Irish History

10,000 years in one line!

Irish history can be summed up:

Ireland was far from Europe, close to England, and now it's torn between the two.

Far from Europe meant that only a small assortment of plants and animals managed to colonize the island before melting glaciers flooded any land routes to England and the mainland. One result - no snakes in Ireland. They just didn't make it here in the short space of time between ice and island.

The handful of species that did arrive thrived. The native landscape was dominated by mature oak forests. About 9,000 years ago people landed on the East and South East coasts and gradually worked inland, slashing and burning as they went. The giant Irish Elk, with its vast antler spread, died out about this time.

Farmers

A robust hunter gatherer society was eventually replaced by more settled farmers and metal workers. These folks erected huge stone edifices like the burial mound at Newgrange long before the pyramids, or even Stonehenge, were built. The pattern of society set at that time remains largely unchanged in the countryside - scattered farms with a central place of worship tieing the community together.

Rome? Didn't happen here. The Celts came, though, bringing iron and a language that is still spoken in small pockets of the nation. Christian missionaries such as Saint Patrick converted the local kings, and monastic settlements served as administrative centers of power for several hundred years.

The English

The 1100's brought the English, or more accurately, the Normans. Their castles began to dot the countryside, and an uneasy accommodation began between native clans and the conquerors. A meld of the two cultures ensued, but under Elizabeth the Great, new English armies gradually conquered all.

Ireland remained Catholic while England turned to Protestantism. Deposed English kings found the restive populace a natural source of manpower. Cromwell invaded and put the countryside to torch, killing thousands. When William of Orange triumphed over the Catholic armies of King James II, punitive laws deprived Catholics of any rights. Catholic churches were forbidden, schooling was forbidden, holding land was forbidden.

The history of the next several hundred years is one of periodic, unsuccessful revolts against the ascendant English and Protestant rulers. The Catholic Church served as a bulwark of the common people, though it was anything but a militant faith. It was the Irish Protestant community which provided most of the political leaders who pushed for reforms during the 1800's.

A Nation Once Again

In 1916, an Easter Uprising was put down by the English and the leaders of that revolt were shot. Their martyrdom galvanised the Irish populace as nothing else could, and guerrilla warfare eventually succeeded in dislodging the British. But, the price of British exit from 26 counties of Ireland was the retention of 6 of Ulster's counties where the majority of the people were Protestant. Ulster's fate remained the great battleground of modern Irish politics. Only in 2007 was a political settlement reached in the north.

Europe and Beyond

In 1973 Ireland joined the European Economic Community, which is now the European Union. The result has been dramatic. A lackluster, agricultural economy has transformed into the "Celtic Tiger," the most rapidly growing economy in Europe. A mostly rural populace has become mostly urban, and an island on the periphery of Europe has become the largest exporter of software in the world. Ahead of Japan, Britain, Germany, the U.S.!

Ireland has entered the unified European Monetary Unit (EMU) with its single European currency - the Euro. But, England, still Ireland's most important trading partner, looks like it will hold off. The result? So far, no problem. But...

Ireland is now the world's most export driven economy. Most of what we make heads overseas. If you want to know how Ireland is faring, simply read the world economic news.