149-517: The Protestant Ascendancy (also known as the Ascendancy ) was the sociopolitical and economical domination of Ireland between the 17th and early 20th centuries by a small Anglican ruling class , whose members consisted of landowners, politicians, clergymen, military officers and other prominent professions. They were either members of the Church of Ireland or the Church of England and wielded
298-744: 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
447-611: 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
596-565: 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
745-599: A certain sympathy and understanding for the difficult position of Roman Catholics, as Burke did in his parliamentary career. Others in the gentry such as the Viscounts Dillon and the Lords Dunsany belonged to Old English families who had originally undergone a religious conversion from Rome to Canterbury to save their lands and titles. Some members of the Old English who had thus gained membership in
894-777: A debate on falling land values, saying that "When the landed property of the Kingdom, when the Protestant Ascendancy is at stake, I cannot remain silent." Then on 20 January 1792 Dublin Corporation approved by majority vote a resolution to George III that included this line: "We feel ourselves peculiarly called upon to stand forward in the crisis to pray your majesty to preserve the Protestant ascendancy in Ireland inviolate ...." The corporation's resolution
1043-641: A disproportionate amount of social, cultural and political influence in Ireland. The Ascendancy existed as a result of British rule in Ireland , as land confiscated from the Irish Catholic aristocracy was awarded by the Crown to Protestant settlers from Great Britain . During the Tudor conquest of Ireland , land owned from Irish nobles was gradually confiscated by the Crown over several decades. These lands were sold to colonists from Great Britain as part of
1192-542: A fair number of Irish men and women who'd converted to the Anglican Church between the mid 17th and mid 19th century actually returned to their original Catholic faith by the early 20th century. A similar phenomenon can also be observed with the return of "O" and "Mc" to surnames during the mid/late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period known to scholars as the Gaelic Revival (Athbheochan na Gaeilge). As
1341-572: A few literary works as well. There is a large amount of parliamentary legislation, including the famous Statute of Kilkenny and municipal documents. The major literary text is The Song of Dermot and the Earl , a chanson de geste of 3,458 lines of verse concerning Dermot McMurrough and Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (known as "Strongbow"). Other texts include the Walling of New Ross composed about 1275, and early 14th century poems about
1490-651: A further 13 million acres (53,000 km) of farmland between 1885 and 1920 where the freehold was assigned under mortgage to tenant farmers and farm workers. The Irish Rebellion of 1798 was led by members of the Anglo-Irish class, some of whom feared the political implications of the impending union with Great Britain. Reformist and nationalist politicians such as Henry Grattan (1746–1820), Wolfe Tone (1763–1798), Robert Emmet (1778–1803), and Sir John Gray (1815–1875) were also Protestant nationalists , and in large measure led and defined Irish nationalism. At
1639-551: A higher concentration of Gaelic surnames. The term Old English ( Irish : Seanghaill , meaning 'old foreigners') began to be applied by scholars for Norman-descended residents of The Pale and Irish towns after the mid-16th century, who became increasingly opposed to the New English who arrived in Ireland after the Tudor conquest of Ireland in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of the Old English were dispossessed in
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#17327660290881788-800: A name which captures the distinctive blended culture which this community created and within which it operated until the Tudor conquest. In an effort to halt the ongoing Gaelicisation of the Anglo-Irish community, the Irish Parliament passed the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1367, which among other things banned the use of the Irish language, the wearing of Irish clothes, as well as prohibiting the Gaelic Irish from living within walled towns. Despite these efforts, by 1515, one official lamented, that "all
1937-530: 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
2086-785: 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
2235-563: A perception that the bloodshed was provoked by the misrule of the Ascendancy, and partly from the expense involved. The abolition of the Irish Parliament was followed by economic decline in Ireland, and widespread emigration from among the ruling class to the new centre of power in London, which increased the number of absentee landlords . The reduction of legalised discrimination with the passage of Catholic emancipation in 1829 meant that
2384-521: 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
2533-409: A relatively small number of Catholics would convert to the Church of Ireland between the 17th and 19th centuries, more often than not these "conversions" amounted to the alteration of paper work, rather than any changes in religious beliefs or practices. With job prospects and civil rights for Irish Catholics having grown quite grim since the mid-17th century, for some, converting to the Anglican Church
2682-498: 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
