132-671: Brendan Bowyer (12 October 1938 – 28 May 2020) was an Irish singer best known for fronting the Royal Showband and The Big Eight, and who had five number one hits in Ireland . He was also renowned for having The Beatles open for the Royal Showband at a concert on 2 April 1962 at the Pavilion Theatre, Liverpool , England, some six months before the release of The Beatles first single " Love Me Do ", in October 1962. Bowyer
264-774: A close link with the Icelandic people . In the Icelandic Laxdœla saga , for example, "even slaves are highborn, descended from the kings of Ireland." The first name of Njáll Þorgeirsson , the chief protagonist of Njáls saga , is a variation of the Irish name Neil . According to Eirik the Red's Saga , the first European couple to have a child born in North America was descended from the Viking Queen of Dublin , Aud
396-426: A decrease in human impact on plant life in the bogs in the third century, and specifically that "the impact of human activity upon the flora around the bogs from which the pollen came was less between c. 200 BC and c. AD 300 than either before or after." The third and fourth centuries saw a rapid recovery. The reasons for the decline and recovery are uncertain, but it has been suggested that recovery may be linked to
528-673: A flint worked by a human found in 1968 at Mell, Drogheda , is much older, probably well pre-dating 70,000 BC, and this is normally regarded as having been carried to Ireland on an ice sheet, probably from what is now the bottom of the Irish Sea . In 2021, a reindeer bone fragment discovered in Castlepook Cave near Doneraile , Co. Cork in 1972, was dated to 33,000 years ago, establishing human activity in Ireland more than 20,000 years earlier than previously thought. A British site on
660-695: A frequency of 65%. This subclade is also dominant in Scotland, Wales and Brittany and descends from a common ancestor who lived in about 2,500 BC. According to 2009 studies by Bramanti et al. and Malmström et al. on mtDNA , related western European populations appear to be largely from the neolithic and not paleolithic era, as previously thought. There was discontinuity between mesolithic central Europe and modern European populations mainly due to an extremely high frequency of haplogroup U (particularly U5) types in mesolithic central European sites. The existence of an especially strong genetic association between
792-601: A good degree of social organization, include linear earthworks such as the Black Pig's Dyke and Cliadh Dubh , probably representing boundaries, and acting as hindrances to cattle-raids, and "toghers" or wooden trackways across boggy areas, of which the best-known is the Corlea Trackway , a corduroy road dated to 148-147 BC, and about a kilometre long and some three metres wide. The late Iron Age saw sizeable changes in human activity. Thomas Charles-Edwards coined
924-502: A great number of archaeological finds have been recovered from these. The anaerobic conditions sometimes preserve organic materials exceptionally well, as with a number of bog bodies , a Mesolithic wicker fish-trap, and a Bronze Age textile with delicate tassels of horse hair. During the Last Glacial Maximum , (between about 26,000 and 20,000 years BP) ice sheets more than 3,000 m (9,800 ft) thick scoured
1056-956: A named person. Mac is the Irish for son. Names that begin with "O'" include: Ó Bánion ( O'Banion ), Ó Briain ( O'Brien ), Ó Ceallaigh ( O'Kelly ), Ó Conchobhair ( O'Connor, O'Conor ), Ó Chonaill ( O'Connell ), O'Coiligh ( Cox ), Ó Cuilinn ( Cullen ), Ó Domhnaill ( O'Donnell ), Ó Drisceoil ( O'Driscoll ), Ó hAnnracháin, ( Hanrahan ), Ó Máille ( O'Malley ), Ó Mathghamhna ( O'Mahony ), Ó Néill ( O'Neill ), Ó Sé ( O'Shea ), Ó Súilleabháin ( O'Sullivan ), Ó Caiside/Ó Casaide ( Cassidy ), Ó Brádaigh/Mac Bradaigh ( Brady ) and Ó Tuathail ( O'Toole ). Names that begin with Mac or Mc include: Mac Cárthaigh ( McCarthy ), Mac Diarmada ( McDermott ), Mac Domhnaill ( McDonnell ), and Mac Mathghamhna ( McMahon ) Mac(g) Uidhir ( Maguire ), Mac Dhonnchadha ( McDonagh ), Mac Conmara ( MacNamara ), Mac Craith ( McGrath ), Mac Aodha ( McGee ), Mac Aonghuis ( McGuinness ), Mac Cana ( McCann ), Mac Lochlainn ( McLaughlin ) and Mac Conallaidh ( McNally ). Mac
1188-508: A narrow walkway to the shore. Some use or extend natural islets, and the largest probably housed a number of families, and animals. It is thought that most of the 1,200-odd crannogs in Ireland were begun in the Bronze Age, although many sites seem to have been used, continuously or intermittently, over very long periods, even into medieval times. The large Dowris Hoard , originally of over 200 items, mostly in bronze, has given its name to
1320-424: A period reaching into centuries, and show no signs of use. Miniature axes, too small to be useful, were made, and a "tiny porcellanite axe" has been found in a passage tomb; another example has a hole for a cord, and may have been worn as jewellery or an amulet . Other stone shapes made were chisels , adzes , maces and spearheads. Only one decorated macehead has been found, in one of the tombs at Knowth , but it
1452-580: A process that began in central Europe as LBK ( Linear Pottery culture ) about 6000 BC. Within several hundred years this culture was present in northern France. An alternative Neolithic culture, La Hoguette culture, that arrived in France's northwestern region appears to be a derivative of the Ibero Italian-Eastern Adriatic Impressed Cardial Ware culture ( Cardium pottery ). The La Hoguette culture, like
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#17327902690781584-545: A small rectangular stone chest, covered with a stone slab and buried a short distance below the surface. The body might be cremated, or not. Decorated pots often accompanied the remains, and later cremated remains were placed inside the urn, which was turned upside-down, and might also have grave goods of various sorts. Numerous stone circles were also erected at this time, chiefly in Ulster and Munster. Crannogs are timber homes built in shallow lakes for security, often with
1716-776: A variety of styles, and often polished. The products of axe factories next to sources of porcellanite , an especially good stone, were traded across Ireland; the main ones were Tievebulliagh and Rathlin Island , both in County Antrim . There were also imports from Britain, including products of the Langdale axe industry of the English Lake District . There was a much rarer class of imported prestige axe head made from jadeite from north Italy; these may have been slowly traded across Europe to reach Ireland over
1848-570: A voyage of exploration to northwestern Europe in about 325 BC, but his account of it, known widely in Antiquity , has not survived and is now known only through the writings of others. On this voyage, he circumnavigated and visited a considerable part of modern-day Great Britain and Ireland . He was the first known scientific visitor to see and describe the Celtic and Germanic tribes. The terms Irish and Ireland are probably derived from
1980-471: A wider political and military significance. There are several ringforts in the complex topping the Hill of Tara , which seems to have its origins in the late Iron Age, although the site also includes a Neolithic passage grave and other earlier tombs. This is one of a number of major sites connected in later literature and mythology with kingship, and probably had a ritual and religious significance, though it
2112-414: A woman in Irish uses the feminine prefix nic (meaning daughter) in place of mac. Thus a boy may be called Mac Domhnaill whereas his sister would be called Nic Dhomhnaill or Ní Dhomhnaill – the insertion of 'h' follows the female prefix in the case of most consonants (bar H, L, N, R, & T). A son has the same surname as his father. A female's surname replaces Ó with Ní (reduced from Iníon Uí – "daughter of
