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122-636: The Catholic Association was an Irish Roman Catholic political organization set up by Daniel O'Connell in the early nineteenth century to campaign for Catholic emancipation within Great Britain. It was one of the first mass-membership political movements in Europe. It organized large-scale public protests in Ireland. Home Secretary (later Prime Minister) Robert Peel was alarmed and warned an associate of his in 1824, "We cannot tamely sit by while

244-744: A three-year guerrilla war , which ended in a truce in July 1921 (although violence continued until June 1922, mostly in Northern Ireland). In December 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was concluded between the British government and representatives of the Second Dáil . It gave Ireland complete independence in its home affairs and practical independence for foreign policy, but an opt-out clause allowed Northern Ireland to remain within

366-611: A Home Rule bill through parliament, it looked certain that one would finally pass in 1914. To prevent this from happening, the Ulster Volunteers were formed in 1913 under the leadership of Edward Carson . Their formation was followed in 1914 by the establishment of the Irish Volunteers , whose aim was to ensure that the Home Rule Bill was passed. The Act was passed but with the "temporary" exclusion of

488-502: A campaign of non-payment and of court challenges to the system of "quarterage", by which exclusively Protestant corporations levied surcharges upon Catholic merchants, traders and artisans. Efforts to reinstate the charges legislatively were quashed by Lord Lieutenant Townsend . Despite this success, the Committee movement was paralysed by factional disputes and all but dissolved. In 1773, Thomas Browne, 4th Viscount Kenmare convened

610-565: A century, with the migrations of the Celts being one of the more enduring themes of archaeological and linguistic studies. The most recent genetic research strongly associates the spread of Indo-European languages (including Celtic) through Western Europe with a people bringing a composite Beaker culture , with its arrival in Britain and Ireland dated to around the middle of the third millennium BC. According to John T. Koch and others, Ireland in

732-679: A final gesture, the Catholic Committee had issued a declaration calling for parliamentary reform. While this displeased the government, it was seen as poor recompense for those radical Dissenters in the North who believed they had hazarded much to advance the Catholic cause. William Drennan , an original mover of the United Irishmen, complained that the Catholic Committee had "two strings to their bow. One to deal with government,

854-742: A known democrat. In Dublin, Tone was a leading member of the Society of United Irishmen first formed in October 1791 by his Presbyterian ("Dissenter") friends in Belfast, in the midst of the town's enthusiasm for the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and its defence by Thomas Paine . In the 1792 Irish Parliamentary session further petitions in favour of a Catholic relief bill, introduced at London's behest to secure Catholic loyalty in

976-665: A meeting of prominent Catholics in Dublin. While pleading for Penal Law relief, they foreswore any intention of overturning the Williamite Settlement . Together with Arthur James Plunkett, seventh earl of Fingall, Anthony Preston, eleventh Viscount Gormanston, and a number of senior bishops, Kenmare believed that redress was best achieved by maintaining the confidence of the Dublin Castle and London administrations. Kenmare demonstrated his loyalty by helping to recruit

1098-509: A more permanent Catholic Committee, made up of clergy, nobility, and representatives of the people. Before long, every county in Ireland had a committee usually headed by Catholic merchants and landed gentry. O'Conor's support for the first Catholic Committees from 1758 was copied nationwide, contributing to the successful, but slow, repeal of most of the Irish penal laws in 1774-1793. London's hostility toward Catholics, never as intense as that of

1220-530: A new language and culture introduced directly by migration and genetic replacement). The earliest written records of Ireland come from classical Greco-Roman geographers. Ptolemy in his Almagest refers to Ireland as Mikra Brettania ("Little Britain"), in contrast to the larger island, which he called Megale Brettania ("Great Britain"). In his map of Ireland in his later work, Geography , Ptolemy refers to Ireland as Iouernia and to Great Britain as Albion . These 'new' names were likely to have been

1342-785: A part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s . This subsided following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. In 1973, both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, with Northern Ireland as part of it, joined the European Economic Community . Following a referendum vote in 2016, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland included, left the European Union (EU) in 2020. Northern Ireland

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1464-521: A political reality until the Viking Age and even then was not a consistent one. Ireland did have a culturally unifying rule of law: the early written judicial system, the Brehon Laws , administered by a professional class of jurists known as the brehons . The Chronicle of Ireland records that in 431, Bishop Palladius arrived in Ireland on a mission from Pope Celestine I to minister to

1586-760: A pressure group. On a motion of the Lisburn linen merchant Luke Teeling (advised by Samuel Neilson of the Belfast United Irish Society) the Convention demanded the total emancipation of Catholics, the lifting of all their remaining disabilities both civil and political. It was further resolved to appeal over the heads of the Dublin Parliament and Castle administration directly to the King, George III . The delegates chosen to carry

1708-444: A republican rebellion inspired and led by the Society of United Irishmen , with the aim of creating an independent Ireland. Despite assistance from France the rebellion was put down by British and Irish government and yeomanry forces. The rebellion lasted from the 24th of May to the 12th of October that year and saw the establishment of the short lived Irish Republic (1798) in the province on Connacht . It saw numerous battles across

1830-530: A split in the Catholic Committee. After presenting to the viceroy a petition for relief which the majority considered "insidious and servile", in December 1791 69 members led by Lord Kenmare publicly seceded. Acknowledging the departure of the more conservative, gentry, faction, at the beginning of 1792 Keogh dismissed Edmund Burke 's son, Richard Burke , as assistant secretary and with McKenna's support replaced him Theobald Wolfe Tone , another Protestant but