2831-460: A result, political, legal and economic power resided with the Ascendancy to the extent that by the mid-18th century, the greater part of the land in Ireland (97% in 1870) was owned by men who rented it out to tenant farmers rather than cultivating it themselves. Smaller landlords in the east, in Ulster or on the outskirts of towns were more favourably placed than the owners of tracts of infertile bog in
2980-704: A string of revolts which culminated in the Desmond Rebellions (1569–1573 and 1579–1583). The term "Old English" was coined at this time, as the Pale community emphasised their English identity and loyalty to the Stuart Crown and refusing to co-operate with the wishes of the Elizabeth's Parliament as represented in Ireland by the Lord Deputy of Ireland . Originally, the conflict was a civil issue, as
3129-480: Is a central reason for the Old English's later support of Roman Catholicism. There was no religious division in medieval Ireland, beyond the requirement that English-born prelates should run the Irish church. However, most of the pre-16th century inhabitants of Ireland continued their allegiance to Roman Catholicism , following the Henrician Reformation of the 1530s, even after the establishment of
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#17327660290883278-538: 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
3427-621: 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
3576-592: 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
3725-422: Is known by the description Old English , which only came into use in the late 16th century. Some contend it is ahistorical to trace a single Old English community back to 1169, for the concept of Ireland's "Old English" community only emerged in the sixteenth century Pale. The earliest known reference to the term "Old English" is in the 1580s. Up to that time the identity of such people had been much more fluid; it
3874-679: 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, the population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with 5.1 million in
4023-566: 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
4172-686: 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,
4321-569: 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
4470-603: The American Revolution effectively gave Grattan a military force, and he was able to force Britain to concede a greater amount of self-rule to the Ascendancy. The parliament repealed most of the Penal Laws in 1771–93 but did not abolish them entirely. Grattan sought Catholic emancipation for the catholic middle classes from the 1780s, but could not persuade a majority of the Irish MPs to support him. After
4619-764: The Anglican Catholic Church of Ireland . In contrast to previous English settlers, the New English , that wave of settlers who came to Ireland from England during the Elizabethan era onwards as a result of the Tudor conquest of Ireland, were more self-consciously English, and were largely (though not entirely) Protestant . To the New English, many of the Old Anglo-Irish were "degenerate", having "gone native" and adopted Irish customs as well as choosing to adhere to Roman Catholicism after
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4768-728: The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century, mainly from England and Wales . During the High Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages , the Hiberno-Normans constituted a feudal aristocracy and merchant oligarchy , known as the Lordship of Ireland . The Hiberno-Normans were also closely associated with the Gregorian Reform of the Catholic Church in Ireland and were responsible for
4917-691: The Dillons , merged with the New English elite after the Henrician Reformation . Following the Glorious Revolution , many of these Old English families promoted unity with the Gaels under the denominator of " Irish Catholic ", while others were assimilated into a new Irish Protestant identity, which also included later settler groups such as the Ulster Scots further English settlers and Huguenots . Historians use different terms to refer to
5066-646: 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
5215-545: 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,
5364-596: 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
5513-637: The Papacy 's most radical agents of the Counter-Reformation which, among other aims, sought to topple her from her thrones. Rebels such as James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald portrayed their rebellion as a "Holy War", and indeed received money and troops from the papal coffers. In the Second Desmond Rebellion (1579–1583), a prominent Pale lord, James Eustace, Viscount of Baltinglass, joined the rebels from religious motivation. Before
5662-477: 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
5811-472: The Protestant Ascendancy . The community of Norman descent prior to then used numerous epithets to describe themselves (such as "Englishmen born in Ireland" or " English-Irish "), but it was only as a result of the political cess crisis of the 1580s that a group identified as the Old English actually came to be distinguished from the rest of the Anglo-Irish who surrendered to Anglican Catholicism . Traditionally, London-based Anglo-Norman governments expected
5960-594: The Protestant Irish Nationalists through Old English families (and men of Gaelic origin such as William Conolly ) who chose to comply with the new realities by conforming to the Established Church . In the course of the eighteenth century under the Protestant Ascendancy, social divisions were defined almost solely in sectarian terms of Roman Catholic, Anglican Catholic and Protestant Nonconformist, rather than ethnic ones. Against