2244-445: Is a presumed invasion of Wales , which according to a Welsh manuscript may have taken place around the 7th century. In the words of Seumas MacManus: If we compare the history of Ireland in the 6th century, after Christianity was received, with that of the 4th century, before the coming of Christianity, the wonderful change and contrast is probably more striking than any other such change in any other nation known to history. Following
2376-700: Is another monument type that dates to the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. These carvings are found on open-air boulders and outcrops and the most common motifs are cup and ring marks and radial grooves. This art is often referred to as Atlantic rock art due its similarity to other carvings across Atlantic Europe. In Ireland, the art appears in clusters with the most significant concentrations in County Fermanagh and County Donegal , County Wicklow and County Carlow , County Louth and County Monaghan , Cork, and Kerry. The densest clusters are on
2508-591: Is another. During the Bronze Age, the climate of Ireland deteriorated and extensive deforestation took place. The population of Ireland at the end of the Bronze Age was probably in excess of 100,000, and may have been as high as 200,000. It is possible that it was not much greater than it had been at the height of the Neolithic. In Ireland, the Bronze Age lasted until c. 500 BC, later than in continental Europe and also Britain. The Irish Iron Age has long been thought to begin around 500 BC and then continue until
2640-570: Is commonly anglicised Mc. However, "Mac" and "Mc" are not mutually exclusive, so, for example, both "MacCarthy" and "McCarthy" are used. Both "Mac" and "Ó'" prefixes are both Irish in origin, Anglicized Prefix Mc is far more common in Ireland than Scotland with 2/3 of all Mc Surnames being Irish in origin However, "Mac" is more common in Scotland and Ulster than in the rest of Ireland; furthermore, "Ó" surnames are less common in Scotland having been brought to Scotland from Ireland. The proper surname for
2772-677: Is extremely fine. Some finds may also be miniature maceheads. Pierced beads and pendants are found, and two necklaces of shells (from Phoenix Park in Dublin) are very carefully made, with graded periwinkle shells; these were on the remains of two males. As an example of the exceptional preservation sometimes possible in items found in anaerobic bogs, part of a finely woven bag with circular handles has survived; it used reedy plant material wound round thin strips of wood. Decorated pottery, apparently made for funerary rather than domestic use, appears to imitate basketry patterns. Open-air rock art
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#17327902690782904-739: Is from Ferriter's Cove on the Dingle Peninsula , where a flint knife, cattle bones and a sheep's tooth were found and dated to c. 4350 BC . At the Céide Fields in County Mayo , an extensive Neolithic field system (arguably the oldest known in the world) has been preserved beneath a blanket of peat . Consisting of small fields separated from one another by dry-stone walls, the Céide Fields were farmed for several centuries between 3500 and 3000 BC. Wheat and barley were
3036-511: Is known as the Copper Age or Chalcolithic , commenced about 2500 BC. Bronze was used for the manufacture of both weapons and tools. Swords, axes, daggers, hatchets, halberds, awls, drinking utensils and horn-shaped trumpets are just some of the items that have been unearthed at Bronze Age sites. Irish craftsmen became particularly noted for the horn-shaped trumpet, which was made by the cire perdue , or lost wax , process. Copper used in
3168-529: Is made up of the Republic of Ireland (officially called Ireland ) and Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom ). The people of Northern Ireland hold various national identities including Irish, British or some combination thereof. The Irish have their own unique customs, language , music , dance , sports , cuisine and mythology . Although Irish (Gaeilge) was their main language in
3300-534: Is mostly lost. The return of freezing conditions in the Younger Dryas , which lasted from 10,900 BC to 9700 BC, may have depopulated Ireland. During the Younger Dryas, sea levels continued to rise, and an ice-free land bridge between Great Britain and Ireland never returned. The last ice age fully came to an end in Ireland about 8000 BC. Until the single 2016 Palaeolithic dating described above,
3432-420: Is no archaeological or placename evidence for a migration or a takeover by a small group of elites. He states that "the Irish migration hypothesis seems to be a classic case of long-held historical beliefs influencing not only the interpretation of documentary sources themselves but the subsequent invasion paradigm being accepted uncritically in the related disciplines of archaeology and linguistics." Dál Riata and
3564-488: Is now impossible to be clear as to what this was. Navan Fort ( Emain Macha ), another major hilltop site, had a very large circular building constructed on it about 100 BC. It was forty metres across, with 275 tree-posts in rings. The largest was the central post, a tree felled about 95 BC. Within the century following the whole building was destroyed, apparently in a ritual fashion. Other large-scale constructions, requiring
3696-635: Is referred to as the Midlandian glaciation . During the period between 17,500 and 12,000 years ago, a warmer period referred to as the Bølling-Allerød allowed for the rehabitation of northern areas of Europe by roaming hunter-gatherers . Genetic evidence suggests this reoccupation began in southwestern Europe, and faunal remains suggest the existence of a refugium in Iberia that extended up into southern France . Species originally attracted to
3828-750: Is some disagreement about when speakers of a Celtic language first arrived in Ireland. It is thought by some scholars to be associated with the Beaker People of the Bronze Age, however others argue that " Celts " arrived much later at the beginning of the Iron Age. The Bronze Age began once copper was alloyed with tin to produce true bronze artefacts, and this took place around 2000 BC, when some "Ballybeg-type" flat axes and associated metalwork were produced. The tin needed to be imported, normally from Cornwall . The period preceding this, in which Lough Ravel and most Ballybeg axes were produced, and which
3960-495: Is that they are descendants of Spanish traders or of the few sailors of the Spanish Armada who were shipwrecked on Ireland's west coast, but there is little evidence for this. Irish Travellers are an ethnic people of Ireland . A DNA study found they originally descended from the general Irish population, however, they are now very distinct from it. The emergence of Travellers as a distinct group occurred long before
4092-649: The Abbey of St Gall in Switzerland, and Bobbio Abbey in Italy. Common to both the monastic and the secular bardic schools were Irish and Latin . With Latin, the early Irish scholars "show almost a like familiarity that they do with their own Gaelic". There is evidence also that Hebrew and Greek were studied, the latter probably being taught at Iona. "The knowledge of Greek", says Professor Sandys in his History of Classical Scholarship, "which had almost vanished in
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4224-516: The Brehons would hold their courts upon hills to arbitrate the matters of the lordship. Indeed, the Tudor lawyer John Davies described the Irish people with respect to their laws: There is no people under the sun that doth love equal and indifferent (impartial) justice better than the Irish, or will rest better satisfied with the execution thereof, although it be against themselves, as they may have
