Republic of Ireland History Jorge Muñoz Rodenas Press CTRL+L History of Republic of Ireland November 28, 2007 p. 1/11
Index History of Eire 1. Early history 2. Early Christian Ireland 3. Early medieval 4. Norman Ireland 5. Early Modern 1536 1691 6. Ireland 1691 1801 7. Ireland 1801 1922 8. History of the Republic 9. Ireland today History of Republic of Ireland November 28, 2007 p. 2/11
1. Early history The earliest evidence of human occupation after the retreat of the ice has been dated to between 8000 and 7000 BC. The Neolithic (4500-2500 BC) saw the introduction of farming and pottery, and the use of more advanced stone implements and the sudden appearance and dramatic proliferation of megalithic monuments. Bronze (2500 BC - 700 BC) was used for the manufacture of both weapons and tools. Irish craftsmen became particularly noted for the horn-shaped trumpet, which was made by the lost wax process. In Ireland the Iron Age was the age of a people often referred to as Celts. History of Republic of Ireland November 28, 2007 p. 3/11
2. Early Christian Ireland 400 800 In AD 432, St. Patrick arrived on the island and, in the years that followed, worked to convert the Irish to Christianity. Patrick is traditionally credited with preserving the tribal and social patterns of the Irish, codifying their laws and changing only those that conflicted with Christian practices. He is also credited with introducing the Roman alphabet, which enabled Irish monks to preserve parts of the extensive Celtic oral literature. History of Republic of Ireland November 28, 2007 p. 4/11
3. Early medieval era 800 1166 The first recorded Viking raid in Irish history occurred in 795 when Vikings from Norway looted the island of Lambay, located off the Dublin coast. Early Viking raids were generally small in scale and quick. These early raids interrupted the golden age of Christian Irish culture starting the beginning of two hundred years of intermittent warfare, with waves of Viking raiders plundering monasteries and towns throughout Ireland. Most of the early raiders came from the fjords of western Norway. History of Republic of Ireland November 28, 2007 p. 5/11
4. The arrival of the Normans 1167 1185 By the 12th century, Ireland was divided politically into a shifting hierarchy of petty kingdoms and over-kingdoms. They fight each other for supremacy. The King of one of the kindoms was forcibly exiled and used normans to recover his power. This caused consternation to King Henry II of England, who feared the establishment of a rival Norman state in Ireland. Henry landed with a large fleet at Waterford in 1171, becoming the first King of England to set foot on Irish soil. History of Republic of Ireland November 28, 2007 p. 6/11
5. Early Modern Ireland 1536 1691 It was during this period that Ireland was, for the first time, fully conquered by England and colonised with Protestant settlers from England and Scotland. This established two central themes in future Irish history - subordination of the country to London based governments and sectarian animosity between Catholics and Protestants. The fifty years from 1641 to 1691 saw two periods of civil war, which pitted Irish Catholics against British forces and Protestant settlers, ended in the almost complete dispossession of the Catholic landed elite. History of Republic of Ireland November 28, 2007 p. 7/11
6. Ireland 1691 1801 During this time, Ireland was an autonomous Kingdom with its own Parliament, but the vast majority of its population, Roman Catholics, largely descended from the native Irish, were excluded from power and land ownership under the Penal Laws. The period begins with the defeat of the Catholic (Jacobites) in the Williamite war in Ireland in 1691 and ends with the Act of Union, which formally annexed Ireland to the United Kingdom in 1801. History of Republic of Ireland November 28, 2007 p. 8/11
7. Ireland 1801 1922 The whole island of Ireland formed a constituent part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK). For almost all of this period, Ireland was ruled directly by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London. Ireland faced considerable economic difficulties in the 19th century, including the Great Famine of the 1840s. In 1922, following the War of Independence, twenty-six southern and western counties of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom as the Irish Free State. Six counties in the northeast, which became Northern Ireland, remained within the United Kingdom. History of Republic of Ireland November 28, 2007 p. 9/11
8. The Republic Anglo-Irish Treaty: The state known today as the Republic of Ireland came into being when twenty-six of the counties of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom (UK) in 1922. The remaining six counties remained within the UK as Northern Ireland. Irish Civil War 1922-1923 : Was a conflict between supporters and opponents of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. IRA terrorism actions will continue still 1998, when peace process between IRA and Unionists ended. History of Republic of Ireland November 28, 2007 p. 10/11
9. Ireland today Purchasing Power Parity (PPP): 44,676 USD (2006) The 2nd one after Luxembourg. 26 counties. The total population of Ireland on Census Day, April 23, 2006, was 4,234,925. The Republic of Ireland is 86.8 per cent Roman Catholic. Successful entertainment exports in the late twentieth century include acts such as U2, Thin Lizzy, The Pogues, Sinéad O Connor, Boomtown Rats, The Corrs, The Cranberries, Enya, etc... History of Republic of Ireland November 28, 2007 p. 11/11