6109-813: The Tory Party in England and Ireland after 1688. They were Protestants who generally supported the Catholic Jacobite claim and came to power briefly in London from 1710 to 1714. Also in 1750, the main Catholic Jacobite heir and claimant to the three thrones, Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonny Prince Charlie"), converted to Anglicanism for a time but had reverted to Roman Catholicism again by his father's death in 1766. The son of James II , James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender ),
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6258-417: 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
6407-456: The grand jury system, where membership was based on being a large ratepayer , and therefore from owning large amounts of land locally. The final phase of the elimination of the Ascendancy occurred during the Anglo-Irish War , when some of the remaining Protestant landlords were either assassinated and/or had their country houses in Ireland burned down. Nearly 300 houses of the old landed class were burned down between 1919 and 1923. The campaign
6556-406: The plantations of Ireland , with the province of Ulster being a focus in particular for colonisation by Protestant settlers after the Battle of Kinsale . These settlers went onto form the new aristocracy and gentry of Ireland, as the Gaelic nobility had either died, fled with the Flight of the Earls or allied with the Crown. They eventually came to be known as the Anglo-Irish people . From
6705-440: The 1620s and 1630s, however, after they had agreed to pay the higher taxes to the Crown, they found that the Monarch or his Irish viceroy Thomas Wentworth chose instead to defer some of the agreed concessions. This was to prove culturally counterproductive for the cause of the English administration in Ireland, as it led to Old English writers, such as Geoffrey Keating to argue (as Keating did in Foras Feasa ar Éirinn (1634)), that
6854-431: The 1790s the phrase became used by the main two identities in Ireland: nationalists , who were mostly Catholics, used the phrase as a "focus of resentment", while for unionists , who were mostly Protestants, it gave a "compensating image of lost greatness". The phrase was first used in passing by Sir Boyle Roche in a speech to the Irish House of Commons on 20 February 1782. George Ogle MP used it on 6 February 1786 in
7003-424: 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
7152-547: The 19th and early 20th centuries through impoverishment, bankruptcy, the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland by the Irish Church Act 1869 and finally the Irish Land Acts , which legally allowed the sitting tenants to buy their land. Some typical "Ascendancy" land-owning families like the Marquess of Headfort and the Earl of Granard had by then converted to Catholicism, and a considerable number of Protestant Nationalists had already taken their part in Irish history. The government-sponsored Land Commission then bought up
7301-443: 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
7450-525: 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
7599-447: The Ascendancy in Ireland. 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 the North Channel , the Irish Sea , and St George's Channel . Ireland
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#17327660290887748-433: The Ascendancy now faced competition from prosperous Catholics in parliament and in the higher-level professional ranks such as the judiciary and the army that were needed in the growing British Empire . From 1840 corporations running towns and cities in Ireland became more democratically elected; previously they were dominated until 1793 by guild members who had to be Protestants. The festering sense of native grievance
7897-413: The Crown's official split with Rome. The poet Edmund Spenser was one of the chief advocates of this view. He argued in A View on the Present State of Ireland (1595) that a failure to conquer Ireland fully in the past had led the Old generations of English settlers to become corrupted by the native Irish culture. In the course of the 16th century, the religious division had the effect of alienating most of
8046-425: 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,
8195-436: The English language (though sometimes in arcane local dialects such as Yola and Fingallian ), used English law, and in some respects lived in a manner similar to that found in England. However, in the provinces, the Normans in Ireland ( Irish : Gaill meaning "foreigners") were at times indistinguishable from the surrounding Gaelic lords and chieftains. Dynasties such as the Fitzgeralds , Butlers, Burkes, and Walls adopted
8344-455: 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
8493-406: 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,
8642-471: The Hiberno-Normans declined during the 16th century after the Anglican " New English " elite settled in Ireland from the end of the Tudor period ; and they came to be known as Seanghaill ( Old English ) at this time. Many Roman Catholic Norman-Irish families spread throughout the world as part of the Irish diaspora ceasing, in most cases, to identify as Norman, whether originally Anglo-Norman, Cambro-Norman, or Scoto-Norman. Other Old English families, like
8791-456: 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
8940-433: The Irish Ascendancy even became adherents of the cause of Irish independence. Whereas the Old English FitzGerald Dukes of Leinster held the premier title in the Irish House of Lords when it was abolished in 1800, a scion of that Ascendancy family, the Irish nationalist Lord Edward Fitzgerald , was a brother of the second duke. The following is a list of Hiberno-Norman surnames, many of them unique to Ireland. For example,
