Green represents the Catholic Christian religion, white symbolizing the union between Catholics and Protestants and orange represents the Protestant religion.
Irish history Summary
It is interesting to note that recorded Irish history didn’t begin until nearly the 11th century A.D. But if you take into account oral Irish history it may stretch to the time of the late Roman Republic, 50 B.C.
The ancestral origin of modern-day Irish were the Celts who settled into Ireland around 1000 A.D. or perhaps slightly later around 500 A.D.
The Celtic peoples simply being the latest of a lengthy line of inhabitants, including the Fir Bolg. What or who they were is unknown. But it is known that a great war or series of them were fought, with the Celts obtaining something of a victory and making Ireland their own.
Hybernia and the Romans
Ireland, or Hybernia as it was then called was considered a mystical and mysterious place to the Romans who thought her bounties so rich that cows grew impossibly fat on the wealth of grass growing on gently rolling hills and green pastures, greener than the most fantastical minds could imagine. And was inhabited by legendary warriors, kings, sorcerers, seeresses, and faerie folk.
Could perhaps those heroes and villains, magical weapons, and monsters have been based on real people and real events?
The Irish people certainly think so.
These tall tales were no doubt taken from the few Roman traders who traveled there, and no doubt, broadly embellished by their Irish counterparts eager for Roman coin.
DYK
Julius Caesar who after seizing the area we now know as France, launched an invasion of Britain. And toward the end of that 1st Century A.D. Agricola, governor of Britannia records that he gave considerable thought to the possibilities of conquering Ireland. He believed it would require only one legion to take it, but more than twelve to keep it,
A savage and unruly lot, those Irish.
For their part, the Irish were divided into tribes or clans. They fought incessantly for precious resources and were ruled by clan or tribal chieftains who acted as kings with various alliances both great and small springing up according to circumstance.
High Kings in Irish history
“High King” might be elected, or emplaced, and had authority over the island. But contentious chieftains were never fully on board with that idea. Spiritually and academically however no other force but the druids held sway and in their particular sphere, their word was law.
But it must be remembered that Ireland is a fairly small place to host such a broad diversification of tribes and clannish folk. The entire island could fit inside the U.S. state of West Virginia and is roughly an 8-hour drive north to south, and nearly half that east to west.
But for those who lived there, it was home. And a truly unique home at that since being an island allowed for something of an individuality in culture, belief systems, and so on, whilst retaining some connection to the rest of the British Isles, and the continent in terms of concurrent political systems, religious influences, language and more.
The Irish language, simply named Irish, is a linguistic child of the ancient Celtic family of languages, adopted by the Irish Constitution as the official language of Ireland. However, in everyday life, English is spoken for convenience.
The Irish Sea, between northern Ireland and Scotland, played a defining role in the continued uniqueness of Irishness, being as wide as 50 miles across at its widest, and around 12 miles at its shortest distance. This provided both a navigable watery highway, as well as a formidable barrier to invasion and encroachment.
The Vikings
Throughout Irish history the Irish Sea was intimidating but it didn’t deter explorers.
The intrepid Vikings began staging their raids around the 9th and 10th centuries A.D.
It is noteworthy that the Vikings raided and seized huge swathes of territory in England, but only Dublin truly became a lasting Viking outpost, and ultimately a center of Trade.
The Vikings were renowned warriors, but they weren’t mindlessly bloodthirsty they were not above opting for trade relations as a secondary option. And since the Irish put up a good fight the latter was the best option.
Contrary to popular history, the famed “battle of Clontarf” in 1014 A.D. wasn’t really about driving the Vikings from the shores of Ireland, since there were Vikings on both sides of the battle. It was a move by the High King Brian Boru to solidify and centralize his authority.
The Viking’s presence remains, particularly in eastern Ireland, even to this day and can be seen in such things as place names, and street names embedding it firmly in the local culture.
The Struggle with England
Beginning in the 12th century English predominance marched across the Irish Sea and planted its standard on the Emerald Isle shores. Medieval English high nobility, acting as representatives of the English monarchy, had begun to covet Ireland as a prospective addition to crown possessions. And had come to see the potential for a growing threat if left unchecked. The Irish Lords were viewed as a contentious and uncooperative lot, fighting amongst themselves for the crown of Ireland. And whilst at the time there was no clear and lasting authority across that expanse of Sea, that didn’t mean some enterprising Irish noble or another might not make it so. And a unified Ireland under her monarchy so close to English soil simply wouldn’t do.
The Struggle for Independence
This would begin a struggle for independence from the English monarchy that would continue well into the late 20th century. Multiple military campaigns were launched with the singular goal of occupation and conquest. The Irish Lords must be brought to heel and permanently subdued. And even better still to intermix the lines, and muddy the waters of Irish nobility so that ultimately inheritance and ownership of lucrative resources, lands, and contracts would eventually find their way home, to a proper English Lord and noble.
This did not mean by any stretch that the Irish saw themselves as a conquered people, but rather as having found themselves embroiled in a lasting conflict for independence stretching for another thousand years, with its most recent gambit for freedom taking the form of what would eventually be known as “The Troubles”.
The Irish were often treated as second-class citizens even in their own country, which sparked the rise of rebellious outfits, organizations, political strife, and unyielding militancy.
Despite this, Irishness, Irish identity, and the uniqueness of her culture have never waned and remains vibrant.
Ireland Today
Today Ireland stands as a free and Democratic Republic.
It is a place of thriving commerce, business, industry, and arts, and naturally home to her people as well as a multitude of loving tourists and admirers of the Island.
In simplest terms, Ireland is simply an interesting place to live and visit. It’s a place that thrives and prospers even in our technocratic progressive present but a place where one can’t help but be constantly reminded of a quainter, simpler past that seems to exist everywhere, and nowhere, and glimpsed just out of the corner of the eye, ever present, and magically unseen.
It is a place where one can’t also help walking away feeling just a bit wistful for a bygone age.
Want more?
Check out this great podcast to delve deeper into Ireland’s complex and fascinating history.