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Irish History
In many ways Irish history reflects the fact that Ireland is an island. It has developed itself in manner which is unique for a country in Western Europe. Much of this uniqueness can be traced back to the Roman Era. That is, the lack of a Roman Era in Ireland. For some reasons the Romans did not feel the urge to subdue Ireland to the Roman way of life.
Unaffected by Roman influences the Celtic social structure and values remained intact for a long time and even an institute as the Christian Church had to introduce some serious concessions in order to be accepted in Ireland. Being not familiar with the monotheistic Jewish religion it must have been tough for the polytheistic Celts to accept the basics of Christianity.
Centuries later, when countries such as Spain, France, Britain and of course the Netherlands, sailed the seas and expanded their influence and wealth by founding colonies, Ireland became some sort of a colony itself and much of its history is focused on the struggle for independence and sovereignty.
Ancient Ireland
The cradle of modern Ireland is veiled in mist and the knowledge we have is based on manuscripts and archaeological findings. However, both resources tend to raise more riddles then they actually solve.
A huge disadvantage of the manuscripts is the fact that they are written centuries after the events they describe occurred. Although the Celts developed the Ogham Alphabet they seemingly completely relied on memorising and storytelling for preserving the legends.
The Book of Conquests and the Book of Leinster are considered reliable sources, but are written in the eleventh and twelfth century. The legends about the early mythical inhabitants of Ireland, like the Tuatha de Danaan and their heroes Cú Culainn and Fionn MacCumhail, might have been altered in the course of the centuries.
The Christian monks, who started with the recording of legends, major events and genealogies, may also have bent some story lines to make them consistent with their religious ideas. Concepts such as humans living for millennia, reincarnation, humans affecting weather conditions and god-like creatures going back and forth in other dimensions and worlds are normally restricted to saints or are labelled as heresy or blasphemy.
In general archaeology is used to find hard evidence to support or refute legends. Only after a legend is proven it becomes history. In short: there is no evidence for the existence of the mythological tribes. Sure, there are remains of ancient fortifications and settlements, but nothing out of the ordinary. There is no evidence found yet of the legendary Battles of Mag Tuiredh in which thousands of people are said to be killed.
Opposite the unsupported legends Ireland is rich in legend-less megalithic structures. Somewhere in the New Stone Age the inhabitants started to play with stones. They build large mounds, erected stones to form circles and they refined this art until they were able to balance stones in an unbeatably manner in the Bronze Age. Except from some local tales there are no conclusive answers in the legends on the question why these people built those sites and often the archaeology can not provide an explanation. Perhaps the structures served a religious purpose, but which? Why are findings of human remains rare if the mounds were meant for burials? And what about the alignments with celestial bodies or events?
The Celts
The first inhabitants of Ireland we really know something about are the Celts. According to the modern opinions there are some similarities between the legendary inhabitants of Ireland and arrival of the Celts: both came in waves.
Under the Celts Ireland started to bloom. Not with impressive buildings nor by suppressing of other cultures, like the Greek, the Persians and the Romans did, but by creating a society based on the Brehon Law. The essence of this legal system is still very modern, despite some outdated and highly comical articles.
They also developed the Ogham Alphabet, which is an unique alphabet world wide. The Ogham Alphabet was just available at a certain moment, there is no evidence that this script has evolved, which supports the idea that it was a gift from the Gods.
Between the arrival of the Celts, around 700 BCE, until the fifth century CE, the Irish culture has developed a highly complicated social and religious system. The Celts knew classes in their society, but they were by no means rigid. Depending on ones capacities in battle or in running a farm it was possible to obtain a higher, or lower, rank. About the same principle applied on religious figures. A legendary king or hero could obtain a God-like status, but when he married the wrong woman he lost his immortality in the blink of an eye.
When Christianity came to Ireland the missionaries had to promote a religion which includes a more or less static social ranking and only one eternal and omnipresent God.
Saints and scholars
Thanks to the salesmanship of Saint Patrick the Christianisation of Ireland was seemingly a piece of cake. By fluently mixing Christianity with Celtic culture Ireland's patron saint became the saint of the people and his feast day, Saint Patrick's Day, is an annual celebration.
Monasteries appeared all over Ireland under Saint Patrick and his colleagues, like Saint Brigid and Saint Columba. Unlike the isolated monasteries on mainland Europe the Irish monasteries were open communities with schools and workshops. Often villages appeared near the monasteries.