9089-469: 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
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#17327660290889238-527: 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
9387-493: The Normans in Ireland at different times in its existence, depending on how they define this community's sense of collective identity. In his book Surnames of Ireland , Irish historian Edward MacLysaght makes a distinction between Hiberno-Norman and Anglo-Norman surnames summing up fundamental differences between "English Rebels" (Hiberno-Norman) and "Loyal Lieges" (Anglo-Normans). The Geraldines of Desmond , for instance, could accurately be described as Old English, for that
9536-494: The Normans in the Lordship of Ireland to promote the interests of the Kingdom of England , through the use of the English language (despite the fact that they spoke Norman French rather than English), law, trade, currency, social customs, and farming methods. The Norman community in Ireland was, however, never monolithic. In some areas, especially in the Pale around Dublin , and in relatively urbanised communities in Kilkenny , Limerick , Cork and south Wexford , people spoke
9685-488: The Old Anglo-Irish community was forced to go over the heads of the New English in Dublin and appeal directly to their sovereign in his role as King of Ireland which further disgruntled them. First from James I , and then from his son and successor, Charles I , they sought a package of reforms known as The Graces , which included provisions for religious toleration and civil equality for Roman Catholics in return for their payment of increased taxes. On several occasions in
9834-419: The Old Anglo-Irish from the state, and bolstered by Jacobite reverts like the Dillons propelled them into making common cause with the Gaelic Irish under the Irish Catholic identity. The first confrontation between the Old English and the English government in Ireland came with the cess crisis of 1556–1583. During that period, the Pale community resisted paying for the English army sent to Ireland to put down
9983-471: The Pale and the rest of Ireland was therefore in reality not rigid or impermeable, but rather one of gradual cultural and economic differences across wide areas. Consequently, the English identity expressed by representatives of the Pale when writing in English to the English Crown often contrasted radically with their cultural affinities and kinship ties to the Gaelic world around them, and this difference between their cultural reality and their expressed identity
10132-404: The Palesmen objected to paying new taxes that had not first been approved by them in the Parliament of Ireland . The dispute, however, also soon took on a religious dimension, especially after 1570, when Elizabeth I of England was excommunicated by Pope Pius V 's papal bull Regnans in Excelsis . In response, Elizabeth banned the Jesuits from her realms as they were seen as being among
10281-480: The Protestant yeoman class void being filled by a newly rising "Catholic Ascendancy", the dozens of remaining Protestant large landowners were left isolated within the Catholic population without the benefit of the legal and social conventions upon which they had depended to maintain power and influence. Local government was democratized by the Act of 1898 , passing many local powers to councilors who were usually supportive of nationalism. Formerly landlords had controlled
10430-412: 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 is free of extremes in temperature. Much of Ireland
10579-414: The Roman Catholic cause and the almost wholesale dispossession of the Old English nobility leading to a revival of the cause before the Williamite war in Ireland (1689–1691) evolving into Jacobitism afterwards. Nevertheless, in the 1700s, Parliamentarians had become the dominant class in the country and with the end of the Jacobites in 1788, the Old Anglo-Irish cause evolved into the Irish Rebellion of 1798
10728-551: 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. Hiberno-Normans Hiberno-Normans , or Norman Irish ( Irish : Normánach ; Old Irish : Gall , 'foreigners'), refer to Irish families descended from Norman settlers who arrived during
10877-700: 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
11026-582: 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
11175-625: 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
11324-484: 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 ,
11473-440: 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
11622-498: 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,
11771-645: The backdrop of the Penal Laws which discriminated against them both, and a country becoming increasingly Parliamentarian , the old distinction between Old English and Gaelic Irish Roman Catholics gradually faded away, Changing religion, or rather conforming to the State Church , was always an option for any of the King of Ireland's subjects, and an open avenue to inclusion in the officially recognised "body politic", and, indeed, many Old English such as Edmund Burke were newly-conforming Anglican Catholics who retained
11920-720: The common people of the said half counties [of The Pale] that obeyeth the King's laws, for the most part be of Irish birth, of Irish habit, and of Irish language." English administrators such as Fynes Moryson , writing in the last years of the sixteenth century, shared the latter view of the Anglo-Irish: "the English Irish and the very citizens (excepting those of Dublin where the lord deputy resides) though they could speak English as well as we, yet commonly speak Irish among themselves, and were hardly induced by our familiar conversation to speak English with us". Moryson's views on