1952-538: Is accepted that such movements are notoriously difficult to identify. Historical linguists are skeptical that this method alone could account for the absorption of Celtic language, with some saying that an assumed processual view of Celtic linguistic formation is 'an especially hazardous exercise'. Genetic lineage investigation into the area of Celtic migration to Ireland has led to findings that showed no significant differences in mitochondrial DNA between Ireland and large areas of continental Europe, in contrast to parts of

2074-621: Is extant in Ireland as a voluntary donation. In turn, Henry assumed the title of Lord of Ireland which Henry conferred on his younger son, John Lackland , in 1185. This defined the Anglo-Norman administration in Ireland as the Lordship of Ireland . When Henry's successor died unexpectedly in 1199, John inherited the crown of England and retained the Lordship of Ireland. Over the century that followed, Norman feudal law gradually replaced

2196-656: Is free of extremes in temperature. Much of Ireland was woodland until the end of the Middle Ages . Today, woodland makes up about 10% of the island, compared with a European average of over 33%, with most of it being non-native conifer plantations. The Irish climate is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and thus very moderate, and winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, although summers are cooler than those in continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by

2318-592: Is from Ferriter's Cove , County Kerry , where a flint knife, cattle bones and a sheep's tooth were carbon-dated to c. 4,350 BC. Field systems were developed in different parts of Ireland, including at the Céide Fields , that has been preserved beneath a blanket of peat in present-day Tyrawley . An extensive field system , arguably the oldest in the world, consisted of small divisions separated by dry-stone walls . The fields were farmed for several centuries between 3,500 BC and 3,000 BC. Wheat and barley were

2440-566: Is unclear. However, a number of finds of Roman coins have been made, for example at the Iron Age settlement of Freestone Hill near Gowran and Newgrange . Ireland continued as a patchwork of rival kingdoms; however, beginning in the 7th century, a concept of national kingship gradually became articulated through the concept of a High King of Ireland . Medieval Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of high kings stretching back thousands of years, but some modern historians believe

2562-686: The Lebor Gabála Érenn , a medieval Christian pseudo-history of Ireland, along with the presence of Celtic culture, language and artefacts found in Ireland such as Celtic bronze spears, shields, torcs and other finely crafted Celtic associated possessions. The theory holds that there were four separate Celtic invasions of Ireland. The Priteni were said to be the first, followed by the Belgae from northern Gaul and Britain. Later, Laighin tribes from Armorica (present-day Brittany) were said to have invaded Ireland and Britain more or less simultaneously. Lastly,

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2684-622: The Act of Settlement 1701 . Daniel O'Connell led a subsequent campaign, for the repeal of the Act of Union, which failed. Later in the century, Charles Stewart Parnell and others campaigned for autonomy within the Union, or " Home Rule ". Unionists, especially those located in Ulster, were strongly opposed to Home Rule, which they thought would be dominated by Catholic interests. After several attempts to pass

2806-646: The Duke of Wellington . Steering the Catholic Relief Bill through Parliament, aided by future prime minister Robert Peel , Wellington prevailed upon a reluctant George IV to sign the Bill and proclaim it into law. George's father had opposed the plan of the earlier Prime Minister, Pitt the Younger , to introduce such a bill following the Union of 1801, fearing Catholic Emancipation to be in conflict with

2928-600: The Irish parliament passed the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1367. These were a set of laws designed to prevent the assimilation of the Normans into Irish society by requiring English subjects in Ireland to speak English, follow English customs and abide by English law. By the end of the 15th century, central English authority in Ireland had all but disappeared, and a renewed Irish culture and language, albeit with Norman influences,

3050-596: The Milesians ( Gaels ) were said to have reached Ireland from either northern Iberia or southern Gaul. It was claimed that a second wave named the Euerni, belonging to the Belgae people of northern Gaul, began arriving about the sixth century BC. They were said to have given their name to the island. The theory was advanced in part because of the lack of archaeological evidence for large-scale Celtic immigration, though it

3172-730: The North Channel , the Irish Sea , and St George's Channel . Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles , the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest in the world. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland ), a sovereign state covering five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland , which is part of the United Kingdom . As of 2022,

3294-477: The Protestant Ascendancy . The " Great Frost " struck Ireland and the rest of Europe between December 1739 and September 1741, after a decade of relatively mild winters. The winters destroyed stored crops of potatoes and other staples, and the poor summers severely damaged harvests. This resulted in the famine of 1740 . An estimated 250,000 people (about one in eight of the population) died from

3416-482: The Test and Corporation Acts against non-Anglican Protestants. This gave non-Catholic non-conformists greater political freedom and equality in Britain. The repeal had two effects: it gave Catholics hope that a similar act would be passed that would include Catholics; it also alienated Catholics, as they had become the only Christians not to have political freedom and equality. In May 1828, William Huskisson resigned from

3538-771: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Williamite War . Irish losses during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (which, in Ireland, included the Irish Confederacy and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland ) are estimated to include 20,000 battlefield casualties. 200,000 civilians are estimated to have died as a result of a combination of war-related famine, displacement, guerrilla activity and pestilence throughout

3660-514: The population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with 5.1 million in the Republic of Ireland and 1.9 million in Northern Ireland, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. The geography of Ireland comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. Its lush vegetation is a product of its mild but changeable climate which

