A Brief History of Ireland

Ireland has a long and fascinating history. As with every country, trying to tell the story of a nation in a single article is an enormous undertaking.

In this article, we look at a snapshot of some of Ireland’s most important events and historical figures, drawing your attention to the most interesting and relevant eras of Irish history. From Prehistoric times and the Celts, to the arrival of St Patrick, the Vikings and the Normans, straight into the era of Cromwell, and the many wars and rebellions that have taken place since, before finally alighting at the 1900’s with the Easter Rising and more recently, The Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Below, find a list of each era covered for easy references. Click on the link to take you directly to each section.

Until recently, it was believed Ireland’s oldest evidence of human settlement was Mountsandel in Co. Derry, dating back to 10,000BC. This was blown out of the water in 2016 with the discovery of animal bones with kerf marks in a Co. Clare cave, which dated to approx. 12,500 BC.

The Prehistoric Period in Ireland is one of the most fascinating eras in Irish history for its great age and rich archaeology (for comparison’s sake, many Irish Neolithic monuments predate the Pyramids of Giza). The Prehistoric period, encompassing Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze eras, ended around 500BC.

The Neolithic period is when people settled into small, stable communities and began to keep livestock and farmland. Bronze Age people were prolific builders, constructing thousands of megalithic tombs and stone circles throughout Ireland, varying in size, format and location. We also have unique jewellery, weaponry and other metallurgy found strewn through the ruins of hill-forts, ring-forts and promontory forts.

The Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age peoples had very interesting and complicated belief systems, of which very little evidence survives. We do know is they had an affinity with astrology and seasons – many monuments were aligned with summer and winter solstices, or form some kind of astrological calendar.

Neolithic Ireland

Fast forward to 1066, when the Duke of Normandy William the Conquerer invaded England at the Battle of Hastings. Though one of the world’s most famous battles, little is remembered of its significant impact on Ireland’s history.

The Norman Invasion of Ireland

By 1169, still giddy with pride at their successful invasion of England, the Normans arrived in Co Waterford in Ireland at the request of Diarmait Mac Murchada (Dermot MacMurragh), ousted King of Leinster. With the help of the Norman Richard de Clare (also called Strongbow), Diarmuit reclaimed his territories in Leinster, instigating the Norman invasion of Ireland. Strongbow was rewarded with extensive territories and the hand in marriage of Diarmuit’s daughter Aoife.

This led to further conquests and raids on surrounding lands. Years of back-and-forth warfare took place between the Gaelic and Norman forces. Norman strongholds began popping up all over the east coast of Ireland, as far north as Carrickfergus Castle, near Belfast.

Though Strongbow and counterparts such as Hugh de Lacy, Miles de Cogan and Raymond Fitzgerald made a huge impression in Ireland, it was soon apparent this was only the beginning.

The Normans are Here to Stay

In 1171, English King Henry II landed in Waterford, commencing a four-year offensive which led to the Treaty of Windsor between Henry II and High King of Ireland Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (Rory O’Connor). This treaty halved Ireland under two influences – Henry as lord of Anglo-Norman lands and Ruaidrí as lord of the rest of Ireland, with Ruaidrí agreeing to swear fealty to Henry.

By 1300, the Anglo-Normans controlled most of the island, aside from a few pockets in Connemara, the peninsulas of Cork and Kerry, Clare, and northwestern Ulster (interestingly enough, these regions correspond with the Gaeltacht or Irish-speaking communities of modern Ireland.

It was around this period that “the Pale” came about – a fenced region from which the English Lords held power, though they had to contend regularly with Gaelic forces with constant fluctuations in territory.

Though the Anglo-Norman/English powers expected the Norman lords to enforce English ways, many Normans assimilated and settled as Hiberno-Norman people, adopting the Irish language and culture. There is considerable evidence of Norman influence in Ireland today, with powerful family names such as Butler, Fitzgerald, Joyce and D’Arcy to name a few. Through their colonisation of England, the Normans also impacted the English language we all speak today.

The Easter Rising

In Dublin on Easter Monday 24th April 1916, there was an insurrection, later known as the Easter Rising, to overthrow British rule and establish an independent Irish Republic.

It ended in defeat for the Irish on Saturday 29th April when Padraig Pearse, an Irish volunteer and organiser of the uprising, surrendered.

In the brutal aftermath of the Easter Rising, court martials began: 187 participants were tried in illegal trials in Richmond Barracks. 90 others were sentenced to death in Kilmainham Gaol including the 7 signatories of the Proclamation – a document drafted for the Easter Rising as a declaration of Ireland’s independence from the United Kingdom.

Though unsuccessful, the brutality of the post-Rising executions demonising the British and increased support for the Irish cause.

In 1918, the Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann) was formed by Irish political party Sinn Féin. Their first order of business? Reaffirm the Proclamation of Independence and reconstruct the Irish Volunteers movement to become a new Irish Republican Army.

The Irish War of Independence & The Partition

During the Irish War of Independence, hostility towards the British generated countless attacks on Crown forces. A ruthless force of constables called the Black & Tans were recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary to “police” the situation.

With things in a constant state of disarray, the British introduced the Government of Ireland Act in 1920, splitting the country in two – Northern Ireland and The South of Ireland. This would pave the way for the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, signed by Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith, and the eventual Partition of Ireland. In 1922, 26 counties became the Irish Free State while the remaining 6 were left to stay in the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland.

Not all were pleased. This led to the Irish Civil War (1922-1923), during which revolutionary Michael Collins was assassinated. Fought between pro-treaty and anti-treaty opposition, the Civil War ended in a ceasefire in early 1923 when the anti-treaty forces were weakened by limited resources.

The Irish Republic would have its first constitution by 1937 while tensions continued to bubble below the surface.

You’ve probably heard of the Troubles in Ireland, a conflict resulting primarily from the status of Northern Ireland and ongoing friction between the Nationalist/Irish (Catholic) population wanting a United Ireland, and Unionist/British (Protestant) community, preferring to remain in the UK. This debate continues to this day (think Brexit).

Since creating Northern Ireland, the Unionist population has dominated by discriminating against the Nationalist/Irish community in elections, employment, housing and policing. This abuse of power gave rise to the Ireland Civil Rights Association in 1967 who campaigned for equality of all people. An important leader of the Civil Rights movement was 20-year-old Bernadette Devlin, the youngest person ever voted into parliament at Westminster.

In 1969, riots grew in frequency, responding to ongoing injustice and cruel treatment. Civil Rights marches were regularly attacked by off-duty officers and loyalists or given no protection at all. On August 12th a loyalist march was allowed to pass by the Bogside in Derry, a Nationalist/Irish part of the city. This sparked fury among Bogside residents, leading to days of rioting. On August 15th, in response to the Battle of the Bogside, the British Army was deployed into the city of Derry, which caused widespread rioting across Northern Ireland.