4356-678: The Corionototae of northern Britain). Up to about 150 BC, there are many finds that show stylistic influence from continental Europe (as in the preceding Dowris phase), and some direct imports. After that date, relationships with British styles predominate, perhaps reflecting some movement of people. The Keshcarrigan Bowl , possibly made in Britain, is an example of this. Another cup found in Fore, County Westmeath does seem to be an import. Examples from Iron Age Ireland of La Tène style ,
4488-656: The DQ2.5 aspect of the AH8.1 haplotype may have been involved in the slowing of cereal culture into Ireland, Scotland and Scandinavia since this haplotype confers susceptibility to a Triticeae protein induced disease as well as Type I diabetes and other autoimmune diseases that may have arisen as an indirect result of Neolithisation. Some regions of Ireland showed patterns of pastoralism that indicated that some Neolithic peoples continued to move and indicates that pastoral activities dominated agrarian activities in many regions or that there
4620-481: The Great Famine , a genetic analysis shows. The research suggests that Traveller origins may in fact date as far back as 420 years to 1597. The Plantation of Ulster began around that time, with native Irish displaced from the land, perhaps to form a nomadic population. One Roman historian records that the Irish people were divided into "sixteen different nations" or tribes. Traditional histories assert that
4752-687: The Irish diaspora one of the largest of any nation. Historically, emigration from Ireland has been the result of conflict, famine and economic issues. People of Irish descent are found mainly in English-speaking countries, especially Great Britain , the United States , Canada , New Zealand and Australia . There are also significant numbers in Argentina , Mexico , Brazil , Germany , and The United Arab Emirates . The United States has
4884-603: The Iveragh and Dingle peninsulas in Kerry. Metallurgy arrived in Ireland with new people, generally known as the Bell Beaker People from their characteristic pottery, in the shape of an inverted bell. This was quite different from the finely made, round-bottomed pottery of the Neolithic. It is found, for example, at Ross Island , and associated with copper mining there, which had begun by at least 2,400 BC. There
5016-755: The MacGrath . Irish physicians, such as the O'Briens in Munster or the MacCailim Mor in the Western Isles , were renowned in the courts of England, Spain, Portugal and the Low Countries. Learning was not exclusive to the hereditary learned families, however; one such example is Cathal Mac Manus , the 15th century diocesan priest who wrote the Annals of Ulster . Other learned families included
5148-633: The Mic Aodhagáin and Clann Fhir Bhisigh . It was this latter family which produced Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh , the 17th century genealogist and compiler of the Leabhar na nGenealach . (see also Irish medical families ). The 16th century Age of exploration brought an interest among the English to colonize Ireland with the reign of the Tudors. King Henry IV established surrender and regrants to
5280-819: The Penal laws . A knowledge of Latin was common among the poor Irish mountaineers in the 17th century, who spoke it on special occasions, while cattle were bought and sold in Greek in the mountain market-places of County Kerry . For a comparatively small population of about 6 million people, Ireland made an enormous contribution to literature. Irish literature encompasses the Irish and English languages. Notable Irish writers , playwrights and poets include Jonathan Swift , Laurence Sterne , Oscar Wilde , Oliver Goldsmith , James Joyce , George Bernard Shaw , Samuel Beckett , Bram Stoker , W.B. Yeats , Séamus Heaney and Brendan Behan . Known as An Górta Mór ("The Great Hurt") in
5412-465: The West Country Men , were active in Ireland at around this time. The Enterprise of Ulster which pitted Shane O'Neill (Irish chieftain) against Queen Elizabeth I was a total failure This was followed by the somewhat successful first British-English colony the Munster planations which had a population of 4,000 in 1580 and in the 1620s may have grown to 16,000 After the defeat of
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5544-471: The "Golden Age" of Roman Britain in the third and fourth centuries. The archaeological evidence for trade with, or raids on, Roman Britain is strongest in northern Leinster , centred on modern County Dublin , followed by the coast of County Antrim , with lesser concentrations in the Rosses on the north coast of County Donegal and around Carlingford Lough . As Roman Britain collapsed politically, there
5676-532: The Bronze Age, and also continuing to be used into the Early Medieval period. Although today seen as mostly dating from the early historic period, some of the perhaps 60,000 ringforts or raths in Ireland date back to the Late Iron Age. These vary greatly in size and function, with smaller ones a single-family farmstead (with slaves), or merely an enclosure for animals, and larger ones clearly having
5808-653: The Ciannachta, Eóganachta, and possibly the Soghain, a deified ancestor. This practice is paralleled by the Anglo-Saxon dynasties. One legend states that the Irish were descended from the Milesians , who supposedly conquered Ireland around 1000 BC or later. Haplogroup R1b is the dominant haplogroup among Irish males, reaching a frequency of almost 80%. R-L21 is the dominant subclade within Ireland, reaching
5940-678: The Deep-minded , and a Gaelic slave brought to Iceland. The arrival of the Anglo-Normans brought also the Welsh , Flemish , Anglo-Saxons , and Bretons . Most of these were assimilated into Irish culture and polity by the 15th century, with the exception of some of the walled towns and the Pale areas. The Late Middle Ages also saw the settlement of Scottish gallowglass families of mixed Gaelic-Norse and Pict descent, mainly in
6072-553: The Dowris Phase or period, as a term for the final phase of the Irish Bronze Age, about 900-600 BC. With 48 examples, the hoard contained all but two of the known examples of the distinctive "crotals", bronze rattles in the shape of a bull's testicle , as well as 26 horns or trumpets, weapons, and vessels. The rather earlier Dunaverney flesh-hook (perhaps 1050–900 BC) is suggestive of a culture where elite feasting
6204-596: The Fianna and the Fenian Cycle were purely fictional, they would still be representative of the character of the Irish people: ...such beautiful fictions of such beautiful ideals, by themselves, presume and prove beautiful-souled people, capable of appreciating lofty ideals. The introduction of Christianity to the Irish people during the 5th century brought a radical change to the Irish people's foreign relations. The only military raid abroad recorded after that century
6336-537: The Irish and other Celtic populations (Welsh, Highland Scots and Cornish) and showing a possible link to the Bretons ; and a 'West Norwegian' component related to the Viking era. As of 2016, 10,100 Irish nationals of African descent referred to themselves as "Black Irish" in the national census. The term "Black Irish" is sometimes used outside Ireland to refer to Irish people with black hair and dark eyes. One theory
6468-583: The Irish and the Basques was first challenged in 2005, and in 2007 scientists began looking at the possibility of a more recent Mesolithic- or even Neolithic-era entrance of R1b into Europe. A new study published in 2010 by Balaresque et al. implies either a Mesolithic- or Neolithic- (not Paleolithic-) era entrance of R1b into Europe. Unlike previous studies, large sections of autosomal DNA were analyzed in addition to paternal Y-DNA markers. They detected an autosomal component present in modern Europeans which