3782-617: The 1790s, which achieved major Catholic Relief in 1793. Since the aims of the Catholic Association were fairly moderate and the organization remained loyal to the monarch, British MPs were conceptually more willing to pass Catholic emancipation. The matter had been discussed in London since the 1800 Act of Union , when the Prime Minister Pitt and most of his colleagues resigned from the cabinet when emancipation

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3904-662: The 17th century left a deep sectarian division in Ireland. Religious allegiance now determined the perception in law of loyalty to the Irish King and Parliament. After the passing of the Test Act 1672 , and the victory of the forces of the dual monarchy of William and Mary over the Jacobites , Roman Catholics and nonconforming Protestant Dissenters were barred from sitting as members in the Irish Parliament. Under

4026-495: The 1st century AD. The island was Christianised from the 5th century onwards. During this period Ireland was divided into many petty kingships under provincial kingships (Cúige "fifth" of the traditional provinces) vying for dominance and the title of High King of Ireland . In the late 8th century to early 11th century AD Viking raids and settlement took place culminating in the Battle of Clontarf on 23 April 1014 which resulted in

4148-590: The 9th century, waves of Viking raiders plundered Irish monasteries and towns. These raids added to a pattern of raiding and endemic warfare that was already deep-seated in Ireland. The Vikings were involved in establishing most of the major coastal settlements in Ireland: Dublin , Limerick , Cork , Wexford , Waterford , as well as other smaller settlements. On 1 May 1169, an expedition of Cambro-Norman knights, with an army of about 600 men, landed at Bannow Strand in present-day County Wexford . It

4270-686: The Catholic Association is housed with the archives of Dublin Diocese in Clonliffe College. Ireland in Europe  (dark grey) Ireland ( / ˈ aɪər l ə n d / IRE -lənd ; Irish : Éire [ˈeːɾʲə] ; Ulster-Scots : Airlann [ˈɑːrlən] ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean , in north-western Europe . It is separated from Great Britain to its east by

4392-635: The Catholic Committee the issue of revolutionary violence had come to a head in April 1794 with the arrest of the Reverend William Jackson . An agent of the French Committee of Public Safety , Jackson had been having meetings with Tone in the prison cell of Archibald Hamilton Rowan then serving time for distributing Drennan 's seditious appeal to Volunteers . Thomas Troy, Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and Papal legate , seized

4514-670: The Catholic Convention, 48 were members of the Dublin Society of the United Irishmen. Moved by parallels with the election to the National Constituent Assembly in France, the democratic exercise also caused alarm among the Catholic bishops. Keogh complained of "old men used to bend power; mistaking all attempts at liberty as in some way connected with the murders in France". At the opening

4636-428: The Catholic faith, repealed the laws that compelled Catholic bishops to quit the kingdom, and binding those who had assisted at Mass to identify the celebrant. In addition, Catholics might now own a horse worth more than £5, and, with the consent of their local Protestant bishop, open their own schools. These small concessions were not supplemented by others for ten years. In 1790, Dublin merchant John Keogh , active on

4758-437: The Catholic peasants that were in this situation, the future would be grim as they would be unable to continue the boycott without food and money, and they would be unable to lease land from any landlord as the peasants would be boycotted against in return. The Catholic Association's funds were used to support these boycotts so that they could continue and live well enough to have enough food to survive. The Catholic Association

4880-594: The Committee issued a Declaration of the civil and religious principles of Catholics. Excluding recognition of the infallibility of the Pope and of his civil authority, it insisted that in Ireland these would not "disturb" or "weaken" the establishment in Ireland of the Protestant religion or the security of the Protestant crown. The elections to the convention, "conducted in a blaze of publicity", spread "an expectation of dramatic change to Catholics at every level", and

5002-566: The Convention, assembled in the Tailor's Hall in Back Lane, Dublin, in December 1792, Keogh was careful to place two prelates seated on either side of the chairmen. But the petition, as finally approved and signed by the delegates, was presented to the bishops as a fait accompli , with no implication that their sanction was sought or obtained. Within the Convention, the United men operated as

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5124-425: The English church at the time, the Catholic Church , was published in 1216 and the Parliament of Ireland was founded in 1297. From the mid-14th century, after the Black Death , Norman settlements in Ireland went into a period of decline. The Norman rulers and the Gaelic Irish elites intermarried and the areas under Norman rule became Gaelicised . In some parts, a hybrid Hiberno-Norman culture emerged. In response,

5246-455: The English language, and sports such as association football , rugby , horse racing , golf , and boxing . The names Ireland and Éire derive from Old Irish Ériu , a goddess in Irish mythology first recorded in the ninth century. The etymology of Ériu is disputed but may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root * h2uer , referring to flowing water. During the last glacial period , and until about 16,000 BC, much of Ireland

5368-406: The Gaelic Brehon Law across large areas, so that by the late 13th century the Norman-Irish had established a feudal system throughout much of Ireland. Norman settlements were characterised by the establishment of baronies, manors, towns and the seeds of the modern county system. A version of Magna Carta (the Great Charter of Ireland ), substituting Dublin for London and the Irish Church for,

5490-456: The Irish "already believing in Christ". The same chronicle records that Saint Patrick , Ireland's best known patron saint , arrived the following year. There is continued debate over the missions of Palladius and Patrick, but the consensus is that they both took place and that the older druid tradition collapsed in the face of the new religion. Irish Christian scholars excelled in the study of Latin and Greek learning and Christian theology. In

