Formed by rising seas as the glaciers of the last Ice Age melted,
the island of Ireland boasts a long and colourful history that is
often interwoven with mythology. Ireland has been populated since
circa 7000 BC and by 3000 BC, Neolithic people had spread throughout
the land. During the Bronze Age, which began in Ireland around 2000
BC, this Neolithic race of people mined gold and created extraordinary
metalwork and megalithic tombs, the remains of which today show a
remarkable degree of sophistication. Tribes of Gaels (the Celtic Race)
starting arriving from the European continent around 300 BC and they
brought with them their own distinctive culture, laws and customs.
The Celts were a rural people, built no cities and constantly warred
among themselves. By around 400 AD, they had carved the island of
Ireland into five main Kingdoms – Leinster, Munster, Connaught,
Ulster and Meath.
Reconstructed Viking Longboat.
St. Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland, arrived circa 432 AD and
brought with him the message of Christianity. Monasteries sprang up
around the country and began to grow strong and wealthy, even as continental
Europe fell into turmoil following the collapse of the Roman Empire.
Irish art, literature and scholarship flourished during this period.
Drawn by the monastic treasures, the year 795 saw the Viking invasion
of Ireland. The invasion was a calamity for the existing order but
the Vikings nonetheless founded Ireland’s first towns and cities,
including Dublin. The Vikings continued to rule Ireland for over two
centuries until Brian Boru, King of Munster united the Irish Kingdoms
for the first time in the early 11th century. The Vikings were finally
overthrown at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, when Brian Boru himself
was slain by a Viking chieftain while praying in his tent. The Vikings
however had almost become as Irish as the Irish themselves at this
stage and following the Battle, continued to work and trade as before.
In the 12th century, Diarmaid MacMurrough, the deposed King of Leinster
sought help from the Norman conquerors of England in his battle to
recover his Kingdom. By 1250, the Norman invaders had the majority
of Ireland under British Rule and the native-born Irish were relegated
to poorer lands. While the Irish revolted in the 14th century and
succeeded in recovering most of Connaught and Ulster, the British
influence remained and indeed grew in strength. After King Henry VIII
broke with the Catholic Church in 1534, he seized control of the Irish
Church and proclaimed himself King of Ireland. Queen Elizabeth I,
Henry’s successor, further encouraged English settlement in Ireland
and crushed the Irish resistance, led by Hugh O’Neill of Ulster,
at the Battle of Kinsale in 1601.
Following the defeat of O’Neill, who forfeited his land to the
English having fled to the continent, English and Scottish colonists
(mostly Protestant) poured into Ulster and began selling lands that
were formerly Irish. When Catholic landowners rebelled in 1641, Oliver
Cromwell, whose troops slaughtered thousands, ruthlessly put down
the revolt. The English confiscated over 11 million acres of land
from Catholic landowners and imposed a series of restrictions on Catholics
by what were collectively known as the Penal Laws. Following the 1798
Rebellion against British rule, Great Britain formally absorbed Ireland
via the act of Union of 1800.
Even though Catholics were forbidden to run for parliament under the
Penal Laws, a Catholic named Daniel O’Connell succeeded in being
elected to parliament in 1828, having amassed huge support for his
campaign. Following his election, O’Connell worked tirelessly
to achieve what is known as Catholic Emancipation. The course of Irish
history has been littered with disasters and so it was in the 1840’s
when the Great Famine, caused by blight in the potato crop, hit Ireland.
The potato had been almost the sole source of food for most of the
Irish population and over a million people died as a result of the
famine over a five-year period. A further two million people left
Irish shores, mostly for America and the country was devastated.
Following the Act of Union, Ireland continued under the rule of Britain
into the 20th century. On Easter Monday 1916, at a time when British
attention was on the Great War, another attempt was made to overthrow
British rule. The uprising occurred mainly in Dublin and the Irish
Republican Brotherhood seized several public buildings including the
GPO on O’Connell Street and proclaimed the Irish Republic. Again,
the rising was quashed and some of the leaders executed at Kilmainham
Jail. The rising of 1916 may have failed but it led to changed opinions
on both sides and following a bloody civil war from 1919 to 1921,
Ireland became a 26-county Free State. The six remaining counties
in northeastern Ireland remained under the control of the United Kingdom
and are known as Northern Ireland. In 1949, the 26 counties of Ireland
finally became an independent republic.
Civil unrest began in Northern Ireland in 1969. On one side, there
were those who wished to be considered part of Ireland and on the
other were those who wanted to remain loyal to Britain. The troubles
have continued over the years but violence has dwindled as progressive
talks take place. A peace agreement in Northern Ireland was signed
1998 and while talks on lasting peace are still ongoing, relative
calm has returned to the streets of Northern Ireland and the island
of Ireland.