12069-599: The constituencies of the Irish Parliament were changed so that the New English would have a slight majority in the Irish House of Commons . Thirdly, in the 1630s, many members of the Old English landowning class were forced to confirm the ancient title to their land-holdings often in the absence of title deeds, which resulted in some having to pay substantial fines to retain their property, while others ended up losing some or all of their land in this complex legal process (see Plantations of Ireland ). The political response of
12218-441: The country's progress. Reform, though not complete, came in three main stages and was effected over 50 years: The confidence of the Ascendancy was manifested towards the end of the 18th century by its adoption of a nationalist Irish, though still exclusively Protestant, identity and the formation in the 1770s of Henry Grattan 's Patriot Party . The formation of the Irish Volunteers to defend Ireland from French invasion during
12367-422: The crown and of more stridently anti-Irish members of the Ascendancy. With the defeat of Catholic attempts to regain power and lands in Ireland, a ruling class which became known later as the "Protestant Ascendancy" sought to ensure dominance with the passing of a number of laws to restrict the religious, political and economic activities of Catholics and to some extent, Protestant Dissenters . These aspects provided
12516-616: The cultural fluidity of the so-called English Pale were echoed by other commentators such as Richard Stanihurst who, while protesting the Englishness of the Palesmen in 1577, opined that "Irish was universally gaggled in the English Pale". Beyond the Pale, the term 'English', if and when it was applied, referred to a thin layer of landowners and nobility, who ruled over Gaelic Irish freeholders and tenants. The division between
12665-628: 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
12814-694: 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
12963-461: 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
13112-536: The emergence of Hiberno-English . Some of the most prominent Hiberno-Norman families were the Burkes (de Burghs), Butlers , and FitzGeralds who over time were said to have become " more Irish than the Irish themselves " by merging culturally and intermarrying with the Gaels . One of the most common Irish surnames , Walsh , derives from Welsh Normans who arrived in Ireland as part of this group. The dominance of
13261-460: 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
13410-485: 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
13559-407: 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
13708-539: 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
13857-576: 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
14006-468: The forced recall of the liberal Lord Fitzwilliam in 1795 by conservatives, parliament was effectively abandoned as a vehicle for change, giving rise to the United Irishmen – liberal elements across religious, ethnic, and class lines who began to plan for armed rebellion. The resulting and largely Protestant-led rebellion was crushed; the Act of Union of 1801 was passed partly in response to
14155-478: 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
14304-645: 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.
14453-422: The influential Celtic Revival movement, and later authors such as Somerville and Ross , Hubert Butler and Elizabeth Bowen . Ballerina Dame Ninette de Valois , Samuel Beckett (also a Nobel prize-winner) and the artist Sir William Orpen came from the same social background. Chris de Burgh and the rock concert promoter Lord Conyngham (formerly Lord Mount Charles) are more recent high-profile descendants of
14602-512: 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
14751-558: 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
14900-482: 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
15049-561: The manner of [Roman] Catholic martyrs, proclaiming they were suffering for their religious beliefs". This episode marked an important break between the Pale and the English regime in Ireland, and between the Old English and the New English. In the subsequent Nine Years' War (1594–1603), the Pale and the Old English towns remained loyal being in favour of outward loyalty to the English Crown during another rebellion. However, it
15198-608: 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
15347-845: 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
15496-489: The native language, legal system , and other customs such as fostering and intermarriage with the Gaelic Irish and the patronage of Irish poetry and music. Such people became regarded as " more Irish than the Irish themselves " as a result of this process (see also History of Ireland (1169–1536) ). The most accurate name for the Gaelicised Anglo-Irish throughout the late medieval period was Hiberno-Norman,
15645-606: 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
15794-410: The passing of various Penal Laws , which discriminated against the majority Irish Catholic population of the island. While the native Irish Gaels comprised the majority of the Irish Catholic population, long-standing fully Gaelicised and intermarried Norman families (e.g. de Burgo/Burke , FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty , etc.), having previously held immense power in Ireland, became major targets of
