of Edward Carson . Their formation was followed in 1914 by the establishment of the Irish Volunteers , whose aim was to ensure that the Home Rule Bill was passed. The Act was passed but with the "temporary" exclusion of
652-466: A central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. Its lush vegetation is a product of its mild but changeable climate which is free of extremes in temperature. Much of Ireland was woodland until the end of the Middle Ages . Today, woodland makes up about 10% of the island, compared with a European average of over 33%, with most of it being non-native conifer plantations. The Irish climate
815-556: A century, with the migrations of the Celts being one of the more enduring themes of archaeological and linguistic studies. The most recent genetic research strongly associates the spread of Indo-European languages (including Celtic) through Western Europe with a people bringing a composite Beaker culture , with its arrival in Britain and Ireland dated to around the middle of the third millennium BC. According to John T. Koch and others, Ireland in
978-411: A clan's power or to take some or all of its lands. That was a major cause of the ultimate failure in many cases of the policy of surrender and regrant. The tensions within clans and the new religious division between Catholics and Protestants from 1570, intrusions by grasping royal officials and the lack of royal protection from continuing raids by other clans that had not accepted the new system all made
1141-760: A dispossessed Catholic majority was intensified and conflict between them was to become a recurrent theme in Irish history. Domination of Ireland by the Protestant Ascendancy was reinforced after two periods of religious war, the Irish Confederate Wars in 1641-52 and the Williamite war in 1689–91. Political power thereafter rested almost exclusively in the hands of a minority Protestant Ascendancy, while Catholics and members of dissenting Protestant denominations suffered severe political and economic privations under
1304-698: A fortified area around Dublin ( the Pale ), whose rulers had little real authority outside (beyond the Pale). By the end of the 15th century, central English authority in Ireland had all but disappeared. England's attentions were diverted by the Wars of the Roses . The Lordship of Ireland lay in the hands of the powerful Fitzgerald Earl of Kildare , who dominated the country by means of military force and alliances with Irish lords and clans. Around
1467-668: A goddess in Irish mythology first recorded in the ninth century. The etymology of Ériu is disputed but may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root * h2uer , referring to flowing water. During the last glacial period , and until about 16,000 BC, much of Ireland was periodically covered in ice. The relative sea level was less than 50m lower resulting in an ice bridge (but not a land bridge ) forming between Ireland and Great Britain. By 14,000 BC this ice bridge existed only between Northern Ireland and Scotland and by 12,000 BC Ireland
1630-427: A high degree of autonomy over the next two decades. Donnel O'Donovan, chief of the largest sept of the O'Donovans of County Cork offered a surrender of their sept lands in 1592 (with similar offers by Conoghor O’Kallaghane, Conoghor O’Mahoney and Teig M’Owen Carty), to personally receive back the sept lands by patent. The surrender to Queen Elizabeth was not effected until 1608, to James I; Donnel O'Donovan received
1793-470: A market town. Over the next century, a great period of economic growth would spread across the pastoral country. The Vikings brought Ireland into their wide-ranging system of international trade, as well as popularizing a silver-based economy with local trade and the first minting of coins in 997. In 902 Máel Finnia mac Flannacain of Brega and Cerball mac Muirecáin of Leinster joined forces against Dublin, and "The heathens were driven from Ireland, i.e. from
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#17330944601931956-518: A million deaths from starvation and disease and a million refugees fleeing the country, mainly to America. Irish attempts to break away continued with Parnell's Irish Parliamentary Party which strove from the 1880s to attain Home Rule through the parliamentary constitutional movement, eventually winning the Home Rule Act 1914 , although this Act was suspended at the outbreak of World War I . In 1916,
2119-530: A new language and culture introduced directly by migration and genetic replacement). The earliest written records of Ireland come from classical Greco-Roman geographers. Ptolemy in his Almagest refers to Ireland as Mikra Brettania ("Little Britain"), in contrast to the larger island, which he called Megale Brettania ("Great Britain"). In his map of Ireland in his later work, Geography , Ptolemy refers to Ireland as Iouernia and to Great Britain as Albion . These 'new' names were likely to have been
2282-428: A partial conquest of the island and marked the beginning of more than 800 years of English political and military involvement in Ireland. Initially successful, Norman gains were rolled back over succeeding centuries as a Gaelic resurgence reestablished Gaelic cultural preeminence over most of the country, apart from the walled towns and the area around Dublin known as The Pale . Reduced to the control of small pockets,
2445-477: A period of modernization and elevation on the European stage. Under his rule, the first castles in Ireland were built bringing improved defence and brought a new aspect to Irish warfare. He also built a naval base and castle at Dún Gaillimhe . A settlement grew around this castle which would grow to be the city of Galway today. He was a superb military commander and this allowed him to keep control of Ireland, with
2608-509: A political reality until the Viking Age and even then was not a consistent one. Ireland did have a culturally unifying rule of law: the early written judicial system, the Brehon Laws , administered by a professional class of jurists known as the brehons . The Chronicle of Ireland records that in 431, Bishop Palladius arrived in Ireland on a mission from Pope Celestine I to minister to
2771-528: A power structure rooted in clan and kin loyalties, to a late- feudal system under the English legal system . The policy was an attempt to incorporate the clan chiefs into the English-controlled Kingdom of Ireland , and to guarantee their property under English common law , as distinct from the traditional Irish Brehon law system. This strategy was the primary non-violent method for Crown officials in
2934-604: A prehistoric emphasis on tribal affiliation had been replaced by the 8th century by patrilineal dynasties ruling the island's kingdoms. Many formerly powerful kingdoms and peoples disappeared. Irish pirates struck all over the coast of western Britain in the same way that the Vikings would later attack Ireland. Some of these founded entirely new kingdoms in Pictland and, to a lesser degree, in parts of Cornwall , Wales , and Cumbria . The Attacotti of south Leinster may even have served in
3097-639: A remarkable account of his experiences on the run in Ireland. The re-conquest was completed during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I , after several brutal conflicts. (See the Desmond Rebellions , 1569–73 and 1579–83, and the Nine Years War , 1594–1603, for details.) After this point, the English authorities in Dublin established real control over Ireland for the first time, bringing a centralised government to
3260-493: A republican rebellion inspired and led by the Society of United Irishmen , with the aim of creating an independent Ireland. Despite assistance from France the rebellion was put down by British and Irish government and yeomanry forces. The rebellion lasted from the 24th of May to the 12th of October that year and saw the establishment of the short lived Irish Republic (1798) in the province on Connacht . It saw numerous battles across
3423-502: A rich culture flourished. The society of these kingdoms was dominated by an upper class consisting of aristocratic warriors and learned people, which possibly included Druids . Linguists realised from the 17th century onwards that the language spoken by these people, the Goidelic languages , was a branch of the Celtic languages . This is usually explained as a result of invasions by Celts from
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#17330944601933586-519: A separate dynasty, were later created the Viscounts Muskerry in 1628 and Earls of Clancarty in 1658. The chief of the Maguire clan of Fermanagh was created Baron Maguire in 1628. In 1631 Sir Terence Dempsey was created Viscount Clanmalier . Randal MacDonnell was knighted in 1602, was granted estates in 1603 and was created Earl of Antrim in 1620. Because of the number of new lords in
3749-505: A sheep's tooth were carbon-dated to c. 4,350 BC. Field systems were developed in different parts of Ireland, including at the Céide Fields , that has been preserved beneath a blanket of peat in present-day Tyrawley . An extensive field system , arguably the oldest in the world, consisted of small divisions separated by dry-stone walls . The fields were farmed for several centuries between 3,500 BC and 3,000 BC. Wheat and barley were