5612-427: The Irish Ascendancy, moderated when, after the death of the Old Pretender in 1766, the Papacy recognized the Hanoverian succession . The British government, in turn, gratified Catholic opinion with the passage in 1774 of the Quebec Act . This not only guaranteed free practice of the Catholic faith in the formerly French North-American province but, in a precedent seized upon by Irish Catholics, removed all reference to

5734-469: The Irish Volunteers' name and opposed Ireland's involvement in the war. The Easter Rising of 1916 was carried out by the latter group together with a smaller socialist militia, the Irish Citizen Army . The British response, executing fifteen leaders of the Rising over a period of ten days and imprisoning or interning more than a thousand people, turned the mood of the country in favour of the rebels. Support for Irish republicanism increased further due to

5856-527: The Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-network culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age that also included Britain, western France and Iberia, and that this is where Celtic languages developed. This contrasts with the traditional view that their origin lies in mainland Europe with the Hallstatt culture . The long-standing traditional view is that the Celtic language, Ogham script and culture were brought to Ireland by waves of invading or migrating Celts from mainland Europe. This theory draws on

5978-410: The United Kingdom, was not neutral during the Second World War, and Belfast suffered four bombing raids in 1941. Conscription was not extended to Northern Ireland, and roughly an equal number volunteered from Northern Ireland as volunteered from the Republic of Ireland. Catholic Committee (Ireland) By the mid 18th century, agitation in the Catholic cause had begun to shift from the gentry to

6100-434: The United Kingdom, which it immediately exercised. Additionally, Members of the Free State Parliament were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the Irish Free State and make a statement of faithfulness to the king. Disagreements over these provisions led to a split in the nationalist movement and a subsequent Irish Civil War between the new government of the Irish Free State and those opposed to

6222-465: The Y-chromosome pattern. When taking both into account, a study concluded that modern Celtic speakers in Ireland could be thought of as European "Atlantic Celts" showing a shared ancestry throughout the Atlantic zone from northern Iberia to western Scandinavia rather than substantially central European. In 2012, research showed that the occurrence of genetic markers for the earliest farmers was almost eliminated by Beaker-culture immigrants: they carried what

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6344-453: The alleged Papal Bull Laudabiliter , issued by an Englishman, Adrian IV , in 1155. The document apparently encouraged Henry to take control in Ireland in order to oversee the financial and administrative reorganisation of the Irish Church and its integration into the Roman Church system. Some restructuring had already begun at the ecclesiastical level following the Synod of Kells in 1152. There has been significant controversy regarding

6466-414: The association also ensured that they were more deeply involved in pushing the cause of Catholic emancipation. People wanted value for their money. Thus, this ensured a cheap method for O'Connell to get the message of Catholic emancipation spread throughout Ireland. The Catholic Association's funds were to be diffused widely in a variety of areas. Some was spent campaigning for Catholic emancipation, defraying

6588-428: The association created a new category of associate members at the cost of a penny a month, the so-called Catholic Rent . The reasoning behind the creation of this new membership category was to stimulate a swelling in association numbers. This new, cheaper category ensured Catholics from a poorer background could join, and thus the association's initial class-based entry barriers were removed. The Catholic rent transformed

6710-484: The association. Arguably, it could be interpreted as having transformed the entire history of Ireland. In terms of the association, the rent catalyzed a transformation in a number of ways. Firstly, as previously mentioned, it gave the Catholic Association a constant source of money, which enabled Daniel O'Connell to run a consistent campaign. Secondly, it facilitated easy calculation of total association membership numbers so that O'Connell could say with confidence that he had

6832-423: The authenticity of Laudabiliter , and there is no general agreement as to whether the bull was genuine or a forgery. Further, it had no standing in the Irish legal system. In 1172, Pope Alexander III further encouraged Henry to advance the integration of the Irish Church with Rome. Henry was authorised to impose a tithe of one penny per hearth as an annual contribution. This church levy, called Peter's Pence ,

6954-440: The authorities, counterintelligence was a fundamental line of defence. With a regular army of only slightly over seven thousand men at the start of the war, and with limited supplies of modern weapons, the state would have had great difficulty in defending itself from invasion from either side in the conflict. Large-scale emigration marked most of the post-WWII period (particularly during the 1950s and 1980s), but beginning in 1987

7076-445: The authority of bishops and priests. Second, the mishandling of the paedophile scandals humiliated the Church, whose bishops seemed less concerned with the victims and more concerned with covering up for errant priests. Third, prosperity brought hedonism and materialism that undercut the ideals of saintly poverty. The financial crisis that began in 2008 dramatically ended this period of boom. GDP fell by 3% in 2008 and by 7.1% in 2009,

7198-416: The cabinet, and William Vesey Fitzgerald was chosen as the President of the Board of Trade . According to the law, there was to be a by-election in his constituency of County Clare. Daniel O'Connell decided to exploit a loophole in the Act of Union . It required MPs to take the Oath of Allegiance , but the oath was not required of candidates for election. O'Connell stood in the by-election and won. Since he

7320-409: The candidate to be elected into parliament to pressure the government from within to pass Catholic emancipation. The turning point came in 1828, when two factors came into play. The first was that the Catholic Church took over the collection of the Catholic Rent and effectively the Catholic Association itself. The other was that by 1828, Daniel O'Connell's reputation had increased dramatically. O'Connell

