England must accept responsibility for their atrocious treatment of Ireland over the centuries; for the theft, oppression, religious persecution, starvation and in the case of Oliver Cromwell outright genocide. Yet it is a tribute to the Celtic spirit that from the time of England's King Henry II until the 20th Century Ireland never submitted to
Still, the constant waves of Irish emigration was to the benefit of the rest of the world. At certain periods of history, there was hardly an army anywhere on the continent that was not without a few Irish brigades. It was also under the Union Jack that many Irishmen earned fame and reputation on the field of battle. The sons of Ireland earned laurels of heroism from such varied conflicts as the American Civil War, the conquest of the Papal States and both World Wars. In the United States it was, to a large degree, the Irish who saw to it that Catholicism became a major religion in America. They built the railroads going west and were also responsible for the great silver strike in Virginia City. No one can deny that the USA would not be the same without Ireland.
As a result of this, Ireland has begun to suffer the same ill effects of all republics: a slow but steady decline in traditional culture. It has also led to a brand of violent nationalism which has not helped in the tense situation still existing opposite the British in Northern Ireland.