6600-673: The Irish came to be seen as a nation of "saints and scholars". The 6th-century Irish monk and missionary Columbanus is regarded as one of the "fathers of Europe", followed by saints Cillian and Fergal . The scientist Robert Boyle is considered the "father of chemistry ", and Robert Mallet one of the "fathers of seismology ". Irish literature has produced famous writers in both Irish- and English-language traditions, such as Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin , Dáibhí Ó Bruadair , Jonathan Swift , Oscar Wilde , W. B. Yeats , Samuel Beckett , James Joyce , Máirtín Ó Cadhain , Eavan Boland , and Seamus Heaney . Notable Irish explorers include Brendan
6732-438: The Irish charts with his tribute, "Thank You Elvis." Having enjoyed a semi-retirement phase, Bowyer returned to the spotlight, touring Ireland each year, some for months on end, with his daughter Aisling Bowyer, and a six piece band. They performed his showband era hits, dance numbers, nationalist songs, modern contemporary songs and concert hits. 2001 saw the release of Follow On , a covers album, where Bowyer performed some of
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#17327902690786864-427: The Irish deposits may well have been essentially exhausted. Construction of wedge tombs tailed off from about 2,200 BC, and while the previous tradition of large scale monument building was much reduced, existing earlier megalithic monuments continued in use in the form of secondary insertions of funerary and ritual artefacts. Towards the end of the Bronze Age the single-grave cist made its appearance. This consisted of
6996-481: The Irish have been primarily a Gaelic people (see Gaelic Ireland ). From the 9th century, small numbers of Vikings settled in Ireland, becoming the Norse-Gaels . Anglo-Normans also conquered parts of Ireland in the 12th century, while England 's 16th/17th century conquest and colonisation of Ireland brought many English and Lowland Scots to parts of the island, especially the north. Today, Ireland
7128-460: The Irish in Ulster in the Nine Years' War (Ireland) ; which was not exclusively confined to Ulster. The English would try again to colonize Ireland fearing another rebellion in Ulster, using previous colonial Irish endeavours as their influence. King James would succeed Queen Elizabeth the I, because King James I was previously King James VI of Scotland, he would plant both English and Scottish in
7260-458: The Irish language, during the famine millions of Irish people died and emigrated during Ireland's largest famine. The famine lasted from 1845 - 1849, and it was worst in the year 1847, which became known as Black '47. The famine occurred due to the extremely impoverished Irish population's staple food the potato being infected with Blight , and the British administration appropriating all other crops and livestock to feed her armies abroad. This meant
7392-423: The Irish shows that there is fine-scale population structure between different regional populations of the island, with the largest difference between native 'Gaelic' Irish populations and those of Ulster Protestants known to have recent, partial British ancestry. They were also found to have most similarity to two main ancestral sources: a 'French' component (mostly northwestern French) which reached highest levels in
7524-431: The Irish, but it was not until the Catholic queen Mary I of England who started the first plantations in Ireland in 1550, this would become the model for English colonization moving forward in Ireland and would later form the British imperial model The 1550 plantation counties were known as Philipstown (now Daingean) and Maryborough (now Portlaoise) named by the English planters at the time. A group of explorers, known as
7656-611: The Mesolithic era lived on a varied diet of seafood, birds, wild boar and hazelnuts . There is no evidence for deer in the Irish Mesolithic and it is likely that the first red deer were introduced in the early stages of the Neolithic. The human population hunted with spears , arrows and harpoons tipped with small stone blades called microliths , while supplementing their diet with gathered nuts , fruit and berries . They lived in seasonal shelters, which they constructed by stretching animal skins or thatch over wooden frames. They had outdoor hearths for cooking their food. During
7788-473: The Mesolithic the population of Ireland was probably never more than a few thousand. Surviving artefacts include small microlith blades and points, and later larger stone tools and weapons, in particular the versatile Bann flake . Many areas of Europe entered the Neolithic (New Stone Age) with a 'package' of cereal cultivars, pastoral animals (domesticated oxen/cattle, sheep, goats), pottery, weaving, housing and burial cultures, which arrived simultaneously,
7920-418: The Navigator , Sir Robert McClure , Sir Alexander Armstrong , Sir Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean . By some accounts, the first European child born in North America had Irish descent on both sides. Many presidents of the United States have had some Irish ancestry. The population of Ireland is about 6.9 million, but it is estimated that 50 to 80 million people around the world have Irish forebears, making
8052-515: The Neolithic population, and were probably communal graves used over a long period. In most of the tombs that have been excavated, human remains—usually, but not always, cremated—have been found. Grave goods—pottery, arrowheads, beads, pendants, axes, etc.—have also been uncovered. These megalithic tombs , more than 1,200 of which are now known, can be divided for the most part into four broad groups, all of which would originally have been covered with earth, that in many cases has been eroded away to leave
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#17327902690788184-402: The Redemptorist choir before returning to Waterford with his parents. Brendan Bowyer began his career with the Royal Showband in 1957. His ability to tailor American rock and roll music to the tastes of Irish audiences, and his athletic, spirited on-stage performances made him a popular vocalist of the 1960s Irish showband era. On 6 September 1963, Brendan Bowyer and the Royal Showband became
8316-428: The Roman world, perhaps as far away as Alexandria . The headland of Drumanagh , near Dublin and not yet fully excavated, may have represented a centre for trade with Roman Britain . Drumanagh is an example of the coastal promontory fort , using cliff headlands with a narrow neck to reduce the extent of fortification necessary. In Ireland these seem to be mainly a feature of the Iron Age, with some perhaps dating to
8448-459: The Romans never attempted to conquer Ireland, although it may have been considered. The Irish were not, however, cut off from Europe; they frequently raided the Roman territories, and also maintained trade links. Among the most famous people of ancient Irish history are the High Kings of Ireland , such as Cormac mac Airt and Niall of the Nine Hostages , and the semi-legendary Fianna . The 20th-century writer Seumas MacManus wrote that even if
8580-406: The Royal Showband and formed the Big Eight Showband. The band spent the summers playing the ballroom circuit in Ireland but also spent six months of the year in Las Vegas , Nevada , US. Within a short time, Bowyer and the band made the decision to relocate to Las Vegas permanently. He was based in Las Vegas from then on, though he made frequent trips back to Ireland. In 1977 he made a brief return to