7442-601: The confrontation with the new French Republic , were met with unprecedented contempt. In response the Committee successfully organised a country-wide election to a national convention. In contrast to the deference the Committee had previously shown to Catholic noblemen and gentry, by standards of the time the franchise was broadly democratic. All the Kingdom's 32 counties and fifty nine towns and cities were to return delegates. Meetings open all male communicants in each parish elected one or two delegates who, convening in county meetings, would in turn choose up to four of their number for

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7564-401: The convention in Dublin. The Committee's instructions underscored the democratic spirit of the exercise: "men appointed by others must hold themselves accountable to those from whom they derive their trust and must therefore regulate their conduct by the standard of general opinion". At the same time, responding to the standard Ascendancy objections to their inclusion within the constitution,

7686-400: The costs of sending petitions to Westminster, and training of Priests. Following the 1826 election campaign, funds were used to support the members of the organization who had voted against their landlords. The money was used for those who had been evicted from land by the landlords because of their connection to the Catholic organization or for those who were boycotting absentee landlord . For

7808-400: The danger is hourly increasing, while a power co-ordinate with that of the government is rising by its side, nay, daily counteracting its views." The Duke of Wellington, Britain's prime minister and its most famous war hero, told Peel, "If we cannot get rid of the Catholic Association, we must look to civil war in Ireland sooner or later."  To stop the momentum of the Catholic Association it

7930-556: The development of the linen industry, Ireland was largely passed over by the Industrial Revolution , partly because it lacked coal and iron resources and partly because of the impact of the sudden union with the structurally superior economy of England, which saw Ireland as a source of agricultural produce and capital. The Great Famine of 1845–1851 devastated Ireland, as in those years Ireland's population fell by one-third. More than one million people died from starvation and disease, with an additional million people emigrating during

8052-634: The earliest evidence of human activity in Ireland was dated at 12,500 years ago, demonstrated by a butchered bear bone found in a cave in County Clare . Since 2021, the earliest evidence of human activity in Ireland is dated to 33,000 years ago. By about 8,000 BC, more sustained occupation of the island has been shown, with evidence for Mesolithic communities around the island. Some time before 4,000 BC, Neolithic settlers introduced cereal cultivars , domesticated animals such as cattle and sheep, built large timber buildings, and stone monuments. The earliest evidence for farming in Ireland or Great Britain

8174-401: The economy improved, and the 1990s saw the beginning of substantial economic growth. This period of growth became known as the Celtic Tiger . The Republic's real GDP grew by an average of 9.6% per annum between 1995 and 1999, in which year the Republic joined the euro . In 2000, it was the sixth-richest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita. Historian R. F. Foster argues the cause

8296-460: The emerging Penal Laws , Irish Roman Catholics and Dissenters were increasingly deprived of various civil rights, even the ownership of hereditary property. Additional regressive punitive legislation followed in 1703, 1709 and 1728. This completed a comprehensive systemic effort to materially disadvantage Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters while enriching a new ruling class of Anglican conformists. The new Anglo-Irish ruling class became known as

8418-430: The ending of Viking power in Ireland. Following the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion , England claimed sovereignty. However, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest , which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain . In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters , and

8540-407: The ensuing pestilence and disease. The Irish government halted export of corn and kept the army in quarters but did little more. Local gentry and charitable organisations provided relief but could do little to prevent the ensuing mortality. In the aftermath of the famine, an increase in industrial production and a surge in trade brought a succession of construction booms. The population soared in

8662-421: The famine, mostly to the United States and Canada. In the century that followed, an economic depression caused by the famine resulted in a further million people emigrating. By the end of the decade, half of all immigration to the United States was from Ireland. The period of civil unrest that followed until the end of the 19th century is referred to as the Land War . Mass emigration became deeply entrenched and

8784-576: The first attempt in 1799. According to contemporary documents and historical analysis, this was achieved through a considerable degree of bribery, with funding provided by the British Secret Service Office, and the awarding of peerages, places and honours to secure votes. Thus, the parliament in Ireland was abolished and replaced by a united parliament at Westminster in London, though resistance remained, as evidenced by Robert Emmet 's failed Irish Rebellion of 1803 . Aside from

8906-478: The general progress of the expedition. He wanted to re-exert royal authority over the invasion which was expanding beyond his control. Henry successfully re-imposed his authority over Strongbow and the Cambro-Norman warlords and persuaded many of the Irish kings to accept him as their overlord, an arrangement confirmed in the 1175 Treaty of Windsor . The invasion was legitimised by reference to provisions of

9028-645: The geneticist David Reich , who says: "British and Irish skeletons from the Bronze Age that followed the Beaker period had at most 10 per cent ancestry from the first farmers of these islands, with other 90 per cent from people like those associated with the Bell Beaker culture in the Netherlands." He suggests that it was Beaker users who introduced an Indo-European language, represented here by Celtic (i.e.