3912-650: A sovereign state covering five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland , which is part of the United Kingdom . As of 2022, the population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with 5.1 million in the Republic of Ireland and 1.9 million in Northern Ireland, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. The geography of Ireland comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding
4075-538: Is accepted that such movements are notoriously difficult to identify. Historical linguists are skeptical that this method alone could account for the absorption of Celtic language, with some saying that an assumed processual view of Celtic linguistic formation is 'an especially hazardous exercise'. Genetic lineage investigation into the area of Celtic migration to Ireland has led to findings that showed no significant differences in mitochondrial DNA between Ireland and large areas of continental Europe, in contrast to parts of
4238-699: Is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean , in north-western Europe . It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel , the Irish Sea , and St George's Channel . Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles , the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest in the world. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland ),
4401-605: Is extant in Ireland as a voluntary donation. In turn, Henry assumed the title of Lord of Ireland which Henry conferred on his younger son, John Lackland , in 1185. This defined the Anglo-Norman administration in Ireland as the Lordship of Ireland . When Henry's successor died unexpectedly in 1199, John inherited the crown of England and retained the Lordship of Ireland. Over the century that followed, Norman feudal law gradually replaced
4564-507: Is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and thus very moderate, and winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, although summers are cooler than those in continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century AD. The island was Christianised from the 5th century onwards. During this period Ireland was divided into many petty kingships under provincial kingships (Cúige "fifth" of
4727-806: Is said that the Romans invaded Anglesey in Wales causing concerns across the Irish Sea, but there is a small controversy on if they even set foot into Ireland. The closest Rome got to conquering Ireland was in 80 CE, when, according to Turtle Bunbury from the Irish Times , “Túathal Techtmar, the son of a deposed high king, who is said to have invaded Ireland from afar in order to regain his kingdom at about this time”. The Romans referred to Ireland as Hibernia around CE 100. Ptolemy , in CE 100, recorded Ireland's geography and tribes. Ireland
4890-502: Is traditionally credited with preserving and codifying Irish laws and changing only those that conflicted with Christian practices. He is credited with introducing the Roman alphabet , which enabled Irish monks to preserve parts of the extensive oral literature. The historicity of these claims remains the subject of debate and there is no direct evidence linking Patrick with any of these accomplishments. The myth of Patrick, as scholars refer to it,
5053-561: Is unclear. However, a number of finds of Roman coins have been made, for example at the Iron Age settlement of Freestone Hill near Gowran and Newgrange . Ireland continued as a patchwork of rival kingdoms; however, beginning in the 7th century, a concept of national kingship gradually became articulated through the concept of a High King of Ireland . Medieval Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of high kings stretching back thousands of years, but some modern historians believe
History of Ireland - Misplaced Pages Continue
5216-676: The Lebor Gabála Érenn , a medieval Christian pseudo-history of Ireland, along with the presence of Celtic culture, language and artefacts found in Ireland such as Celtic bronze spears, shields, torcs and other finely crafted Celtic associated possessions. The theory holds that there were four separate Celtic invasions of Ireland. The Priteni were said to be the first, followed by the Belgae from northern Gaul and Britain. Later, Laighin tribes from Armorica (present-day Brittany) were said to have invaded Ireland and Britain more or less simultaneously. Lastly,
5379-608: The Act of Settlement 1701 . Daniel O'Connell led a subsequent campaign, for the repeal of the Act of Union, which failed. Later in the century, Charles Stewart Parnell and others campaigned for autonomy within the Union, or " Home Rule ". Unionists, especially those located in Ulster, were strongly opposed to Home Rule, which they thought would be dominated by Catholic interests. After several attempts to pass
5542-752: The Bølling–Allerød warming , that lasted between 14,700 and 12,700 years ago (i.e. between 12,700 BCE and 10,700 BCE) towards the end of the last ice age, and allowed the reinhabitation of northern Europe. A sudden return to freezing conditions known as the Younger Dryas cold phase, which lasted from 10,900 BCE to 9700 BCE, may have depopulated Ireland. During the Younger Dryas, sea levels continued to rise and no ice-free land bridge between Great Britain and Ireland ever returned. The earliest confirmed inhabitants of Ireland were Mesolithic hunter-gatherers , who arrived sometime around 7900 BCE. While some authors take
5705-505: The Chief Herald of Ireland . The Gaelic derbfine elective kingship method in Gaelic law clashed with surrender and regrant, as male relations as distantly related as great-grandsons of a former chief or king were eligible to vote and to be elected to succeed as chief. Often, that meant that several dozen men were eligible to be elected clan chief. This inevitably led to problems since under
5868-726: The Copper Age beginning around 2500 BCE with the arrival of the Beaker Culture . The Irish Bronze Age proper begins around 2000 BCE and ends with the arrival of the Iron Age of the Celtic Hallstatt culture , beginning about 600 BCE. The subsequent La Tène culture brought new styles and practices by 300 BCE. Greek and Roman writers give some information about Ireland during the Classical period (see " protohistoric " period), by which time
6031-454: The Dublin Castle administration to subjugate Irish clan leaders during the conquest. It was an unanticipated consequence to be required to pay fealty in currency instead of trade labor or commodities. The process of "surrender and regrant" thus created new, unfamiliar debt structures among the Irish, and these debts had social and political consequences. The policy of surrender and regrant
6194-624: The Duke of Wellington . Steering the Catholic Relief Bill through Parliament, aided by future prime minister Robert Peel , Wellington prevailed upon a reluctant George IV to sign the Bill and proclaim it into law. George's father had opposed the plan of the earlier Prime Minister, Pitt the Younger , to introduce such a bill following the Union of 1801, fearing Catholic Emancipation to be in conflict with
6357-733: The Early Middle Ages . The period of Insular art , mainly in the fields of illuminated manuscripts , metalworking, and sculpture flourished and produced such treasures as the Book of Kells , the Ardagh Chalice , and the many carved stone crosses that dot the island. Insular style was to be a crucial ingredient in the formation of the Romanesque and Gothic styles throughout Western Europe. Sites dating to this period include clochans , ringforts and promontory forts . Francis John Byrne describes
6520-605: The Easter Rising succeeded in turning public opinion against the British establishment after the execution of the leaders by British authorities. It also eclipsed the home rule movement. In 1922, after the Irish War of Independence , most of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom to become the independent Irish Free State , but under the Anglo-Irish Treaty the six northeastern counties, known as Northern Ireland , remained within
6683-566: The English Crown did not make another attempt to conquer the island until after the end of the Wars of the Roses (1488). This released resources and manpower for overseas expansion, beginning in the early 16th century. However, the nature of Ireland's decentralised political organisation into small territories (known as túatha ), martial traditions, difficult terrain and climate and lack of urban infrastructure, meant that attempts to assert Crown authority were slow and expensive. Attempts to impose
History of Ireland - Misplaced Pages Continue
6846-666: The Good Friday Agreement in 1998. In 1973, both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, with Northern Ireland as part of it, joined the European Economic Community . Following a referendum vote in 2016, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland included, left the European Union (EU) in 2020. Northern Ireland was granted a limited special status and allowed to operate within the EU single market for goods without being in