8712-412: The age of 81. Irish people The Irish ( Irish : Na Gaeil or Na hÉireannaigh ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland , who share a common ancestry, history and culture . There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been continually inhabited for more than 10,000 years (see Prehistoric Ireland ). For most of Ireland's recorded history ,
8844-537: The beginning of the arrival of the Celts (i.e. speakers of the Proto-Celtic language ) and thus Indo-European speakers, to the island. Alternatively, many hold the view that this happened with the bearers of the Bell Beaker culture, probably Indo-European speaking, reaching Ireland during the earlier stage of the Bronze Age. The Celtic languages of Britain and Ireland, also known as Insular Celtic , can be divided into two groups, Goidelic and Brittonic . When primary written records of Celtic first appear in about
8976-482: The conversion of the Irish to Christianity, Irish secular laws and social institutions remained in place. The 'traditional' view is that, in the 4th or 5th century, Goidelic language and Gaelic culture was brought to Scotland by settlers from Ireland, who founded the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata on Scotland's west coast. This is based mostly on medieval writings from the 9th and 10th centuries. The archaeologist Ewan Campbell argues against this view, saying that there
9108-418: The crew list of 1492, no Irish or English sailors were involved in the voyage. An English report of 1515 states that the Irish people were divided into over sixty Gaelic lordships and thirty Anglo-Irish lordships. The English term for these lordships was "nation" or "country". The Irish term " oireacht " referred to both the territory and the people ruled by the lord. Literally, it meant an "assembly", where
9240-598: The crop failed and turned black. Starving people who tried to eat them would only vomit it back up soon afterwards. Soup kitchens were set up but made little difference. The British government produced little aid, only sending raw corn known as 'Peel's Brimstone' to Ireland. It was known by this name after the British Prime Minister at the time, Robert Peel , and the fact that many Irish weren't aware of how to cook corn. This led to little or no improvement. The British government set up workhouses which were disease-ridden (with cholera, TB and others) but they also failed as little food
9372-456: The cultural unity of Europe", and it was the 6th-century Irish monk Columbanus who is regarded as "one of the fathers of Europe". Another Irish saint, Aidan of Lindisfarne , has been proposed as a possible patron saint of the United Kingdom, while Saints Kilian and Vergilius became the patron saints of Würzburg in Germany and Salzburg in Austria, respectively. Irish missionaries founded monasteries outside Ireland, such as Iona Abbey ,
9504-534: The defeat of the Irish rebels would also plant New English in Ireland, known as the Protestant ascendency. There have been notable Irish scientists. The Anglo-Irish scientist Robert Boyle (1627–1691) is considered the father of chemistry for his book The Sceptical Chymist , written in 1661. Boyle was an atomist , and is best known for Boyle's Law . The hydrographer Rear Admiral Francis Beaufort (1774–1857), an Irish naval officer of Huguenot descent,
9636-477: The earliest evidence of human occupation after the retreat of the ice was dated to the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), around 7000 BC . Although sea levels were still lower than they are today, Ireland was very probably already an island by the time the first settlers arrived by boat, very likely from Britain. The earliest inhabitants of the island were seafarers who depended for much of their livelihood upon
9768-471: The early Christian era in Ireland, which brought some written records and therefore the end of prehistoric Ireland. This view has been somewhat upset by the recent carbon-dating of the wood shaft of a very elegant iron spearhead found in the River Inny near Lackan , which gave a date of between 811 and 673 BC. This may further erode the belief, still held by some, that the arrival of iron-working marked
9900-504: The early Christian period, to form the Insular art of the Book of Kells and other well-known masterpieces, perhaps under influence from Late Roman and post-Roman Romano-British styles. The 1st century BC Broighter Gold hoard, from Ulster, includes a small model boat, a spectacular torc with relief decoration influenced by classical style, and other gold jewellery probably imported from
10032-839: The early part of the Holocene Ireland itself had a climate that was inhospitable to most European animals and plants. Human occupation was unlikely, although fishing was possible. Britain and Ireland may have been joined by a land bridge , but because this hypothetical link would have been cut by rising sea levels early into the warm period, perhaps by 14,000 BC, few temperate terrestrial flora or fauna would have crossed into Ireland. Snakes and most other reptiles could not populate Ireland because any land bridge disappeared before temperatures became warm enough for them. The lowered sea level also joined Britain to continental Europe; this persisted much longer, probably until around 5600 BC. The earliest known modern humans in Ireland date back to
10164-437: The eastern coast of the Irish Sea , dated to 11,000 BC, indicated people in the area were eating a marine diet including shellfish . These people may have also colonised Ireland by boat. Perhaps because there were few resources outside of coastal areas which permitted fishing, the region may not have been continually occupied. The early coastline of Ireland is now almost entirely under the sea, so evidence of coastal populations
10296-917: The families who bear them appear to have had Gaelic origins. "Fitz" is an old Norman French variant of the Old French word fils (variant spellings filz , fiuz , fiz , etc.), used by the Normans, meaning son . The Normans themselves were descendants of Vikings , who had settled in Normandy and thoroughly adopted the French language and culture. With the exception of the Gaelic-Irish Fitzpatrick ( Mac Giolla Phádraig ) surname, all names that begin with Fitz – including FitzGerald (Mac Gearailt), Fitzsimons (Mac Síomóin/Mac an Ridire) and FitzHenry (Mac Anraí) – are descended from
10428-510: The famine. The Great Famine is one of the biggest events in Irish history and is ingrained in the identity on the nation to this day. It was a major factor in Irish nationalism and Ireland's fight for independence during subsequent rebellions, as many Irish people felt a stronger need to regain independence from British rule after the famine. Prehistoric Ireland The prehistory of Ireland has been pieced together from archaeological evidence, which has grown at an increasing rate over
10560-463: The fifth century, Gaelic or Goidelic, in the form of Primitive Irish , is found in Ireland, while Brittonic, in the form of Common Brittonic , is found in Britain. The Iron Age includes the period in which the Romans ruled most of the neighbouring island of Great Britain . Roman interest in the area led to some of the earliest written evidence about Ireland . The names of its tribes were recorded by
10692-405: The fifth century. He suggested that the decrease in agricultural productivity might be due to a large-scale export of slaves to Roman Britain . Others such as Joseph Raftery, Barry Raftery , and Donnchadh Ó Corráin have drawn attention to a decline in human settlement and activity in Ireland, starting from around the first century BC. Pollen data extracted from Irish bogs indicate