9150-638: The government's approach and submitted the Roman Catholic Relief Bill in February 1829. The bill was passed. It was a momentous victory for O'Connell and the Catholic middle class, and he became known as "the liberator" and the "uncrowned king of Ireland". However, the simultaneous enactment of the Parliamentary Elections (Ireland) Act 1829 restricted the franchise in the county constituencies in Ireland. The archive of

9272-512: The island with an estimated 30,000 dead. As a direct result of the 1798 rebellion in its aftermath in 1800, the British and Irish parliaments both passed Acts of Union that, with effect from 1 January 1801, merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain to create a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . The passage of the Act in the Irish Parliament was ultimately achieved with substantial majorities, having failed on

9394-475: The judicial bench and from the higher offices of state, when all else was conceded, seemed petty, and was "interpreted by the newly politicised Catholic populace as final proof that the existing government was their natural enemy". Late in 1794 the Committee briefly reconvened. Hope of seeing Catholic Emancipation complete had revived under a new viceroy . But having declared in favour of admitting Catholics to Parliament, in February 1795 Earl William Fitzwilliam

9516-558: The latter part of this century and the architectural legacy of Georgian Ireland was built. In 1782, Poynings' Law was repealed, giving Ireland legislative independence from Great Britain for the first time since 1495. The British government, however, still retained the right to nominate the government of Ireland without the consent of the Irish parliament. In 1798, members of the Protestant Dissenter tradition (mainly Presbyterian ) made common cause with Roman Catholics in

9638-482: The local names for the islands at the time. The earlier names, in contrast , were likely to have been coined before direct contact with local peoples was made. The Romans referred to Ireland by this name too in its Latinised form, Hibernia , or Scotia . Ptolemy records sixteen nations inhabiting every part of Ireland in 100 AD. The relationship between the Roman Empire and the kingdoms of ancient Ireland

9760-608: The many carved stone crosses that still dot the island today. A mission founded in 563 on Iona by the Irish monk Saint Columba began a tradition of Irish missionary work that spread Celtic Christianity and learning to Scotland , England and the Frankish Empire on continental Europe after the fall of Rome. These missions continued until the late Middle Ages , establishing monasteries and centres of learning, producing scholars such as Sedulius Scottus and Johannes Eriugena and exerting much influence in Europe. From

9882-460: The membership subscription set at a relatively cheap price, a large number of the peasant and working classes could join. Affordability ensured large numbers. In effect, it became a universal Catholic organization that was transparent and populist. Members of the association were, in essence, the owners, with their subscription fees going directly into the maintenance and running of the association. The fact that each member had contributed financially to

10004-538: The moderation of Committee, in October some forty members, including many in the new intake, formed a separate Catholic Society with Theobald McKenna as their secretary. They published the Declaration of the Catholic Society of Dublin to promote unanimity among Irishmen and remove religious prejudices , written by McKenna, demanding total repeal of the penal laws as a matter of right. The declaration caused

10126-845: The monastic culture that followed the Christianisation of Ireland, Latin and Greek learning was preserved in Ireland during the Early Middle Ages in contrast to elsewhere in Western Europe, where the Dark Ages followed the Fall of the Western Roman Empire . The arts of manuscript illumination , metalworking and sculpture flourished and produced treasures such as the Book of Kells , ornate jewellery and

10248-411: The national or general Committee in Dublin since 1781, became its Chairman. In February 1791 elections to the Committee from the counties and from the five Dublin parishes brought a dramatic change in its composition, with aspiring middle-class representatives now in the majority and clearly outnumbering the rural gentry delegates. Stirred by news of revolution and reform in France and dissatisfied with

10370-536: The now defeated Girondins in Paris) hesitated. The government informer Samuel Turner (himself a delegate from Newry) reported in June 1797 that while they were still acknowledged as members of the "National Committee" of the United Irishmen meeting in Dublin, they did not attend. Alarmed by the violent and anti-clerical turn of events in France, McKenna had resigned from the society already in 1793. For many veterans of

10492-606: The ongoing war in Europe, as well as the Conscription Crisis of 1918 . The pro-independence republican party, Sinn Féin , received overwhelming endorsement in the general election of 1918 , and in 1919 proclaimed an Irish Republic , setting up its own parliament ( Dáil Éireann ) and government. Simultaneously the Volunteers, which became known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA), launched

10614-591: The other to treat with the Society: and its strategy was to go with the one that would promise and deliver the most. Catholic opinion had not been placated. The concessions under the Relief Act were "permissive rather than obligatory and a newly awakened Protestant Ascendancy chose as often as not to withhold them". Moreover the retention of the Oath of Supremacy which continue to bar Catholics from parliament, from

10736-408: The parliament of Great Britain and then, with greater opposition, in the Irish Parliament. The "Papists Act" did not grant freedom of worship, but did allow Catholics on taking a modified oath that abjured the temporal, but not the spiritual, authority of the Pope, to purchase land.and join the army. A further measure followed in 1782: the Irish Parliament, acknowledging the actual tolerated practice of

10858-506: The passage of a Catholic Relief Act . Catholics were admitted to the franchise on the same limited terms as Protestants. They could take degrees on Trinity College, be called as barristers and serve as army officers and, most controversially of all, could carry arms. In the wake of the 1793 Relief Act the Committee voted Tone a sum of £1,500 with a gold medal, subscribed to a statue of the King, and (as agreed in London) voted to dissolve. As

10980-529: The petition to London made a point of travelling through Belfast, where Presbyterian supporters insisted on removing the horses from their carriages and pulling them by hand over the Long Bridge into the town. In January 1793, the delegates were well received in London, with Tone reporting "every reason to be content" with their royal audience. In April, Dublin Castle put its weight behind Henry Grattan in

11102-400: The population continued to decline until the mid-20th century. Immediately prior to the famine the population was recorded as 8.2 million by the 1841 census . The population has never returned to this level since. The population continued to fall until 1961; County Leitrim was the final Irish county to record a population increase post-famine, in 2006. The 19th and early 20th centuries saw