7009-574: The Irish House of Lords and the demise of the former Ireland King of Arms , the office of the Ulster King of Arms was founded in 1552, based at Dublin Castle . Consequently, a large number of ancient Irish family trees were recorded and stored at the castle and later held at Trinity College Dublin . Almost all of the Irish surname coats of arms were granted in or after 1552, and are supervised now by
7172-439: The Irish parliament passed the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1367. These were a set of laws designed to prevent the assimilation of the Normans into Irish society by requiring English subjects in Ireland to speak English, follow English customs and abide by English law. By the end of the 15th century, central English authority in Ireland had all but disappeared, and a renewed Irish culture and language, albeit with Norman influences,
7335-434: The Milesians ( Gaels ) were said to have reached Ireland from either northern Iberia or southern Gaul. It was claimed that a second wave named the Euerni, belonging to the Belgae people of northern Gaul, began arriving about the sixth century BC. They were said to have given their name to the island. The theory was advanced in part because of the lack of archaeological evidence for large-scale Celtic immigration, though it
7498-401: The Nine Years War . This period was marked by the Crown policies of, at first, surrender and regrant , and later, plantation , involving the arrival of thousands of English and Scottish Protestant settlers, and the displacement of both the Hiberno-Normans (or Old English as they were known by then) and the native Catholic landholders. With English colonies going back to the 1550s, Ireland
7661-408: The Norman invasion of Ireland . By the 12th century, Ireland was divided politically into shifting petty kingdoms and over-kingdoms. Power was exercised by the heads of a few regional dynasties vying against each other for supremacy over the whole island. One of these men, King Diarmait Mac Murchada of Leinster was forcibly exiled by the new High King, Ruaidri mac Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair of
7824-400: The Parliament of Ireland . The initiative of "surrender and regrant" was launched in the 1540s under the new English Governor of Ireland, Anthony St. Leger . Essentially St. Leger's idea was to transform and assimilate the more autonomous leaders of Gaelic Ireland into something akin to the political and constitutional system of England , where everyone was theoretically equal at law under
7987-419: The Penal Laws . On 1 January 1801, in the wake of the republican United Irishmen Rebellion , the Irish Parliament was abolished and Ireland became part of a new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland formed by the Acts of Union 1800 . Catholics were not granted full rights until Catholic Emancipation in 1829, achieved by Daniel O’Connell . The Great Famine struck Ireland in 1845 resulting in over
8150-405: The Protestant Ascendancy . The " Great Frost " struck Ireland and the rest of Europe between December 1739 and September 1741, after a decade of relatively mild winters. The winters destroyed stored crops of potatoes and other staples, and the poor summers severely damaged harvests. This resulted in the famine of 1740 . An estimated 250,000 people (about one in eight of the population) died from
8313-417: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Williamite War . Irish losses during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (which, in Ireland, included the Irish Confederacy and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland ) are estimated to include 20,000 battlefield casualties. 200,000 civilians are estimated to have died as a result of a combination of war-related famine, displacement, guerrilla activity and pestilence throughout
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#17330944601938476-461: The "Queen's County". Other clans such as the MacMahons of County Monaghan did not take part in the new system. Tibbot ne Long Bourke , the heir of "Lower MacWilliam Burke" lands in County Mayo , and a son of Gráinne O'Malley , remained outside the system until 1593; he was knighted in 1604 and was created the first Viscount Mayo in 1627. Gráinne herself accepted the system in 1576, in respect of her own lands, though she managed her lands with
8639-424: The 17th century left a deep sectarian division in Ireland. Religious allegiance now determined the perception in law of loyalty to the Irish King and Parliament. After the passing of the Test Act 1672 , and the victory of the forces of the dual monarchy of William and Mary over the Jacobites , Roman Catholics and nonconforming Protestant Dissenters were barred from sitting as members in the Irish Parliament. Under
8802-525: The 9th century, waves of Viking raiders plundered Irish monasteries and towns. These raids added to a pattern of raiding and endemic warfare that was already deep-seated in Ireland. The Vikings were involved in establishing most of the major coastal settlements in Ireland: Dublin , Limerick , Cork , Wexford , Waterford , as well as other smaller settlements. On 1 May 1169, an expedition of Cambro-Norman knights, with an army of about 600 men, landed at Bannow Strand in present-day County Wexford . It
8965-425: The English church at the time, the Catholic Church , was published in 1216 and the Parliament of Ireland was founded in 1297. From the mid-14th century, after the Black Death , Norman settlements in Ireland went into a period of decline. The Norman rulers and the Gaelic Irish elites intermarried and the areas under Norman rule became Gaelicised . In some parts, a hybrid Hiberno-Norman culture emerged. In response,
9128-557: The European Union. Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the field of literature . Alongside mainstream Western culture , a strong indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games , Irish music , Irish language , and Irish dance . The island's culture shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football , rugby , horse racing , golf , and boxing . The names Ireland and Éire derive from Old Irish Ériu ,
9291-406: The Gaelic Brehon Law across large areas, so that by the late 13th century the Norman-Irish had established a feudal system throughout much of Ireland. Norman settlements were characterised by the establishment of baronies, manors, towns and the seeds of the modern county system. A version of Magna Carta (the Great Charter of Ireland ), substituting Dublin for London and the Irish Church for,
9454-456: The Irish "already believing in Christ". The same chronicle records that Saint Patrick , Ireland's best known patron saint , arrived the following year. There is continued debate over the missions of Palladius and Patrick, but the consensus is that they both took place and that the older druid tradition collapsed in the face of the new religion. Irish Christian scholars excelled in the study of Latin and Greek learning and Christian theology. In
9617-406: The Irish Catholic landowning class was engineered, and recusants were subordinated under the Penal Laws . During the 17th century, Ireland was convulsed by eleven years of warfare , beginning with the Rebellion of 1641 , when Irish Catholics rebelled against the domination of English and Protestant settlers. The Catholic gentry briefly ruled the country as Confederate Ireland (1642–1649) against
9780-469: The Irish Volunteers' name and opposed Ireland's involvement in the war. The Easter Rising of 1916 was carried out by the latter group together with a smaller socialist militia, the Irish Citizen Army . The British response, executing fifteen leaders of the Rising over a period of ten days and imprisoning or interning more than a thousand people, turned the mood of the country in favour of the rebels. Support for Irish republicanism increased further due to
9943-441: The Irish greater access to the Kingdom of the Isles . Diarmuit was able to become High King of Ireland , and after his death, the O'Brien dynasty , who ruled Ireland since the days of Brian Boru, reclaimed the High Kingship and Irish influence in the Irish Sea area would increase dramatically over the next few decades, notably under High King Muircherteach Ua Briain , who was noted for his interest in foreign affairs. Perhaps it
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#173309446019310106-527: The Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-network culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age that also included Britain, western France and Iberia, and that this is where Celtic languages developed. This contrasts with the traditional view that their origin lies in mainland Europe with the Hallstatt culture . The long-standing traditional view is that the Celtic language, Ogham script and culture were brought to Ireland by waves of invading or migrating Celts from mainland Europe. This theory draws on
10269-401: The O'Briens of Thomond were created lords Inchiquin . His neighbour Donogh O'Grady was knighted and had his lands regranted in the same year. The Mac Aonghusa / Magennis clan in county Down became knights, and the O'Byrnes of Wicklow , the Kavanaghs of Wicklow, Cahir, Baron of Ballyane Lords of Ballyane, the O'Donnells of Donegal were others who accepted the system. The O'Donnell chief