15943-557: The poetry books of the Uí Bhroin of Wicklow, as a sign of unity between Gaeil and Gaill; he viewed it as a sign of an emerging Irish nationalism . Breandán Ó Buachalla essentially agreed with him, Tom Dunne and Tom Bartlett were less sure. It was noted in 2011 that Irish nationalist politicians elected between 1918 and 2011 could often be distinguished by surname. Fine Gael parliamentarians were more likely to bear surnames of Norman origin than those from Fianna Fáil , who had
16092-498: The poets referred to hibernicised people of Norman stock as Dubhghaill in order to grant them a longer vintage in Ireland than the Fionnghaill (meaning 'fair-haired foreigners', i.e. Norwegian Vikings as opposed to Dubhghaill meaning 'black-haired foreigners', i.e. Danish Vikings). This follows on from his earlier arguments that the term Éireannaigh (Irish people) as we currently know it also emerged during this period in
16241-564: The political and religious conflicts of the 16th and 17th centuries, largely due to their continued adherence to the Roman Catholic religion. Following the Glorious Revolution the Jacobites attempted to replace the distinction between "Norman" and "Gaelic Irish" under the new denominator of Irish Catholic by 1700, as they were both barred from positions of wealth and power by the so-called New English settlers, who became known as
16390-511: The political basis for the new laws passed for several decades after 1695. Interdicts faced by Catholics and Dissenters under the Penal Laws were: They also covered the non-conforming (" Dissenter ") Protestant denominations such as Presbyterians , where they: However, those protected by the Treaty were still excluded from public political life. The situation was confused by the policy of
16539-400: 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
16688-530: 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
16837-469: The prefix Fitz meaning "son of", in surnames like FitzGerald appears most frequently in Hiberno-Norman surnames (cf. modern French fils de with the same meaning). However, a few names with the prefix "Fitz-" sound Norman but are actually of native Gaelic origin; Fitzpatrick was the surname Brian Mac Giolla Phádraig had to take as part of his submission to Henry VIII in 1537, and FitzDermot
16986-436: 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
17135-431: The rebellion was over, several hundred Old English Palesmen had been arrested and sentenced to death, either for outright rebellion, or because they were suspected rebels because of their religious views. Most were eventually pardoned after paying fines of up to 100 pounds, a very large sum for the time. However, twenty landed gentlemen from some of the Pale's leading Old English families were executed; some of them "died in
17284-472: The rebels and fear of government reprisals against all Roman Catholics. The main long-term reason was, however, a desire to reverse the anti-Roman Catholic policies that had been pursued by the English authorities over the previous 40 years in carrying out their administration of Ireland. Nevertheless, despite their formation of an Irish government in Confederate Ireland , the Old English identity
17433-610: 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,
17582-542: The same time the British Government included Anglo-Irish figures at the highest level such as Lord Castlereagh (1769–1828) and George Canning (1770–1827), as well others such as the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816). Even during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Irish nationalism became increasingly tied to a Roman Catholic identity, it continued to count among its leaders Protestants like Charles Stewart Parnell (1846–1891). With
17731-489: 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
17880-472: 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
18029-531: 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
18178-486: The true identity of the Old English was now Roman Catholic and Irish, rather than English. English policy thus hastened the assimilation of the Old English with the Gaels. In 1641, many of the Old English community made a decisive break with their past as loyal subjects by joining the Irish Rebellion of 1641 . Many factors influenced the decision of the Old English to join in the rebellion; among these were fear of
18327-460: 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
18476-514: The west. In 1870 302 proprietors (1.5% of the total) owned 33.7% of the land, and 50% of the country was in the hands of 750 families of the Ascendency. At the other end of the scale, 15,527 (80.5%) owned between them only 19.3% of the land. 95% of the land of Ireland was calculated to be under minority control of those within the established church . Absenteeism is accepted as having been an almost universal practice in Ireland and detrimental to
18625-541: 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
18774-484: Was "actuated by the most monopolising spirit". The phrase became popularised outside Ireland by Edmund Burke , another liberal Protestant, and his ironic comment in 1792: "A word has been lately struck in the mint of the castle of Dublin ; thence it was conveyed to the Tholsel , or city-hall, where, having passed the touch of the corporation, so respectably stamped and vouched, it soon became current in parliament, and
18923-640: Was Mac Gilla Mo-Cholmóc of the Uí Dúnchada sept of the Uí Dúnlainge based at Lyons Hill , County Dublin). The annals of Ireland make a distinction between Gaill and Sasanaigh . The former were split into Fionnghaill or Dubhghaill , depending upon how much the poet wished to flatter his patron. There are a number of texts in Hiberno-Norman French, most of them administrative (including commercial) or legal, although there are