11224-477: The potential defence of Northern Ireland. Despite their country's neutrality, approximately 50,000 volunteers from independent Ireland joined the British forces during the war, four being awarded Victoria Crosses . The German intelligence was also active in Ireland. Its operations ended in September 1941 when police made arrests based on surveillance carried out on the key diplomatic legations in Dublin. To

11346-420: The previous ten years or so; none of these had prospered. Like the other associations, this new association was composed mainly of the middle-class elite: an annual subscription amounting to a guinea , an amount equivalent to what an average farmer would pay for six months' rent. In 1824, the Catholic Association began to use the money that it had raised to campaign for Catholic emancipation. Furthermore, this year

11468-436: The principal crops. The Bronze Age began around 2,500 BC, with technology changing people's everyday lives during this period through innovations such as the wheel, harnessing oxen , weaving textiles , brewing alcohol and metalworking , which produced new weapons and tools, along with fine gold decoration and jewellery, such as brooches and torcs . How and when the island became Celtic has been debated for close to

11590-463: The reformed faith from the oath of allegiance required in taking public office. From the beginning there was disagreement between the gentry and the merchants how best to achieve comparable relief from the penal laws in Ireland. The gentry, who had suffered much in fines and lands lost for adhering to their religion, were apprehensive that an overbold approach would only give rise to greater persecution. The committee did have an early success, organising

11712-610: The rise of modern Irish nationalism , primarily among the Roman Catholic population. The pre-eminent Irish political figure after the Union was Daniel O'Connell . He was elected as Member of Parliament for Ennis in a surprise result and despite being unable to take his seat as a Roman Catholic . O'Connell spearheaded a vigorous campaign that was taken up by the Prime Minister, the Irish-born soldier and statesman,

11834-468: The rising merchant and professional classes. In 1757 the Catholic Committee was formed by Charles O'Conor ; others involved included the historian and doctor John Curry and Thomas Wyse of Waterford. Prebendary of Cullen , John Carpenter , future archbishop of Dublin , also joined the Committee. In 1760, at a meeting at the Elephant Tavern on Essex Street, Dublin, Wyse submitted a plan for

11956-489: The scheme was constructed in the 8th century to justify the status of powerful political groupings by projecting the origins of their rule into the remote past. All of the Irish kingdoms had their own kings but were nominally subject to the high king. The high king was drawn from the ranks of the provincial kings and ruled also the royal kingdom of Meath , with a ceremonial capital at the Hill of Tara . The concept did not become

12078-472: The six counties of Ulster, which later became Northern Ireland. Before it could be implemented, however, the Act was suspended for the duration of the First World War . The Irish Volunteers split into two groups. The majority, approximately 175,000 in number, under John Redmond , took the name National Volunteers and supported Irish involvement in the war. A minority, approximately 13,000, retained

12200-653: The soldiers in Ireland to fight for the Crown in the American Colonies in the 1770s and by supporting the authorities as they suppressed Whiteboy agrarian protest in the 1780s. Assisted by parliamentarians like Edmund Burke , who in 1765 had published Tracts on the Popery Laws , Kenmare's pro-government policy appeared to pay dividends with the Catholic Relief Act of 1778 passed first in

12322-420: The support of so many people. This was important as it could be used to apply pressure against the British government. Third, and perhaps most importantly, however, it announced the arrival of mass mobilization politics, being the first such populist movement in Europe. Daniel O'Connell decided to add this additional membership level, at a reduced price of a penny a month, deliberately. The benefits were clear. With

12444-531: The treaty, led by Éamon de Valera . The civil war officially ended in May 1923 when de Valera issued a cease-fire order. During its first decade, the newly formed Irish Free State was governed by the victors of the civil war. When de Valera achieved power, he took advantage of the Statute of Westminster and political circumstances to build upon inroads to greater sovereignty made by the previous government. The oath

12566-460: The war. A further 50,000 were sent into indentured servitude in the West Indies . Physician-general William Petty estimated that 504,000 Catholic Irish and 112,000 Protestant settlers died, and 100,000 people were transported, as a result of the war. If a prewar population of 1.5 million is assumed, this would mean that the population was reduced by almost half. The religious struggles of

12688-541: The worst year since records began (although earnings by foreign-owned businesses continued to grow). The state has since experienced deep recession, with unemployment, which doubled during 2009, remaining above 14% in 2012. Northern Ireland resulted from the division of the United Kingdom by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 , and until 1972 was a self-governing jurisdiction within the United Kingdom with its own parliament and prime minister. Northern Ireland, as part of

12810-505: Was a Catholic, he could not take his seat in parliament. Demand rose to allow him to become an MP for County Clare, as it did not have representation. Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Wellington saw that if O'Connell were not allowed to take his seat, then there could be a revolution in Ireland. While using non-violent methods, O'Connell hinted that he would get more Catholics elected to force the situation. In an emotive speech, he said "They must crush us or conciliate us". Peel decided to change

12932-486: Was a combination of a new sense of initiative and the entry of American corporations. He concludes the chief factors were low taxation, pro-business regulatory policies, and a young, tech-savvy workforce. For many multinationals, the decision to do business in Ireland was made easier still by generous incentives from the Industrial Development Authority . In addition European Union membership

13054-405: Was a spur to the growth among the Catholic peasantry, petty shopkeepers and artisans of militant Defenderism The Viceroy, Lord Westmorland , called on London for additional troops. The Castle saw the hand of the United Irishmen, represented not only by Tone, but also by Keogh and Secretary Richard McCormick, who had followed Tone into the United ranks in Dublin. Of the 248 delegates elected to