10432-401: The Roman military in the mid-to-late 300s. Perhaps it was some of the latter returning home as rich mercenaries, merchants, or slaves stolen from Britain or Gaul, that first brought the Christian faith to Ireland. Some early sources claim that there were missionaries active in southern Ireland long before St. Patrick . Whatever the route, and there were probably many, this new faith was to have
10595-574: The Troubles in the late 1960s, after civil rights marches were met with opposition by authorities. The violence escalated after the deployment of the British Army to maintain authority led to clashes with nationalist communities. The violence continued for twenty-eight years until an uneasy, but largely successful peace was finally achieved with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. What is known of pre-Christian Ireland comes from references in Roman writings, Irish poetry , myth, and archaeology. While some possible Paleolithic tools have been found, none of
10758-470: The United Kingdom, creating the partition of Ireland. The treaty was opposed by many; their opposition led to the outbreak of the Irish Civil War , in which Irish Free State , or "pro-treaty", forces proved victorious. The history of Northern Ireland has since been dominated by the division of society along sectarian faultlines and conflict between (mainly Catholic) Irish nationalists and (mainly Protestant) British unionists . These divisions erupted into
10921-461: The United Kingdom, was not neutral during the Second World War, and Belfast suffered four bombing raids in 1941. Conscription was not extended to Northern Ireland, and roughly an equal number volunteered from Northern Ireland as volunteered from the Republic of Ireland. Surrender and regrant During the Tudor conquest of Ireland (c.1540–1603), " surrender and regrant " was the legal mechanism by which Irish clans were to be converted from
11084-434: The United Kingdom, which it immediately exercised. Additionally, Members of the Free State Parliament were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the Irish Free State and make a statement of faithfulness to the king. Disagreements over these provisions led to a split in the nationalist movement and a subsequent Irish Civil War between the new government of the Irish Free State and those opposed to
11247-491: The Vikings continued to grow and thrive as centres of Irish trade and finance. They remain so to this day. Despite the breaking of Norse power in Ireland, the Norse still maintained control of the Kingdom of Dublin . Although the King of Leinster levied tribute from the Norse, they rarely directly intervened in the affairs of the city-state, as it brought trade to the area. This changed, however, when Diarmuit mac Maél na mBó , King of Leinster, captured Dublin in 1052. This gave
11410-406: The Vikings were moving further inland to attack (often using rivers) and then retreating to their coastal headquarters. In 852, the Vikings landed in Dublin Bay and established a fortress. Dublin became the centre for the trade of many goods, especially slaves. Bringing back new ideas and motivations, they began settling more permanently. In the tenth century, an earthen bank was constructed around
11573-460: The Western kingdom of Connacht. Fleeing to Aquitaine , Diarmait obtained permission from Henry II to recruit Norman knights to regain his kingdom. The first Norman knights landed in Ireland in 1167, followed by the main forces of Normans, Welsh and Flemings . Several counties were restored to the control of Diarmait, who named his son-in-law, the Norman Richard de Clare , known as Strongbow, heir to his kingdom. This troubled King Henry, who feared
11736-571: The Y-chromosome pattern. When taking both into account, a study concluded that modern Celtic speakers in Ireland could be thought of as European "Atlantic Celts" showing a shared ancestry throughout the Atlantic zone from northern Iberia to western Scandinavia rather than substantially central European. In 2012, research showed that the occurrence of genetic markers for the earliest farmers was almost eliminated by Beaker-culture immigrants: they carried what
11899-609: The alleged Papal Bull Laudabiliter , issued by an Englishman, Adrian IV , in 1155. The document apparently encouraged Henry to take control in Ireland in order to oversee the financial and administrative reorganisation of the Irish Church and its integration into the Roman Church system. Some restructuring had already begun at the ecclesiastical level following the Synod of Kells in 1152. There has been significant controversy regarding
12062-478: The authenticity of Laudabiliter , and there is no general agreement as to whether the bull was genuine or a forgery. Further, it had no standing in the Irish legal system. In 1172, Pope Alexander III further encouraged Henry to advance the integration of the Irish Church with Rome. Henry was authorised to impose a tithe of one penny per hearth as an annual contribution. This church levy, called Peter's Pence ,
12225-440: The authorities, counterintelligence was a fundamental line of defence. With a regular army of only slightly over seven thousand men at the start of the war, and with limited supplies of modern weapons, the state would have had great difficulty in defending itself from invasion from either side in the conflict. Large-scale emigration marked most of the post-WWII period (particularly during the 1950s and 1980s), but beginning in 1987
12388-494: The authority of bishops and priests. Second, the mishandling of the paedophile scandals humiliated the Church, whose bishops seemed less concerned with the victims and more concerned with covering up for errant priests. Third, prosperity brought hedonism and materialism that undercut the ideals of saintly poverty. The financial crisis that began in 2008 dramatically ended this period of boom. GDP fell by 3% in 2008 and by 7.1% in 2009,
12551-960: The background of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms until Oliver Cromwell reconquered Ireland in 1649–1653 on behalf of the English Commonwealth . Cromwell's conquest was the most brutal phase of the war. By its close, around half of Ireland's pre-war population was killed or exiled as slaves, where many died due to harsh conditions. As retribution for the rebellion of 1641, the better-quality remaining lands owned by Irish Catholics were confiscated and given to British settlers . Several hundred remaining native landowners were transplanted to Connacht . Ireland in Europe (dark grey) Ireland ( / ˈ aɪər l ə n d / IRE -lənd ; Irish : Éire [ˈeːɾʲə] ; Ulster-Scots : Airlann [ˈɑːrlən] )
12714-475: The city with a second larger bank built outside that in the eleventh century. On the interior of the town, an extensive series of defences have been excavated at Fishamble Street, Dublin. The site featured nine waterfronts, including two possible flood banks and two positive defensive embankments during the Viking Age. The early embankments were non-defensive, being only one metre high, and it is uncertain how much of
12877-431: The conquest and held them after the war was over. The Black Death arrived in Ireland in 1348. Because most of the English and Norman inhabitants of Ireland lived in towns and villages, the plague hit them far harder than it did the native Irish, who lived in more dispersed rural settlements. After it had passed, Gaelic Irish language and customs came to dominate the country again. The English-controlled territory shrank to
13040-592: The continent. However, other research has postulated that the culture developed gradually and continuously and that the introduction of Celtic language and elements of Celtic culture may have been a result of cultural exchange with Celtic groups in southwest continental Europe from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. The hypothesis that the native Late Bronze Age inhabitants gradually absorbed Celtic influences has since been supported by some recent genetic research. In 60 CE, it
13203-467: The continental Celtic La Tene style being found in at least the northern part of the island by about 300 BCE. The result of a gradual blending of Celtic and indigenous cultures would result in the emergence of Gaelic culture by the fifth century. It is also during the fifth century that the main over-kingdoms of In Tuisceart, Airgialla, Ulaid, Mide, Laigin, Mumhain, Cóiced Ol nEchmacht began to emerge (see Kingdoms of ancient Ireland ). Within these kingdoms,
13366-716: The contrary, this has tempted many scholars of medieval western Ireland to agree with the twelfth-century historian Giraldus Cambrensis who argued that the Gaelic kings did not build castles. By 1261 the weakening of the Normans had become manifest when Fineen MacCarthy defeated a Norman army at the Battle of Callann . The war continued between the different lords and earls for about 100 years, causing much destruction, especially around Dublin. In this chaotic situation, local Irish lords won back large amounts of land that their families had lost since
13529-540: The country under English control, heightened resentment of English rule. From the mid-16th to the early 17th century, crown governments had carried out a policy of land confiscation and colonisation known as Plantations . Scottish and English Protestant colonists were sent to the provinces of Munster , Ulster and the counties of Laois and Offaly . These Protestant settlers replaced the Irish Catholic landowners who were removed from their lands. These settlers formed