19072-486: 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
19221-483: Was a part of the debate over Catholic emancipation . In the event, Catholics were allowed to vote again in 1793, but could not sit in parliament until 1829. The phrase therefore was seen to apply across classes to rural landowners as well as city merchants. The Dublin resolution was disapproved of by a wide range of commentators, such as the Marquess of Abercorn , who called it "silly", and William Drennan who said it
19370-517: 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
19519-486: 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
19668-525: Was carried back by the Speaker of the House of Commons in great pomp as an offering of homage from whence it came. The word is Ascendancy." This was then used by Catholics seeking further political reforms. In the Irish language , the term used was An Chinsealacht , from cinseal , meaning 'dominance'. The process of Protestant Ascendancy was facilitated and formalized in the legal system after 1691 by
19817-488: 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
19966-602: 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
20115-475: 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
20264-559: 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
20413-480: Was magnified by the Great Irish Famine of 1845–52, with many of the Ascendancy reviled as absentee landlords whose agents were shipping locally produced food overseas , while much of the population starved, over a million dying of hunger or associated diseases. Ireland remained a net exporter of food throughout most of the famine. About 20% of the population emigrated. The Encumbered Estates Act of 1849
20562-476: Was one of the few ways one could attempt to improve one's lot in life. A handful of members of formerly powerful Irish clans also chose to convert, learn English, swear fealty to the King, and perform roles on behalf of the Anglo-Irish of The Pale in exchange for lands and other privileges. Records of these conversions were tracked in "Convert Rolls", which can be located through various online resources. Interestingly, early 20th century census records inform us that
20711-514: Was passed to allow landlords to sell mortgaged land, where a sale would be restricted because the land was "entailed" . Over ten percent of landlords went bankrupt as their tenants could not pay any rent due to the famine. One example was the Browne family which lost over 50,000 acres (200 km) in County Mayo . As a consequence, the remnants of the Ascendancy were gradually displaced during
20860-429: 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,
21009-509: Was recognised by the Holy See as the legitimate monarch of the Kingdom of England , Kingdom of Scotland and the separate Kingdom of Ireland until his death in January 1766, and Roman Catholics were morally obliged to support him. This provided the main political excuse for the new laws, but it was not entirely exclusive as there was no law against anyone converting to Protestantism. While
21158-645: 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 ,
21307-555: Was stepped up by the Anti-Treaty IRA during the subsequent Irish Civil War (1922–23), who targeted some remaining wealthy and influential Protestants who had accepted nominations as Senators in the new Seanad of the Irish Free State . Many members of the Ascendancy played a role in literary and artistic matters in 19th- and 20th-century Ireland, notably Oscar Wilde and Nobel prize-winning author George Bernard Shaw , and Lady Gregory and William Butler Yeats who started
21456-558: Was still an important division within the Irish Roman Catholic community. During the Irish Confederate Wars (1641–1653), the Old English were often accused by the Gaelic Irish of having been too hasty to sign a treaty with Charles I of England at the expense of the interests of Irish landowners and the Roman Catholic religion. The ensuing Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653), saw further defeat of
21605-420: Was the English Government's administration in Ireland along loyalist lines particularly following the failure of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 that would lead to severing the main political ties between the Old English and England itself. First, in 1609, Roman Catholics were banned from holding public office in Ireland forcing many Old English like the Dillons to outwardly adopt Anglican Catholicism. Then, in 1613,
21754-446: Was the Loyalist administration's policies which created an oppositional and clearly defined Old English community. Brendan Bradshaw , in his study of the poetry of late-16th century Tír Chónaill , points out that the Normans were not referred to there as Seanghaill ("Old Foreigners") but rather as Fionnghaill and Dubhghaill . He argued in a lecture to the Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Institute in University College Dublin that
21903-460: Was their political and cultural world. Likewise Butlers of Ormond , could accurately be described as Hiberno-Norman in their political outlook and alliances even after they married into the royal family . Some historians refer to them as Cambro-Normans – Seán Duffy of Trinity College Dublin , invariably uses that term. After many centuries in Ireland following just a century in Wales or England it appears odd that their entire history since 1169
22052-420: 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
22201-481: 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
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