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A Brief Historical Overview of Ireland, * The earliest settlers who were hunter-gatherers reached Ireland about 10,000 BC in the Middle Stone Age, or Mesolithic period, most likely by crossing a land bridge from Scotland. About 3,000 BC, colonists of the new stone-age, Neolithic period arrived and began farming the land. Remnants of their civilization have been excavated at Lough Gur in Co. Limerick. One of their monuments has survived, a megalithic tomb at Newgrange in Co. Meath. * In 2000 BC, with the discovery of metal deposits, prospectors and metalworkers made bronze and even some gold objects. Many objects crafted in bronze, such as axe-heads, jewelry and pottery have been found and excavated. More people were reaching Ireland by 1200 BC and producing a greater variety of artifacts. * Celts began to arrive in Ireland from central Europe in 600 BC and began to dominate the island as well as the culture, as they would up to the time of Christianity. By 200 BC the Celtic La Tene people, named after a Celtic site in Switzerland arrived and divided the country into 150 miniature kingdoms, known as a ‘tuath’. Each tuath, as a political body was ruled by a minor king - who answered to a more powerful king - who was subject to one of five provincial kings. There were no towns, and the agrarian economy used the cow as the unit of exchange. * Pope Celestine 1 sent Palladius to the Irish as their first Bishop in 431, unfortunately. Palladius died soon after his arrival. * St. Patrick came to Ireland in 432, according to tradition, but may have arrived as late as 461 AD. As a missionary, he worked converting pagan Irish to Christianity. He also is credited with introducing the Roman alphabet to the island, which enabled Irish monks from 550 onward, to preserve parts of their Celtic oral literature. This is the beginning of written history in Ireland. Between the spread of Christian theology, the study of Latin and abnormal climactic changes in 535 and 536, the old Druid and Celtic traditions collapsed and fell by the wayside. * During this period, manuscript illumination, along with metalworking, intricate jewelry making, sculpture and stone carving continued to flourish. Sent by Northumbrian King Ecgfrith, in the summer of 684 AD the English first invaded Ireland, seizing captives and booty, but apparently left soon thereafter. * Ireland recorded the first Viking raid in 795, when Norwegian Vikings looted the island of Lambay. The raids occurred off and on for 200 years, as Vikings raided monasteries and towns throughout the country. In the early 840’s the Vikings had established coastal settlements including Limerick, Waterford, Wexford, Cork and Dublin. Dublin was established in 852 as a fortress, from which the city sprang. “Dublin” is from the Irish Gaelic An Dubh Linn, meaning “the black pool”. * The Vikings were finally driven from Ireland in 980 at the battle of Tara by King Mael Sech Naill Mac Domvaill of Meath. * In the 12th century, King Diarmuid Mac Morrough was exiled from his tuath and fled to Aquitaine. He received permission from Henry II to use Norman forces to regain his kingdom and returned in 1167, followed by more forces in 1169. King Henry feared the establishment of a rival Norman state and landed a large fleet at Waterford in 1171, becoming the first English king to set foot on Irish soil. He awarded the Lordship to his son, who later became King John. * Many battles were waged between the Normans and the Irish lords, with Norman influence waning up to the advent of the Black Plague in 1348. The Black Death decimated the Normans and English who tended to live in towns and villages, as opposed to the native Irish who inhabited the countryside, and their culture and customs grew strong again. * By the end of the 15th century, English authority had all but disappeared, except for around Dublin. In 1532, when King Henry VIII broke with Papal authority and his son, Edward VI later broke with Papal doctrine completely, the Irish remained Catholic, while the English, Welsh and Scots accepted Protestantism. For the next 400 years, the British state was determined to re-conquer and colonize Ireland, leaving the native Irish Roman Catholics excluded from power. * Irish antagonism towards England grew in the 18th century, due to most food being produced for export by English absentee landlords. Two very harsh winters led to the Great Irish Famine of 1740 – 1741 which killed about 400,000 people. * In the late 18th century, many of the Protestant rulers within the Parliament of Ireland agitated for better trade relationships and greater legislative independence that culminated in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, which was suppressed. Irish self-government was abolished by the Act-Of-Union in 1801. * The Kingdom of Ireland was merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Part of the deal included Catholic emancipation, but it was blocked by King George III. * Irish migration to the U.S. began gaining traction in the 1820’s with mostly males becoming involved in canal building, lumbering and large construction projects in the Northeast, such as the Erie Canal. Small but closely knit Irish communities sprang up in Boston, Providence and New York City. * The second of Ireland’s “Great Famines” - the Irish Potato Famine - struck from 1845 to 1849 and the impact of mass emigration on the island dropped the population from over 8 million before the famine to 4.4 million by 1911. * The Potato Famine spurred millions of Irish to immigrate to North America. Due to ill health, many did not make their destination, and a significant number died en-route. * Between 1820 and 1860, fully one-third of all immigrants into the U.S. were Irish. * In the 2000 U.S. Census, over 10.8% of the population reported Irish ancestry, or, well over 30 million Irish-Americans. * Today, more people in New York City claim Irish heritage than the entire population of Dublin. * Ireland today features a trade-dependent, modern economy with growth averaging 6% from 1995-2006. Agriculture is now dwarfed by the industry and services sectors. Industry accounts for 46% of GDP, 29% of the labor force and about 80% of exports.
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