13692-632: The country, local Gaelic and Gaelicised lords expanded their powers at the expense of the English government in Dublin but the power of the Dublin government was in any case seriously curtailed by the introduction of Poynings' Law in 1494. According to this act, the Irish Parliament was essentially put under the control of the Westminster Parliament . From 1536, Henry VIII of England decided to reconquer Ireland and bring it under crown control. The Fitzgerald dynasty of Kildare , who had become
13855-619: The development of the linen industry, Ireland was largely passed over by the Industrial Revolution , partly because it lacked coal and iron resources and partly because of the impact of the sudden union with the structurally superior economy of England, which saw Ireland as a source of agricultural produce and capital. The Great Famine of 1845–1851 devastated Ireland, as in those years Ireland's population fell by one-third. More than one million people died from starvation and disease, with an additional million people emigrating during
14018-480: The early 20th century was followed by the partition of the island , leading to the creation of the Irish Free State , which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades until it declared a republic in 1948 ( Republic of Ireland Act, 1948) and Northern Ireland, which remained a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s . This subsided following
14181-496: The early 840s, had begun to establish settlements along the Irish coasts and to spend the winter months there. The longships were technologically advanced, allowing them to travel faster through the narrow rivers. Vikings founded settlements in several places; most famously in Dublin . Most of the settlements were near the water, allowing the Vikings to trade using their longships. Written accounts from this time (early to mid 840s) show that
14344-455: The economy improved, and the 1990s saw the beginning of substantial economic growth. This period of growth became known as the Celtic Tiger . The Republic's real GDP grew by an average of 9.6% per annum between 1995 and 1999, in which year the Republic joined the euro . In 2000, it was the sixth-richest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita. Historian R. F. Foster argues the cause
14507-469: The effect of the epidemics which occurred during this era: The plagues of the 660s and the 680s had a traumatic effect on Irish society. The golden age of the saints was over, together with the generation of kings who could fire a saga -writer's imagination. The literary tradition looks back to the reign of the sons of Aed Slaine (Diarmait and Blathmac, who died in 665) as to the end of an era. Antiquaries, brehons , genealogists and hagiographers , felt
14670-518: The effective rulers of Ireland in the 15th century, had become unreliable allies of the Tudor monarchs. They had invited Burgundian troops into Dublin to crown the Yorkist pretender, Lambert Simnel as King of England in 1487. Again in 1536, Silken Thomas , Fitzgerald went into open rebellion against the crown. Having put down this rebellion, Henry resolved to bring Ireland under English government control so
14833-460: The emerging Penal Laws , Irish Roman Catholics and Dissenters were increasingly deprived of various civil rights, even the ownership of hereditary property. Additional regressive punitive legislation followed in 1703, 1709 and 1728. This completed a comprehensive systemic effort to materially disadvantage Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters while enriching a new ruling class of Anglican conformists. The new Anglo-Irish ruling class became known as
14996-407: The ensuing pestilence and disease. The Irish government halted export of corn and kept the army in quarters but did little more. Local gentry and charitable organisations provided relief but could do little to prevent the ensuing mortality. In the aftermath of the famine, an increase in industrial production and a surge in trade brought a succession of construction booms. The population soared in
15159-580: The entire island, and successfully disarmed the native lordships. In 1614 the Catholic majority in the Irish Parliament was overthrown through the creation of numerous new boroughs which were dominated by the new settlers. However, the English were not successful in converting the Catholic Irish to the Protestant religion and the brutal methods used by crown authority (including resorting to martial law ) to bring
15322-772: The establishment of a Neolithic culture, characterised by the appearance of pottery, polished stone tools, rectangular wooden houses, megalithic tombs, and domesticated sheep and cattle. Some of these tombs, as at Knowth and Dowth , are huge stone monuments and many of them, such as the Passage Tombs of Newgrange , are astronomically aligned. Four main types of Irish Megalithic Tombs have been identified: dolmens , court cairns , passage tombs and wedge-shaped gallery graves . In Leinster and Munster, individual adult males were buried in small stone structures, called cists , under earthen mounds and were accompanied by distinctive decorated pottery. This culture apparently prospered, and
15485-535: The establishment of a rival Norman state in Ireland. Accordingly, he resolved to establish his authority. In 1177, Prince John Lackland was made Lord of Ireland by his father Henry II of England at the Council of Oxford . With the authority of the papal bull Laudabiliter from Adrian IV , Henry landed with a large fleet at Waterford in 1171, becoming the first King of England to set foot on Irish soil. Henry awarded his Irish territories to his younger son John with
15648-674: The exact relationship between Rome and the dynasties and peoples of Hibernia remains unclear. Irish confederations (the Scoti ) attacked and some settled in Britain during the Great Conspiracy of 367. In particular, the Dál Riata settled in western Scotland and the Western Isles . The middle centuries of the first millennium CE marked great changes in Ireland. Politically, what appears to have been
15811-527: The famine, mostly to the United States and Canada. In the century that followed, an economic depression caused by the famine resulted in a further million people emigrating. By the end of the decade, half of all immigration to the United States was from Ireland. The period of civil unrest that followed until the end of the 19th century is referred to as the Land War . Mass emigration became deeply entrenched and
15974-467: The finds is convincing of Paleolithic settlement in Ireland. However a bear bone found in Alice and Gwendoline Cave , County Clare, in 1903 may push back dates for the earliest human settlement of Ireland to 10,500 BCE. The bone shows clear signs of cut marks with stone tools and has been radiocarbon dated to 12,500 years ago. It is possible that humans crossed a land bridge during the warm period, referred to as
16137-527: The first Earl of Ulster. The Hiberno-Norman community suffered from a series of invasions that ceased the spread of their settlement and power. Politics and events in Gaelic Ireland served to draw the settlers deeper into the orbit of the Irish. Furthermore, unlike the Anglo-Normans, the Gaelic kings did not keep detailed estate inventories and accounts. Coupled with the absence of archaeological evidence to
16300-613: The first attempt in 1799. According to contemporary documents and historical analysis, this was achieved through a considerable degree of bribery, with funding provided by the British Secret Service Office, and the awarding of peerages, places and honours to secure votes. Thus, the parliament in Ireland was abolished and replaced by a united parliament at Westminster in London, though resistance remained, as evidenced by Robert Emmet 's failed Irish Rebellion of 1803 . Aside from
16463-517: The fortress of Áth Cliath [Dublin]". They were allowed by the Saxons to settle in Wirral , England, but would however later return to retake Dublin. The Vikings never achieved total domination of Ireland, often fighting for and against various Irish kings. The great High King of Ireland , Brian Boru , defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 which began the decline of Viking power in Ireland but
16626-471: The general progress of the expedition. He wanted to re-exert royal authority over the invasion which was expanding beyond his control. Henry successfully re-imposed his authority over Strongbow and the Cambro-Norman warlords and persuaded many of the Irish kings to accept him as their overlord, an arrangement confirmed in the 1175 Treaty of Windsor . The invasion was legitimised by reference to provisions of
16789-570: The geneticist David Reich , who says: "British and Irish skeletons from the Bronze Age that followed the Beaker period had at most 10 per cent ancestry from the first farmers of these islands, with other 90 per cent from people like those associated with the Bell Beaker culture in the Netherlands." He suggests that it was Beaker users who introduced an Indo-European language, represented here by Celtic (i.e.