10824-605: The first Irish artists to top the Irish Singles Chart , with the hit "Kiss Me Quick," which stayed at the number one position for seven weeks. They were to return to the top position later that year with " No More ," and repeated the feat in 1964 with " Bless You ." Bowyer took part in the 1965 Irish National Song Contest for a chance to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Naples with
10956-478: The founding of many of Ireland's most important towns, including Cork , Dublin, Limerick , and Waterford (earlier Gaelic settlements on these sites did not approach the urban nature of the subsequent Norse trading ports). The Vikings left little impact on Ireland other than towns and certain words added to the Irish language, but many Irish taken as slaves inter-married with the Scandinavians, hence forming
11088-643: The geographer Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD. The recorded tribes of Ireland included at least three with names identical or similar to British or Gaulish tribes: the Brigantes (also the name of the largest tribe in northern and midland Britain), the Manapii (possibly the same people as the Menapii , a Belgic tribe of northern Gaul ) and the Coriondi (a name similar to that of Corinion , later Cirencester and
11220-513: The goddess Ériu . A variety of tribal groups and dynasties have inhabited the island, including the Airgialla , Fir Ol nEchmacht , Delbhna , the mythical Fir Bolg , Érainn , Eóganachta , Mairtine , Conmaicne , Soghain , and Ulaid . In the cases of the Conmaicne, Delbhna, and perhaps Érainn, it can be demonstrated that the tribe took their name from their chief deity, or in the case of
11352-416: The grandson of") and Mac with Nic (reduced from Iníon Mhic – "daughter of the son of"); in both cases the following name undergoes lenition. However, if the second part of the surname begins with the letter C or G, it is not lenited after Nic. Thus the daughter of a man named Ó Maolagáin has the surname Ní Mhaolagáin and the daughter of a man named Mac Gearailt has the surname Nic Gearailt . When anglicised,
11484-509: The historical record begins when the Romans invaded; as Ireland was not invaded by the Romans its historical record starts later, with the coming of Christianity . The two periods that have left the most spectacular groups of remains are the Neolithic, with its megalithic tombs , and the Bronze Age, which left among other things, gold jewellery from a time when Ireland was a major centre of gold mining. Ireland has many areas of bogland , and
11616-443: The impressive stone frameworks: The theory that these four groups of monuments were associated with four separate waves of invading colonists still has its adherents today, but the growth in population that made them possible need not have been the result of colonisation: it may simply have been the natural consequence of the introduction of agriculture. The stone axe was the primary and essential tool for farming, carefully made in
11748-707: The initial Norman settlers. A small number of Irish families of Goidelic origin came to use a Norman form of their original surname—so that Mac Giolla Phádraig became Fitzpatrick—while some assimilated so well that the Irish name was dropped in favour of a new, Hiberno-Norman form. Another common Irish surname of Norman Irish origin is the 'de' habitational prefix, meaning 'of' and originally signifying prestige and land ownership. Examples include de Búrca (Burke), de Brún, de Barra (Barry), de Stac (Stack), de Tiúit, de Faoite (White), de Londras (Landers), de Paor (Power). The Irish surname "Walsh" (in Irish Breathnach )
11880-800: The key early Mesolithic excavations are the settlement site at Mount Sandel in Coleraine , County Londonderry ; the cremations at Hermitage, County Limerick on the bank of the River Shannon ; and the campsite at Lough Boora in County Offaly . As well as these, early Mesolithic lithic scatters have been noted around the island, from the north in County Donegal to the south in County Cork . The population has been tentatively estimated at around 8,000. The hunter-gatherers of
12012-462: The landscape of Ireland. By 24,000 years ago they extended beyond the southern coast of Ireland; but by 16,000 years ago the glaciers had retreated so that only an ice bridge remained between Ireland and Scotland. By 14,000 years ago Ireland was completely isolated from Britain; and this glacial period is recognized as having ended about 11,700 years ago, without glaciers being present, but leaving Ireland as an arctic tundra landscape. This period
12144-630: The last decades. It begins with the first evidence of permanent human residence in Ireland around 10,500 BC (although there is evidence of human presence as early as 31,000 BC ) and finishes with the start of the historical record around 400 AD . Both the beginning and end dates of the period are later than for much of Europe and all of the Near East . The prehistoric period covers the Palaeolithic , Mesolithic , Neolithic , Bronze Age and Iron Age societies of Ireland. For much of Europe ,
12276-405: The late Palaeolithic Age (Old Stone Age). This date was pushed back some 2,500 years by a radiocarbon dating performed in 2016 on a bear bone excavated in 1903 in the " Alice and Gwendoline Cave ", County Clare . The bone has cut marks showing it was butchered when fresh and gave a date of around 10,500 BC, showing humans were in Ireland at that time, soon after the ice retreated. In contrast,
12408-518: The late Mesolithic period. The red deer was introduced from Britain about this time. From around 4500 BC a Neolithic package that included cereal cultivars, housing culture (similar to those of the same period in Scotland) and stone monuments arrived in Ireland. Sheep, goats, cattle and cereals were imported from southwestern continental Europe, after which the population rose significantly. The earliest clear proof of farmers in Ireland or Great Britain
12540-539: The majority of Irish emigrants to Australia were in fact prisoners. A substantial proportion of these committed crimes in hopes of being extradited to Australia, favouring it to the persecution and hardships they endured in their homeland. Emigrants travelled on ' Coffin Ships' , which got their name from the often high mortality rates on board. Many died of disease or starved. Conditions on board were abysmal - tickets were expensive so stowaways were common, and little food stuff
12672-612: The manufacture of bronze was mined in Ireland, chiefly in the southwest of the island (as in the later Bronze Age copper mine at Derrycarhoon ), while the tin was imported from Cornwall in Britain. The earliest known copper mine in these islands was located at Ross Island , at the Lakes of Killarney in County Kerry ; mining and metalworking took place there between 2400 and 1800 BC. Another of Europe's best-preserved copper mines has been discovered at Mount Gabriel in County Cork , which
12804-540: The most people of Irish descent, while in Australia those of Irish descent are a higher percentage of the population than in any other country outside Ireland. Many Icelanders have Irish and Scottish Gaelic ancestors due to transportation there as slaves by the Vikings during their settlement of Iceland . During the past 33,000 years, Ireland has witnessed different peoples arrive on its shores. Pytheas made
12936-675: The most popular Irish songs, such as "Summer in Dublin," " What's Another Year ," "Past the Point of Rescue," and " I Don't Like Mondays ." 2005 saw Brendan and Aisling headlining the entertainment list for the Tall Ships Festival in Waterford , performing in the open air to an estimated crowd of 12,000. In 2015, Bowyer was the star of the "Ireland's Showbands - Do You Come Here Often?" concert series. Bowyer died on 28 May 2020, at
