daunireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island nation off the coast of Great Britain. It is known for its lush emerald landscapes, St. Patrick's Day, and the Great Potato Famine. Lets explore more of Ireland's history.

There are several prehistoric people that inhabited Ireland, but the most famous were the Celts, who were there long before the birth of Jesus Christ. Four different Celtic tribes are said to have successfully invaded Ireland: the Firbolgs, the Fomors, the Tuatha de Danann, and the Milesians. The Celts remained untouched in Ireland until the 8th century, but their unique culture still survives somewhat to this day. At the time of the Celts, the people were ruled by five provincial kings: Ulster, Munster, Connacht, Leinster, and Meath. These five kings served the highest king in the capital city of Tara. This goverment was not strong enough to defend itself agains the Norse invasion of the 8th century. The Norse swept onto their shores creating trading towns like Dublin and Limerick. In 1014, the Irish king, Brian Boru led a conquest that destroyed the Norse people. A 150 year reign of international peace followed. However, nationally the country was in turmoil due to the clan and tribe fighting that never ceased. This peace lasted until the 12th century when King Henny II of England was granted overlordship of Ireland by Pope Adrian IV. The 2nd Earl of Pembroke, Richard de Clare (also known as Strongbow), began the English invasion, but soon returned to England on behalf of a Leinster claimant to the throne. Finally in 1171, Henry II himself went over, and in so doing started the Anglo-Irish power struggle that would not cease to end for another eight hundred years.

The English took over the city of Dublin. Over the next hundred years, warfare would ensue as the English divided Ireland into shires to be ruled by England. In the late 13th century, England introduced the first parliament to Ireland. Edward Bruce, a Scotsman, invaded Ireland with the help of small Irish kings in 1315. Their rebellion was crushed in 1318 when Bruce was killed, but the English power was weakening. Their stronghold lay in and around Dublin; a small area known as the Pale. The English paused their determination to control Ireland with the beginning of the Hundred Years War with France. This war last from 1337 to 1453, and left very little time for the Irish to be manipulated. Following the Hundred Years War, the War of the Roses, from 1455 to 1485, occurred. This again left no time or attention to the Irish. Under Henry VII, the Irish supported Lamber Simnel, a Yorkist pretending to be eligible for the crown. This returned the English eye back to the small island nation. King Henry sent Sir Edward Poynings to stop the rebellion, and the Poynings Law was passed in Irish parliament in 1495. This took away all power of the Irish parliament; laws could only be passed after the approval of England's Privy Council. The church reformation under King Henry VIII created more bitterness between the Irish and the English. Ireland was predominately Roman Catholic, and did not take kindly to Henry's destruction of monastaries and formation of the Protestant "Church of Ireland". Another Irish rebellion in 1641, was against Charles I's rule. The rebellion was led by Thomas Wentworth, the Earl of Strafford, and was defeated by Oliver Cromwell. This revolt cost thousands of lives and hundreds of acres in Irish land were given to absentee lords in England. In 1688, Catholics in Ireland rallied in support of James II, while Irish Protestants cried in patronage for William III. 1690 brought the Battle of the Boyne, near the city of Dublin, where William III won the crown. Catholics were punished with harsh Penal Laws, laws that limited their power and equality. These laws also counted againsts Presbyterians. During the American Revolution, Irish Protestants formed the Protestant Volunteer Army, led by Henry Grattan. This militia used its power and strength to influence the English into giving them trading concessions. The army was successful; new trade laws were passed in 1779 and the Poynings Law was revoked in 1782. However, the Penal Laws still held. An unsuccessful rebellion in 1798 led to the British Prime Minister William Pitt create three new policies to "solve the Irish problem". Abolition of Irish Parliament, a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and a Catholic Emancipation. The first two parts of Pitt's plan were put into law by 1800, however the Catholic Emancipation had many antagonists, and was not put into effect until 1829.

After 1829, Irish representatives in British Parliament tried to convince Great Britain to allow Ireland its own separate government and land. Toward the middle of the 19th century, the Irish Land Question (as it was called), became increasingly important with the arrival of the Great Potato Famine from 1845 to 1849. This famine caused millions of Irish families emigrate to the United States, and a secret movement for Irish independence, called the Fenian movement, began there. In 1869, Prime Minister William Gladstone tried to appease some of their grievances by abolishing the Protestant "Church of Ireland". Throughout the 1870s, Irish representatives attempted to regain Home Rule and Prime Minister Gladstone did everything power enabled him to do in order to keep Home Rule. Twice he proposed Home Rule bills that were vetoed, but the proposals alarmed Ireland. In 1905 an Irishman named Arthur Griffith found the Sinn Fein, an Irish political group among Catholics united against English rule. However, John Redmond still headed the dominant political party, the Home Rule party. Finally, in 1914, Home Rule was passed. Ulster was permitted to stay in the union for an addition six years, but the act was suspended due to World War I and was never officially put into effect after the war ended. The Irish Republican Brotherhood was founded and led a rebellion on Easter Sunday of 1916, which did not accomplish much except for major propaganda when Britain executed the rebellion's leaders. Sinn Fein reared its head again, and won many victories in the 1918 parliamentary elections. When parliament opened, the members refused to enter Westminster, and proclaimed that they were members of the Irish Assembly. Great Britain forbade Sinn Fein and the Irish Assembly, and sent militia groups into Ireland to crush their supporters.

A new Home Bill in 1920 created a separate parliament for Ulster and for Catholic Ireland. The idea was accepted, and thus Northern Ireland was formed into its own nation. The plan was originally rejected by the Irish Assembly, but British Prime Minister Lloyd George negotiated with Arthur Griffith and Irish Assembly leader Michael Collins to establish Dominion status within Britain to Catholic Ireland. In January of 1922, the Irish Free State was formed, and in 1937 the first constitution was ratified, thus ending English rule. Finally in 1948, the Republic of Ireland Act ended all semblance of Commonwealth members.

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