16952-477: The help of the castles he built and his fleet based at Dún Gaillimhe . He also had commercial and political links with the rulers of France , Spain and England , increasing Ireland's international presence which brought more trade to the island. His reign lasted more than 50 years. One of Tairrdelbach's sons, Ruadhrí , would later go on to be High King himself. He was arguably the first High King without opposition, however, he would later abdicate following
17115-420: The island became more densely populated. Near the end of the Neolithic new types of monuments developed, such as circular embanked enclosures and timber, stone and post and pit circles. The Céide Fields is an archaeological site on the north County Mayo coast in the west of Ireland , about 7 kilometres northwest of Ballycastle , and the site is the most extensive Neolithic site in Ireland and contains
17278-415: The island has been shown, with evidence for Mesolithic communities around the island. Some time before 4,000 BC, Neolithic settlers introduced cereal cultivars , domesticated animals such as cattle and sheep, built large timber buildings, and stone monuments. The earliest evidence for farming in Ireland or Great Britain is from Ferriter's Cove , County Kerry , where a flint knife, cattle bones and
17441-443: The island may be termed " Gaelic Ireland ". By the late 4th century CE Christianity had begun to gradually subsume or replace the earlier Celtic polytheism . By the end of the 6th century it had introduced writing along with a predominantly monastic Celtic Christian church, profoundly altering Irish society. Scandinavian seafaring people who took jobs pirating, pillaging, and raiding lands (later referred to as Vikings ), settled from
17604-507: The island with an estimated 30,000 dead. As a direct result of the 1798 rebellion in its aftermath in 1800, the British and Irish parliaments both passed Acts of Union that, with effect from 1 January 1801, merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain to create a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . The passage of the Act in the Irish Parliament was ultimately achieved with substantial majorities, having failed on
17767-538: The island would not become a base for future rebellions or foreign invasions of England. In 1542, he upgraded Ireland from a lordship to a full kingdom. Henry was proclaimed King of Ireland at a meeting of the Irish Parliament that year. This was the first meeting of the Irish Parliament to be attended by the Gaelic Irish chieftains as well as the Hiberno-Norman aristocracy. With the institutions of government in place,
17930-423: The island. Early Viking raids were generally fast-paced and small in scale. These early raids interrupted the golden age of Christian Irish culture and marked the beginning of two centuries of intermittent warfare, with waves of Viking raiders plundering monasteries and towns throughout Ireland. Most of those early raiders came from western Norway. The Vikings were expert sailors, who travelled in longships , and by
18093-570: The king, and then have them regranted (returned) as freeholds paying a chief rent under a royal charter if they swore loyalty to him. Those who surrendered were also expected to speak English , wear English-style dress, remain loyal to the Crown, follow English laws and customs, abjure the Roman Catholic Church , and convert to Henry's new Anglican Church . In return they would be protected from attack and could organise local courts and enter
18256-469: The late 8th century CE which resulted in extensive cultural interchange, as well as innovation in military and transport technology. Many of Ireland's towns were founded at this time as Scandinavian trading posts and coinage made its first appearance. Scandinavian penetration was limited and concentrated along coasts and rivers, and ceased to be a major threat to Gaelic culture after the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. The Norman invasion in 1169 resulted again in
18419-416: The late Bronze Age, there was an increase in stored weapons, which has been taken as evidence for greater warfare. Fleshed bog bodies also appear at this time, continuing into the Iron Age. The Iron Age in Ireland began about 600 BCE. The period between the start of the Iron Age and the historic period (CE 431) saw the gradual infiltration of small groups of Celtic-speaking people into Ireland, with items of
18582-549: The latter part of this century and the architectural legacy of Georgian Ireland was built. In 1782, Poynings' Law was repealed, giving Ireland legislative independence from Great Britain for the first time since 1495. The British government, however, still retained the right to nominate the government of Ireland without the consent of the Irish parliament. In 1798, members of the Protestant Dissenter tradition (mainly Presbyterian ) made common cause with Roman Catholics in
18745-476: The local names for the islands at the time. The earlier names, in contrast , were likely to have been coined before direct contact with local peoples was made. The Romans referred to Ireland by this name too in its Latinised form, Hibernia , or Scotia . Ptolemy records sixteen nations inhabiting every part of Ireland in 100 AD. The relationship between the Roman Empire and the kingdoms of ancient Ireland
18908-601: The many carved stone crosses that still dot the island today. A mission founded in 563 on Iona by the Irish monk Saint Columba began a tradition of Irish missionary work that spread Celtic Christianity and learning to Scotland , England and the Frankish Empire on continental Europe after the fall of Rome. These missions continued until the late Middle Ages , establishing monasteries and centres of learning, producing scholars such as Sedulius Scottus and Johannes Eriugena and exerting much influence in Europe. From
19071-519: The monarch. It had begun successfully in the late 1530s, according to the Rev. James MacCaffrey, writing in 1914: In the late 1530s and early 1540s, a number of leading Gaelic families saw the political value of accepting this new Tudor policy. In 1541, Brían Óg Mac Giolla Phádraig became the first Irish lord to take his seat in the Dublin Parliament as Baron Upper Ossory . Other clans who partook in
19234-741: The monastic culture that followed the Christianisation of Ireland, Latin and Greek learning was preserved in Ireland during the Early Middle Ages in contrast to elsewhere in Western Europe, where the Dark Ages followed the Fall of the Western Roman Empire . The arts of manuscript illumination , metalworking and sculpture flourished and produced treasures such as the Book of Kells , ornate jewellery and
19397-520: The most profound effect on the Irish. Tradition maintains that in A.D. 432, St. Patrick arrived on the island and, in the years that followed, worked to convert the Irish to Christianity. St Patrick's Confession , in Latin, written by him is the earliest Irish historical document. It gives some information about the Saint. On the other hand, according to Prosper of Aquitaine , a contemporary chronicler, Palladius
19560-413: The need to collect ancient traditions before they were totally forgotten. Many were in fact swallowed by oblivion; when we examine the writing of Tirechan we encounter obscure references to tribes that are quite unknown to the later genealogical tradition. The laws describe a ... society that was obsolescent , and the meaning and use of the word moccu dies out with archaic Old Irish at the beginning of
19723-483: The new Protestant faith were also successfully resisted by both the Gaelic and Norman-Irish. The new policy fomented the rebellion of the Hiberno-Norman Earl of Kildare Silken Thomas in 1534, keen to defend his traditional autonomy and Catholicism, and marked the beginning of the prolonged Tudor conquest of Ireland lasting from 1536 to 1603. Henry VIII proclaimed himself King of Ireland in 1541 to facilitate
19886-422: The new century. The first English involvement in Ireland took place in this period. Tullylease, Rath Melsigi and Maigh Eo na Saxain were founded by 670 for English students who wished to study or live in Ireland. In summer 684, an English expeditionary force sent by Northumbrian King Ecgfrith raided Brega. The first recorded Viking raid in Irish history occurred in 795 CE when Vikings from Norway looted
20049-408: The new policy, it was possible for those individuals to become tenants of their chiefly cousin who had adopted surrender and regrant. Often the latter had an elected tánaiste , or deputy chief, who was pushed aside as the next chief by the son of the chief under the system of primogeniture . That caused internal feuding, which was often exploited by English officials based in Dublin , seeking to limit
