THE HISTORY OF IRELAND

Early Gealic Ireland and Medieval Ireland

Sometime between about 600 and 150 BC, Celtic peoples from western Europe, who came to be known as Gaels, invaded Ireland and subdued the previous inhabitants. .

The Viking Invasion

In the late 8th century, Vikings from Scandinavia began to raid Ireland . Other parts of Europe at about this time were responding to such pressures by developing the system of feudalism, but the Gaelic society did not lend itself to such development.

The Anglo-Norman Conquest

Even such unity as there had been under Brian had disappeared by the time Ireland faced its next challenge. This challenge came from the highly effective feudal monarchy that had been founded in England by William I (William the Conqueror) after his invasion of that country in 1066 from Normandy in France.

Modern Ireland

The most determined resistance to reconquest came from the Gaelic chieftains of Ulster (the northeastern quarter of the island), led by Hugh O'Neill, 2d earl of Tyrone, at the end of Elizabeth's reign. In suppressing their rebellion between 1595 and 1603, English forces devastated the Ulster countryside.

The Protestant Ascendency

Hoping to recover their lands and political dominance in Ireland Catholics took the side of the Catholic king James II in England's Glorious Revolution of 1688 and thus shared in his defeat by William III at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

The Great Famine

The Great Famine also referred to as "The Great Hunger", that lasted between 1845 and 1849 was arguably the single greatest disaster that affected the Irish history.During British Rule and initial independence Ireland was one of the poorest countries in Western Europe and had high emigration-

The Home Rule Movement

Under Parnell's leadership an Irish nationalist party, demanding home rule - a separate Irish parliament within the Union--and land reform, was able to win every parliamentary seat having a Catholic majority.In 1949,Ireland declared itself a Republic.In1950 Ireland joined the Eurpean Economic Community (now the European Union )

Click here to see a video about Ireland

I recommend the film: RYAN´S DAUGHTHER