Soon Irish missionaries spread over the known world. Rumours are that one of them, Saint Brendan, has gone even further and reached Newfoundland, which was officially not discovered at that time.
Ireland had become The Land of Saints and Scholars.
The Vikings
The relative peaceful and calm life on Ireland came to an end when the Vikings has discovered an easy prey in the wealthy and unguarded monasteries. On and off for more than two centuries the monasteries and villages were plundered.
Although the effects of the Viking raids is often exaggerated the Irish were forced to adjust their way of living and building. The characteristic round towers, for example, were built on monastic sites to hide the treasures and provide a shelter for the monks during a Viking attack.
In the tenth century the Vikings started to built permanent settlements on Ireland. Again the Irish displayed an amazing ability to adopt positive input. Quite suddenly the raids were forgotten and the Vikings became respected citizens, admired for their navigational skills and ship building techniques.
In no time the Vikings were just as Irish as the Celts.
The Anglo-Norman Invasion
To end a long-lasting feud Diarmuid Mac Murrough, King of Leinster, asked and gained support from Normans from France and Anglicans from Wales. The Anglo-Norman Invasion and the introduction of foreign ideas was a threat for the Irish way of life, especially when Strongbow, an Anglican Norman, became King of Leinster.
Ireland had become a strong Anglo-Norman nation and subject of worries for the British King Henry II. Henry II solved this problem with the Treaty of Windsor. From that moment on the British King was the Overlord of the Irish Ard Rí, or High King.
During the Reformation in the sixteenth century the British were determined to convert the Irish Catholics to the new Protestant faith. The land and possessions of reluctant Catholics was confiscated and handed over to loyal, mainly Scottish, settlers. The Irish resisted against the loss of Irish culture in the Desmond Rebellions and the Nine Years War. After the Nine Years War, or Tyrone Rebellion, Ireland was hurriedly colonised and many members of the Irish aristocracy fled from Ireland.
The remaining Irishmen, and some Catholic settlers, soon raised a stiff rebellion. After several unsuccessful attempts to stop the Ulster Rebellion or the Confederate War the British Crown sent Cromwell. By using brute force he subdued city after city, killing thousands of civilians and dismantling all strongholds on his path.
The Protestant royal line was at risk with the Catholic King James II. England asked and gained support from their Protestant neighbour William of Orange. He secured the Protestant line of the British royal family by defeating King James II in the Battle of the Boyne. Soon after the Williamite War the Penal Laws, a set of laws discriminating the Irish Catholics in favour of the Protestants, were introduced.
Rebellion and Famine
At the end of the eighteenth century the resistance against British domination started to take shape. With the United Irishmen Rebellion of 1798 and the Emmet Rebellion in 1803 a new Irish awareness was born. Alongside with armed resistance political movements like the Catholic Association were founded.
The effect of the resistance was all wrong. In stead of loosen the tires Ireland became a province of the United Kingdom with the Act of the Union.
In the 1840's a new enemy revealed itself. The Great Famine, or Great Hunger, was initially caused by crop failure, but by the poor and inadequate performance of the British government the situation deteriorated.
Those who could afford it left the country and emigrated. Thousands of other men, women and children starved to death. The ignited but delicate flame of Irish cultural awareness and self confidence was strengthen by the horrors of the Great Famine.
The Republic of Ireland
The long expected burst came in 1916 with the Easter Rebellion. From a military point of view bad timing, lack of arms and internal feud made the Easter Rebellion a complete failure. However, by executing the leaders of the rebellion the British created martyrs and therewith they had sowed the seeds for the bloody War of Independence.
The outcome of the War of Independence was a divided Ireland. While 26 counties in the south would gain some independence the six remaining would remain British territory. This outcome caused discord in the Republican Movements and eventually led to the Civil War.
Without treaty the Civil War came to an end and the 26 counties started a difficult journey. Finally on Easter Monday 1949 the Republic of Ireland was proclaimed.
Northern Ireland
In the six counties of Northern Ireland the unrest and the desire to unite with the Republic remained. The struggle for equality revived in the 1960's with the Civil Rights Movement. This struggle resulted in a black episode in recent Irish history known as The Troubles.
In the course of the years the conflict has evolved into a complex status quo with distrust between Catholics, Protestants and government. Internal struggles in the mainstream organisations are making the situation even more complex.