20212-546: The next step was to extend the control of the English Kingdom of Ireland over all of its claimed territory. This took nearly a century, with various English administrations either negotiating or fighting with the independent Irish and Old English lords. The Spanish Armada in Ireland suffered heavy losses during an extraordinary season of storms in the autumn of 1588. Among the survivors was Captain Francisco de Cuellar , who gave
20375-455: The oldest known field systems in the world. Using various dating methods, it was discovered that the creation and development of the Céide Fields goes back some five and a half thousand years (~3500 BCE). The short-lived Irish Copper Age and subsequent Bronze Age , which came to Ireland around 2000 BCE, saw the production of elaborate gold and bronze ornaments, weapons and tools. There
20538-582: The ongoing war in Europe, as well as the Conscription Crisis of 1918 . The pro-independence republican party, Sinn Féin , received overwhelming endorsement in the general election of 1918 , and in 1919 proclaimed an Irish Republic , setting up its own parliament ( Dáil Éireann ) and government. Simultaneously the Volunteers, which became known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA), launched
20701-400: The population continued to decline until the mid-20th century. Immediately prior to the famine the population was recorded as 8.2 million by the 1841 census . The population has never returned to this level since. The population continued to fall until 1961; County Leitrim was the final Irish county to record a population increase post-famine, in 2006. The 19th and early 20th centuries saw
20864-472: The potential defence of Northern Ireland. Despite their country's neutrality, approximately 50,000 volunteers from independent Ireland joined the British forces during the war, four being awarded Victoria Crosses . The German intelligence was also active in Ireland. Its operations ended in September 1941 when police made arrests based on surveillance carried out on the key diplomatic legations in Dublin. To
21027-436: The principal crops. The Bronze Age began around 2,500 BC, with technology changing people's everyday lives during this period through innovations such as the wheel, harnessing oxen , weaving textiles , brewing alcohol and metalworking , which produced new weapons and tools, along with fine gold decoration and jewellery, such as brooches and torcs . How and when the island became Celtic has been debated for close to
21190-419: The process included the O'Neills of Tir Eoghain who were created the earls of Tyrone and as such sat in the Irish House of Lords from 1542. Many of the regranted clan chiefs remained Roman Catholic after the death of Queen Mary in 1558, which, after the final split between England and Rome in 1570, meant that their new legal status was still rather tangential in the eyes of conformist officials. In 1543
21353-472: The project. Ireland became a potential battleground in the wars between Catholic Counter-Reformation and Protestant Reformation Europe. England's attempts either to conquer or to assimilate both the Hiberno-Norman lordships and the Gaelic territories into the Kingdom of Ireland provided the impetus for ongoing warfare, notable examples being the 1st Desmond Rebellion , the 2nd Desmond Rebellion and
21516-590: The rise of modern Irish nationalism , primarily among the Roman Catholic population. The pre-eminent Irish political figure after the Union was Daniel O'Connell . He was elected as Member of Parliament for Ennis in a surprise result and despite being unable to take his seat as a Roman Catholic . O'Connell spearheaded a vigorous campaign that was taken up by the Prime Minister, the Irish-born soldier and statesman,
21679-409: The ruling class of future British appointed administrations in Ireland. Several Penal Laws , aimed at Catholics, Baptists and Presbyterians, were introduced to encourage conversion to the established ( Anglican ) Church of Ireland . The 17th century was perhaps the bloodiest in Ireland's history. Two periods of war (1641–53 and 1689–91) caused a huge loss of life. The ultimate dispossession of most of
21842-485: The scheme was constructed in the 8th century to justify the status of powerful political groupings by projecting the origins of their rule into the remote past. All of the Irish kingdoms had their own kings but were nominally subject to the high king. The high king was drawn from the ranks of the provincial kings and ruled also the royal kingdom of Meath , with a ceremonial capital at the Hill of Tara . The concept did not become
22005-528: The sept lands as his personal estate in 1615, but did not receive an English title. The overlord in the Barony of Carbery to Donovan of Clan Cathail, the MacCarthy Reagh , who surrendered his sept lands in 1606, also never received any titles under this system. Donal McCarthy Mór was knighted in 1558 and created Earl of Clancare in 1565, but resigned his titles in 1597. The prominent MacCarthys of Muskerry ,
22168-636: The site they encircled. After several generations a group of mixed Irish and Norse ethnic background arose, the Gall-Gaels , '( Gall being the Old Irish word for foreign). The second wave of Vikings made stations at winter bases called longphorts to serve as control centres to exert a more localized force on the island through raiding. The third wave in 917 established towns as not only control centres, but also as centres of trade to enter into Irish economy and greater Western Europe. Returning to Dublin, they set up
22331-465: The six counties of Ulster, which later became Northern Ireland. Before it could be implemented, however, the Act was suspended for the duration of the First World War . The Irish Volunteers split into two groups. The majority, approximately 175,000 in number, under John Redmond , took the name National Volunteers and supported Irish involvement in the war. A minority, approximately 13,000, retained
22494-469: The title Dominus Hiberniae ("Lord of Ireland"). When John unexpectedly succeeded his brother as King John of England , the " Lordship of Ireland " fell directly under the English Crown. The Normans initially controlled the entire east coast, from Waterford to eastern Ulster , and penetrated a considerable distance inland as well. The counties were ruled by many smaller kings. The first Lord of Ireland
22657-585: The towns which Vikings had founded continued to flourish, and trade became an important part of the Irish economy. Brian Boru , though he did not succeed in unifying Ireland, changed the High Kingship in the way that the High King would now have more power and control over the country and could manage the country's affairs. This led to prosperity for Ireland over the next few years. The Irish economy grew as international trade became more common. The towns founded by
22820-417: The traditional provinces) vying for dominance and the title of High King of Ireland . In the late 8th century to early 11th century AD Viking raids and settlement took place culminating in the Battle of Clontarf on 23 April 1014 which resulted in the ending of Viking power in Ireland. Following the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion , England claimed sovereignty. However, English rule did not extend over
22983-523: The treaty, led by Éamon de Valera . The civil war officially ended in May 1923 when de Valera issued a cease-fire order. During its first decade, the newly formed Irish Free State was governed by the victors of the civil war. When de Valera achieved power, he took advantage of the Statute of Westminster and political circumstances to build upon inroads to greater sovereignty made by the previous government. The oath
23146-411: The view that a land bridge connecting Ireland to Great Britain still existed at that time, more recent studies indicate that Ireland was separated from Britain by c. 14,000 BCE when the climate was still cold and local ice caps persisted in parts of the country. The people remained hunter-gatherers until about 4000 BCE. It is argued this is when the first signs of agriculture started to show, leading to
23309-454: The war. A further 50,000 were sent into indentured servitude in the West Indies . Physician-general William Petty estimated that 504,000 Catholic Irish and 112,000 Protestant settlers died, and 100,000 people were transported, as a result of the war. If a prewar population of 1.5 million is assumed, this would mean that the population was reduced by almost half. The religious struggles of
