History of Ireland

From the very beginning of time Ireland’s history pages have been filled with battles, great warriors, mighty heroes, the strife of the poor and innocent and all those events and people that have made an impact on this island. The stories have been passed down through the ages to the present day and have become famous the world over. Our history evolves from both the mortal and immortal heroes from and pre the Stone Ages. Before mortal man (Mesolithic hunters) came to Ireland, even more fierce and majestic warriors and heroes ruled Ireland – the mighty Gods and Goddesses of Mythological Ireland. You can read all about them in our Mythology section. In this section we will concentrate on the history of Ireland from and since the Stone Ages. As our history dates back to 8,000 BC, we have give you an overview of some of the major events in the timeline below.

Ireland	Dates	England
Earliest settlers in Ireland, mainly Mesolithic hunters. Stone Ages.	8,000 BC
Neolithic settlers, mainly farmers.	3200 BC (approx)
The building of New Grange.	3000 BC
Bronze Age in Ireland.	2,600 BC	(The building of the Pyramids in Egypt.)
	1860 BC	The building of Stonehenge.
The Celts arrive in Ireland. Iron Age.	500 BC
	407 AD	The Romans leave Britain.
St Patrick converts Ireland to Christianity.	432
Vikings invade Ireland.	794	Vikings invade Iona.
The Book of Kells.	800
Dublin City – Vikings build the now capital city of Ireland.	841
Brian Boru – The Emperor /High King of Ireland.	1014
The Normans come to Ireland.	1166
King Henry 11 of England conquered Ireland.	1171
England rules Ireland.	1171- 1922
	1509	Henry V111 becomes King of England.
	1516	Birth of Catholic Queen Mary daughter of Henry and Catherine.
England wants the Irish people to become English and change to Protestantism. Ireland remains Catholic. The Irish are not allowed to speak their native Gaelic language nor wear their native clothing. Irish land is given to English settlers.	1531	England breaks with Rome. Henry V111 changes England’s religion from Catholic to Church of England (Protestant) with himself as leader because the Pope, leader of the Catholic church, did not allow him to divorce his Catholic wife, the Spanish Queen Catherine of Aragon, who could not bear him a son.
	1533	Birth of Protestant Queen Elizabeth 1, daughter of Anne Boleyn second wife of Henry V111.
	1584	Elizabeth 1 takes land in the Irish province of Munster for English settlement.
	1587	Execution of Catholic Queen Mary (Mary Queen of Scots) daughter of Catherine of Aragon.
	1610	Extensive Protestant settlement of the Irish province of Ulster begins. (This is most significant for the politics of the North of Ireland today.)
Oliver Cromwell’s campaign in Ireland. (Protestant English Cromwell kills many Irish Catholics.)	1649
	1688	William of Orange arrives in England.
The Battle of the Boyne. England’s Protestant King William 111 (William of Orange) defeated England’s Catholic King James. They were fighting for the throne of England but fought it on Irish soil.	1690
Catholics excluded from Irish Parliament. First Penal Laws passed.	1692
	1839	Victoria becomes Queen of England.
Irish Census – over 8 million people.	1841
The Irish Famine Two million people die of hunger. Two million people leave to go to America to escape the hunger.	1845 - 1852
Irish Census – just over 4 million people. The years of the famine halved Ireland’s population.	1851
	1914	The First World War.
Rebellion against England. (The Easter Rising.)	1916
	1918	End of First World War.
Irish War of Independence against Britain.	1919-1921
Irish Free State formed but the northern province of Ulster remains with Britain.	1922
By 1930 4 million Irish people left to go to the USA.	1930
Ireland (excluding Ulster) is officially made a Republic and independent from Britain.	1949
IRA campaign in the North of Ireland.	1951-1962
John F Kennedy, descendant of Irish immigrants, becomes the first Catholic president of the USA.	1961
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association founded.	1967
Conflict between Catholics and Protestants increases.	1969
Internment without trial was introduced by the British government on August 9, 1971.	1971
Bloody Sunday, Derry, N Ireland British Troops opened fire with live bullets on innocent civil rights marchers killing 13 people dead.	1972
Republic of Ireland joins the European Economic Community.	1972
Ten Republicans die on hunger strike in Maze Prison, NI Dying hunger-striker Bobby Sands elected to British Parliament.	1981-82
Irish Republic Economy is the fastest growing in the world. Ireland gets the nickname “The Celtic Tiger”.	1990’s
Hopefully agreement between the North of Ireland and England to rule Northern Ireland jointly and peacefully. Each and every day the history of Ireland continues. It is people and events that make our history. For those of you who are joining us from overseas: *Céad Míle Fáilte*! (A hundred thousand welcomes!)	2000+

Please visit our website again as we will be giving more detailed stories of some of the major events over the next few months.