13068-590: The name can remain O' or Mac, regardless of gender. There are a number of Irish surnames derived from Norse personal names, including Mac Suibhne (Sweeney) from Swein and McAuliffe from "Olaf". The name Cotter , local to County Cork , derives from the Norse personal name Ottir. The name Reynolds is an Anglicization of the Irish Mac Raghnaill, itself originating from the Norse names Randal or Reginald. Though these names were of Viking derivation some of
13200-534: The north during the pre- boreal period included reindeer and aurochs . Some sites as far north as Sweden inhabited earlier than 10,000 years ago suggest that humans might have used glacial termini as places from which to hunt migratory game. These factors and ecological changes brought humans to the edge of the northernmost ice-free zones of continental Europe by the onset of the Holocene (11.5ky ago) and this included regions close to Ireland. However, during
13332-508: The north; due to similarities of language and culture they too were assimilated. The Irish were among the first people in Europe to use surnames as we know them today. It is very common for people of Gaelic origin to have the English versions of their surnames beginning with 'Ó' or 'Mac' (Over time however many have been shortened to 'O' or Mc). 'O' comes from the Irish Ó which in turn came from Ua, which means " grandson ", or " descendant " of
13464-525: The original Neolithic farming population was most similar to present-day Sardinians , while the three Bronze Age remains had a large genetic component from the Pontic-Caspian steppe . Modern Irish are the population most genetically similar to the Bronze Age remains, followed by Scottish and Welsh, and share more DNA with the three Bronze Age men from Rathlin Island than with the earlier Ballynahatty Neolithic woman. A 2017 genetic study done on
13596-423: The past, today most Irish people speak English as their first language. Historically, the Irish nation was made up of kin groups or clans , and the Irish also had their own religion , law code , alphabet and style of dress . There have been many notable Irish people throughout history. After Ireland's conversion to Christianity , Irish missionaries and scholars exerted great influence on Western Europe, and
13728-499: The phrase "Irish Dark Age" to refer to a period of apparent economic and cultural stagnation in late prehistoric Ireland, lasting from c. 100 BC to c. AD 300. He used the phrase to describe a gap in the archaeological record coinciding with the Roman Empire in Britain and continental Europe. Charles-Edwards notes the lack of continuity between Ptolemy 's writings on the peoples of second-century Ireland and writings in ogham in
13860-515: The plantations and went into decline. Among the last of the true bardic poets were Brian Mac Giolla Phádraig (c. 1580–1652) and Dáibhí Ó Bruadair (1625–1698). The Irish poets of the late 17th and 18th centuries moved toward more modern dialects. Among the most prominent of this period were Séamas Dall Mac Cuarta , Peadar Ó Doirnín , Art Mac Cumhaigh , Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna , and Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill . Irish Catholics continued to receive an education in secret "hedgeschools", in spite of
13992-583: The plantations of Ulster drawing upon the Munster Plantations, this proved to be the most successful they were settled in what's mostly Now Northern Ireland. The Plantations of Ireland introduced Tudor English settlers to Ireland, while The Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century introduced a great number of Scottish and to a lesser extent English as well as French Huguenots as colonists. All previous endeavours were solely an English venture. The Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell (1653–1658) after
14124-854: The principal crops cultivated. Pottery made its appearance around the same time as agriculture. Ware similar to that found in northern Great Britain has been excavated in Ulster (Lyle's Hill pottery) and in Limerick . Typical of this ware are wide-mouthed, round-bottomed bowls. This follows a pattern similar to western Europe or gradual onset of Neolithic, such as seen in La Hoguette Culture of France and Iberia's Impressed Cardial Ware Culture. Cereal culture advance markedly slows north of France; certain cereal strains such as wheat were difficult to grow in cold climates—however, barley and German rye were suitable replacements. It can be speculated that
14256-493: The protection and benefit of the law upon which just cause they do desire it. Another English commentator records that the assemblies were attended by "all the scum of the country"—the labouring population as well as the landowners. While the distinction between "free" and "unfree" elements of the Irish people was unreal in legal terms, it was a social and economic reality. Social mobility was usually downwards, due to social and economic pressures. The ruling clan's "expansion from
14388-401: The sea, and later inland settlements or camps were usually close to water. Although archaeologists believe Mesolithic people heavily relied on riverine and coastal environments, ancient DNA indicates they had probably ceased contact with Mesolithic societies on the island of Britain and further afield. Evidence for Mesolithic hunter-gatherers has been found throughout the island: a number of
14520-561: The song "Suddenly in Love", but could only manage fifth place. Their greatest success was to come in 1965 with " The Hucklebuck ," which spent a further seven weeks at the top of the Irish Singles Chart , and was a hit in Australia, but failed to appear in the UK Singles Chart . "Don't Lose Your Hucklebuck Shoes" returned the band to the number one position later in 1965. In the summer of 1971 Bowyer, along with singer Tom Dunphy, left
14652-468: The term for Iron Age Celtic art , are very few, to a "puzzling" extent, although some of these are of very high quality, such as a number of scabbards from Ulster and the Petrie Crown , apparently dating to the 2nd century AD. This was well after Celtic art elsewhere had been subsumed into Gallo-Roman art and its British equivalent. Despite this it was in Ireland that the style seemed to revive in
14784-683: The territory of the neighbouring Picts merged to form the Kingdom of Alba , and Goidelic language and Gaelic culture became dominant there. The country came to be called Scotland , after the Roman name for the Gaels: Scoti . The Isle of Man and the Manx people also came under massive Gaelic influence in their history. Irish missionaries such as Saint Columba brought Christianity to Pictish Scotland . The Irishmen of this time were also "aware of
14916-480: The top downwards" was constantly displacing commoners and forcing them into the margins of society. As a clan-based society, genealogy was all important. Ireland 'was justly styled a "Nation of Annalists"'. The various branches of Irish learning—including law, poetry, history and genealogy, and medicine—were associated with hereditary learned families. The poetic families included the Uí Dhálaigh (Daly) and
15048-533: The use of a common language and mass Irish migration to Scotland in the late 19th and early to mid-20th centuries. The Irish people of the Late Middle Ages were active as traders on the European continent. They were distinguished from the English (who only used their own language or French) in that they only used Latin abroad—a language "spoken by all educated people throughout Gaeldom". According to
15180-515: The west was so widely dispersed in the schools of Ireland that if anyone knew Greek it was assumed he must have come from that country."' Since the time of Charlemagne , Irish scholars had a considerable presence in the Frankish court , where they were renowned for their learning. The most significant Irish intellectual of the early monastic period was the 9th century Johannes Scotus Eriugena , an outstanding philosopher in terms of originality. He