23472-509: The whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest , which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain . In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters , and was extended during the 18th century. With the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom . A war of independence in
23635-535: The worst year since records began (although earnings by foreign-owned businesses continued to grow). The state has since experienced deep recession, with unemployment, which doubled during 2009, remaining above 14% in 2012. Northern Ireland resulted from the division of the United Kingdom by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 , and until 1972 was a self-governing jurisdiction within the United Kingdom with its own parliament and prime minister. Northern Ireland, as part of
23798-412: Was created an earl briefly by James I of England in 1603–07. The Clanricarde Burke took the title of earl in 1543. The O'Shaughnessys of Gort and the O'Driscolls of Corcu Loígde also became knights. Ruairí Caoch Ó Mórdha (Rory O'More; the father of Rory O'More ) of Laois surrendered and was regranted in 1542–43 but died in 1545. His clan was out of favour by 1550; in 1556 Laois was shired as
23961-631: Was King John, who visited Ireland in 1185 and 1210 and helped consolidate the Norman-controlled areas while ensuring that the many Irish kings swore fealty to him. Throughout the thirteenth century, the policy of the English Kings was to weaken the power of the Norman Lords in Ireland. For example, King John encouraged Hugh de Lacy to destabilise and then overthrow the Lord of Ulster, before naming him as
24124-576: Was Muircherteach's increasing power in the Isles that led Magnus Barefoot , King of Norway , to lead campaigns against the Irish in 1098 and again in 1102 to bring Norse areas back under Norwegian control, while also raiding the various British kingdoms. Although direct conflict with the Kingdom of Norway seemed imminent, the two Kings formed an alliance by the marriage of Muircherteach's daughter to Magnus' son. The two would campaign together in Ulster , until Magnus
24287-473: Was a combination of a new sense of initiative and the entry of American corporations. He concludes the chief factors were low taxation, pro-business regulatory policies, and a young, tech-savvy workforce. For many multinationals, the decision to do business in Ireland was made easier still by generous incentives from the Industrial Development Authority . In addition European Union membership
24450-423: Was a movement away from the construction of communal megalithic tombs to the burial of the dead in small stone cists or simple pits, which could be situated in cemeteries or in circular earth or stone-built burial mounds known respectively as barrows and cairns . As the period progressed, inhumation burial gave way to cremation and by the Middle Bronze Age, remains were often placed beneath large burial urns. During
24613-400: Was abolished and in 1937 a new constitution was adopted. This completed a process of gradual separation from the British Empire that governments had pursued since independence. However, it was not until 1949 that the state was declared, officially, to be the Republic of Ireland . The state was neutral during World War II , but offered clandestine assistance to the Allies , particularly in
24776-414: Was again dominant. English Crown control remained relatively unshaken in an amorphous foothold around Dublin known as The Pale , and under the provisions of Poynings' Law of 1494, Irish Parliamentary legislation was subject to the approval of the English Privy Council . The title of King of Ireland was re-created in 1542 by Henry VIII , the then King of England , of the Tudor dynasty . English rule
24939-414: Was arguably the first English and then British territory colonised by a group known as the West Country Men . Gaelic Ireland was finally defeated at the battle of Kinsale in 1601 which marked the collapse of the Gaelic system and the beginning of Ireland's history as fully part of the English and later British Empire . During the 17th century, this division between a Protestant landholding minority and
25102-442: Was completely separated from Great Britain. Later, around 6,100 BC, Great Britain became separated from continental Europe. Until recently, the earliest evidence of human activity in Ireland was dated at 12,500 years ago, demonstrated by a butchered bear bone found in a cave in County Clare . Since 2021, the earliest evidence of human activity in Ireland is dated to 33,000 years ago. By about 8,000 BC, more sustained occupation of
25265-441: Was developed in the centuries after his death. Irish scholars excelled in the study of Latin learning and Christian theology in the monasteries that flourished shortly thereafter. Missionaries from Ireland to England and Continental Europe spread the news of the flowering of learning, and scholars from other nations came to Irish monasteries. The excellence and isolation of these monasteries helped preserve Latin learning during
25428-475: Was helpful, giving the country lucrative access to markets that it had previously reached only through the United Kingdom, and pumping huge subsidies and investment capital into the Irish economy. Modernisation brought secularisation in its wake. The traditionally high levels of religiosity have sharply declined. Foster points to three factors: First, Irish feminism, largely imported from America with liberal stances on contraception, abortion and divorce, undermined
25591-482: Was killed in an ambush by the Ulaid in August 1103, under mysterious circumstances (it is possible Muircherteach ordered his killing). Muircherteach was also politically involved in the Kingdoms of Scotland and England , as well as Wales . One of the most prosperous reigns of any High King was the reign of Toirdelbach Ua Conchobhair , who had overthrown Muircherteach and partitioned Munster in 1118. As King of Connacht and then King of Ireland , Ireland underwent
25754-513: Was led by King Henry VIII of England (r. 1509–1547) in a bid to extend and secure his control over the island of Ireland . This policy started in the years between the Geraldine rebellion (1534–39) and his subsequent creation of the Kingdom of Ireland in 1541–42. Henry's problem was that many of the Irish clans remained autonomous and outside the control of his administration in Dublin . Gaelic chiefs and some autonomous Norman-Irish lords were actively encouraged to surrender their lands to
25917-487: Was led by Richard de Clare , known as 'Strongbow' owing to his prowess as an archer. The invasion, which coincided with a period of renewed Norman expansion, was at the invitation of Dermot Mac Murrough , King of Leinster . In 1166, Mac Murrough had fled to Anjou , France, following a war involving Tighearnán Ua Ruairc , of Breifne , and sought the assistance of the Angevin King Henry II , in recapturing his kingdom. In 1171, Henry arrived in Ireland in order to review
26080-479: Was never a part of the Roman Empire , but Roman influence was often projected well beyond its borders. Tacitus writes that an exiled Irish prince was with Agricola in Roman Britain and would return to seize power in Ireland. Juvenal tells us that Roman "arms had been taken beyond the shores of Ireland". In recent years, some experts have hypothesized that Roman-sponsored Gaelic forces (or perhaps even Roman regulars) mounted some kind of invasion around CE 100, but
26243-424: Was reinforced and expanded in Ireland during the latter part of the 16th century, leading to the Tudor conquest of Ireland . A near-complete conquest was achieved by the turn of the 17th century, following the Nine Years' War and the Flight of the Earls . This control was consolidated during the wars and conflicts of the 17th century, including the English and Scottish colonisation in the Plantations of Ireland ,
26406-447: Was sent to Ireland by the Pope in 431 as "first Bishop to the Irish believing in Christ" , which demonstrates that there were already Christians living in Ireland. Palladius seems to have worked purely as Bishop to Irish Christians in the Leinster and Meath kingdoms, while Patrick – who may have arrived as late as 461 – worked first and foremost as a missionary to the pagan Irish, in the more remote kingdoms in Ulster and Connacht. Patrick
26569-420: Was then a new Y-chromosome R1b marker, believed to have originated in Iberia about 2,500 BC. The prevalence amongst modern Irish men of this mutation is a remarkable 84%, the highest in the world, and closely matched in other populations along the Atlantic fringes down to Spain. A similar genetic replacement happened with lineages in mitochondrial DNA. This conclusion is supported by recent research carried out by
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