13176-517: Was abolished and in 1937 a new constitution was adopted. This completed a process of gradual separation from the British Empire that governments had pursued since independence. However, it was not until 1949 that the state was declared, officially, to be the Republic of Ireland . The state was neutral during World War II , but offered clandestine assistance to the Allies , particularly in

13298-537: Was again dominant. English Crown control remained relatively unshaken in an amorphous foothold around Dublin known as The Pale , and under the provisions of Poynings' Law of 1494, Irish Parliamentary legislation was subject to the approval of the English Privy Council . The title of King of Ireland was re-created in 1542 by Henry VIII , the then King of England , of the Tudor dynasty . English rule

13420-503: Was an internationally recognized figure and was seen as one of the leading figures in liberal thinking. This successful campaign led on to, but must be distinguished from, his later efforts to end the union with Britain, to increase the franchise, and to end the payment of tithes. O'Connell's particular talent was to push the emancipation process along in an organized way. In May 1828, the Sacramental Test Act 1828 repealed

13542-606: Was denied by the king. Henry Grattan continued to support the cause, and Catholic emancipation had been passed by the House of Commons previously by a majority of six, but it was rejected in the House of Lords and generally by King George III , who reigned until 1820. The biggest strength of the Catholic Association was that the Catholic Church helped in the collection of the Catholic rent. Catholic priests also held sermons in favor of Catholic emancipation. This meant that it

13664-438: Was easy for the members to pay the Catholic rent, and it would attract more members as the message of Catholic emancipation was being spread throughout Ireland. Sir Robert Peel believed the alliance of the Catholic Association and the Catholic Church was a "powerful combination". In 1826, the Catholic Association began to use its funds to support pro-emancipation MPs in elections. They used their money and manpower to campaign for

13786-554: Was extended during the 18th century. With the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom . A war of independence in the early 20th century was followed by the partition of the island , leading to the creation of the Irish Free State , which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades until it declared a republic in 1948 ( Republic of Ireland Act, 1948) and Northern Ireland, which remained

13908-602: Was granted a limited special status and allowed to operate within the EU single market for goods without being in the European Union. Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the field of literature . Alongside mainstream Western culture , a strong indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games , Irish music , Irish language , and Irish dance . The island's culture shares many features with that of Great Britain, including

14030-475: Was helpful, giving the country lucrative access to markets that it had previously reached only through the United Kingdom, and pumping huge subsidies and investment capital into the Irish economy. Modernisation brought secularisation in its wake. The traditionally high levels of religiosity have sharply declined. Foster points to three factors: First, Irish feminism, largely imported from America with liberal stances on contraception, abortion and divorce, undermined

14152-559: Was led by Richard de Clare , known as 'Strongbow' owing to his prowess as an archer. The invasion, which coincided with a period of renewed Norman expansion, was at the invitation of Dermot Mac Murrough , King of Leinster . In 1166, Mac Murrough had fled to Anjou , France, following a war involving Tighearnán Ua Ruairc , of Breifne , and sought the assistance of the Angevin King Henry II , in recapturing his kingdom. In 1171, Henry arrived in Ireland in order to review

14274-471: Was necessary to pass Catholic Emancipation, and so Wellington and Peel turned enough Tory votes to win. Passage demonstrated that the veto power long held by the Ultra-Tories faction of reactionary Tories no longer was operational, and significant reforms were now possible. The Catholic Association was founded in 1823 by Daniel O'Connell. It was the latest in a series of similar associations formed over

14396-487: Was originally aristocratic in its composition, and some of the gentry (such as Richard Lalor Sheil) held relatively conservative views. However, Daniel O'Connell held an enormous influence over society and largely dictated the policies it pursued. It was radical in nature but also extremely loyal to the crown in appearance. This had been the strategy of the previous major Catholic group, the Catholic Committee of

14518-429: Was periodically covered in ice. The relative sea level was less than 50m lower resulting in an ice bridge (but not a land bridge ) forming between Ireland and Great Britain. By 14,000 BC this ice bridge existed only between Northern Ireland and Scotland and by 12,000 BC Ireland was completely separated from Great Britain. Later, around 6,100 BC, Great Britain became separated from continental Europe. Until recently,

14640-582: Was recalled after just 6 months in post. Some Committee members were content to lobby for Catholic education: in June 1795 they helped secure government funding for the new Catholic seminary, Maynooth College . Others leaned toward the United Irishmen who, despairing of reform, now moved to draw the agrarian Catholic Defenders with them toward a French-assisted republican insurrection. Committee men served as "the bridge over which United Irishmen and Defenders [were to] join forces". Keogh, Richard McCormick and Thomas Broughall (who had been in correspondence with

14762-700: Was reinforced and expanded in Ireland during the latter part of the 16th century, leading to the Tudor conquest of Ireland . A near-complete conquest was achieved by the turn of the 17th century, following the Nine Years' War and the Flight of the Earls . This control was consolidated during the wars and conflicts of the 17th century, including the English and Scottish colonisation in the Plantations of Ireland ,

14884-529: Was then a new Y-chromosome R1b marker, believed to have originated in Iberia about 2,500 BC. The prevalence amongst modern Irish men of this mutation is a remarkable 84%, the highest in the world, and closely matched in other populations along the Atlantic fringes down to Spain. A similar genetic replacement happened with lineages in mitochondrial DNA. This conclusion is supported by recent research carried out by

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