15312-544: The western Cardial culture, raised sheep and goats more intensely. By 5100 BC there is evidence of dairy practices in southern England, and modern English cattle appear to be derived from "T1 Taurids" that were domesticated in the Aegean region shortly after the onset of the Holocene . These animals were probably derived from cattle from the Linear Pottery culture . Around 4300 BC cattle arrived in northern Ireland during
15444-511: The world of the last elites of prehistoric Ireland. The large areas of bog in Ireland have produced over a dozen ancient bog bodies , mostly from the Iron Age. Some were found and reburied before archaeological and scientific investigation was possible. Some survive as skeletons only, but the best-preserved have retained their flesh, hair, and clothing. The oldest appears to be the Neolithic Stoneyisland Man , perhaps
15576-469: The writer Seumas MacManus , the explorer Christopher Columbus visited Ireland to gather information about the lands to the west, a number of Irish names are recorded on Columbus' crew roster preserved in the archives of Madrid and it was an Irishman named Patrick Maguire who was the first to set foot in the Americas in 1492; however, according to Morison and Miss Gould , who made a detailed study of
15708-464: Was a collar consisting of a bar or ribbon of metal, twisted into a spiral. Other types of gold jewellery made in Ireland during the Bronze Age, most shared with Britain, include earrings, sun disks, bracelets, clothes fasteners, and in the Late Bronze Age, the distinctively Irish large "gorgets", and bullae amulets . After the Bronze Age goldwork almost ceased to be produced in Ireland;
15840-551: Was a division of labour between pastoral and agrarian aspects of the Neolithic. At the height of the Neolithic the population of the island was probably in excess of 100,000, and perhaps as high as 200,000. But there appears to have been an economic collapse around 2500 BC, and the population declined for a while. The most striking characteristic of the Neolithic in Ireland was the sudden appearance and dramatic proliferation of megalithic monuments . The largest of these tombs were clearly places of religious and ceremonial importance to
15972-494: Was available and many died on arrival as they were overworked. Some British political figures at the time saw the famine as a purge from God to exterminate the majority of the native Irish population. Irish people emigrated to escape the famine journeying predominantly to the east coast of the United States , especially Boston and New York , as well as Liverpool in England, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Many records show
16104-535: Was even settlement by Irish people, and leaders, in Wales and western Britain. Inhumation burials may also have spread from Roman Britain, and had become common in Ireland by the fourth and fifth centuries. Some protohistoric records begin to appear during this period. Early Irish literature was not written down until the Early Medieval period, but many scholars accept that the saga cycles preserve in some form elements from much earlier, that give some insights into
16236-603: Was given to passengers who were simply viewed as cargo in the eyes of the ship workers. Notable coffin ships include the Jeanie Johnston and the Dunbrody . There are statues and memorials in Dublin, New York and other cities in memory of the famine. The Fields of Athenry is a late-20th century song about the Great Famine and is often sung at national team sporting events in memory and homage to those affected by
16368-549: Was important, and reflects influence from continental Europe; very large riveted bronze cauldrons were also made. Large numbers of bronze weapons were produced, and typical sword shapes changed from shorter ones for stabbing and thrusting on foot, to longer ones, perhaps for a mounted warrior to slash with. This is one example of a Dowris Phase design type originating in the Hallstatt culture of continental Europe, probably transmitted via southern Britain; chapes for scabbards
16500-439: Was in question, something that has been diminished with the loss of prefixes such as Ó and Mac. Different branches of a family with the same surname sometimes used distinguishing epithets, which sometimes became surnames in their own right. Hence the chief of the clan Ó Cearnaigh (Kearney) was referred to as An Sionnach (Fox), which his descendants use to this day. Similar surnames are often found in Scotland for many reasons, such as
16632-564: Was not present in Neolithic or Mesolithic Europeans, and which would have been introduced into Europe with paternal lineages R1b and R1a, as well as the Indo-European languages. This genetic component, labelled as " Yamnaya " in the studies, then mixed to varying degrees with earlier Mesolithic hunter-gatherer and Neolithic farmer populations already existing in western Europe. A more recent whole genome analysis of Neolithic and Bronze Age skeletal remains from Ireland suggested that
16764-545: Was regarded as one of the first headlining Elvis impersonators . Elvis Presley himself was a big fan of Bowyer's performances and would often attend Bowyer's concerts in the Stardust Resort & Casino , Las Vegas during the 1970s. Although born in Waterford , he relocated to Limerick with his family when he was two years old. There he was educated at the Model School and Crescent College , singing with
16896-453: Was routinely given to settlers of Welsh origin, who had come during and after the Norman invasion. The Joyce and Griffin/Griffith (Gruffydd) families are also of Welsh origin. The Mac Lochlainn, Ó Maol Seachlainn, Ó Maol Seachnaill, Ó Conchobhair, Mac Loughlin and Mac Diarmada families, all distinct, are now all subsumed together as MacLoughlin. The full surname usually indicated which family
17028-603: Was the creator of the Beaufort scale for indicating wind force. George Boole (1815–1864), the mathematician who invented Boolean algebra , spent the latter part of his life in Cork . The 19th century physicist George Stoney introduced the idea and the name of the electron . He was the uncle of another notable physicist, George FitzGerald . The Irish bardic system, along with the Gaelic culture and learned classes, were upset by
17160-593: Was the earliest of the founders of scholasticism , the dominant school of medieval philosophy . He had considerable familiarity with the Greek language, and translated many works into Latin, affording access to the Cappadocian Fathers and the Greek theological tradition , previously almost unknown in the Latin West. The influx of Viking raiders and traders in the 9th and 10th centuries resulted in
17292-486: Was very possibly a major factor in the Bronze Age Irish economy. In the early stages of the Bronze Age the gold ornaments included simple but finely decorated gold lunulae , a distinctively Irish type of object later made in Britain and continental Europe, and disks of thin gold sheet. Many of these seem to have been long in use before they were deposited. Later the thin twisted torc made its appearance; this
17424-563: Was worked for several centuries in the middle of the second millennium. Mines in Cork and Kerry are believed to have produced as much as 370 tonnes of copper during the Bronze Age. Ireland was also rich in native gold, and the Bronze Age saw the first extensive working of this precious metal by Irish craftsmen. More Bronze Age gold hoards have been discovered in Ireland than anywhere else in Europe. Irish gold ornaments have been found as far afield as Germany and Scandinavia , and gold-related trade
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