History of Ireland

The history of Ireland begins between 8000 and 7000 BC, when the first humans inhabited Ireland. This was followed by a migration of Celtic-speaking people between 700 and 500 BC and Viking settlers in the ninth century AD. Until the fifteenth century Ireland was a patch-work of competing kingdoms and over-kingdoms. English involvement in Ireland began with the arrival of the Normans in the twelfth century, but England did not have full control until the whole island had been conquered in 1653.

Early medieval era 800 - 1166

Main article Early Medieval Ireland 800-1166

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The first recorded Viking raid in Irish history occurred in 795 when Vikings from Norway looted the island of Lambay, located off the Dublin coast. These early Viking raids were generally small in scale and quick.

Related Topics:
Viking - 795 - Norway

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These early raids interrupted the golden age of Christian Irish culture starting the beginning of two hundred years of intermittent warfare, with waves of Viking raiders plundering monasteries and towns throughout Ireland. Most of the early raiders came from the fjords of western Norway. They are believed to have sailed first to the Shetland Islands, then south to the Orkneys. The vikings would have then sailed down the Atlantic coast of Scotland, and then over to Ireland. During these early raids the Vikings also traveled to the west coast of Ireland to the Skellig Islands located off the coast of County Kerry.

Related Topics:
Shetland Islands - Orkneys - Scotland - Skellig Islands - County Kerry

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Ireland and England were both being raided by Vikings in the early 840's. The Vikings were beginning to establish settlements along the Irish coasts at this time and began to spend the winter months there. Vikings started settlements in Waterford, Wexford, and most famously, Dublin. The archaelogical evidence found in Kilmainham, on the western side of Dublin city, is proof of the Viking settlements during this time period in Ireland. Written accounts from this time (early to mid 840's) show that the Vikings were moving further inland to attack (often using rivers such as the Shannon) and then retreating to their coastal headquarters.

Related Topics:
Waterford - Wexford - Dublin - Kilmainham

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Thorgest (in Latin Turgesius) was the first Viking to attempt an Irish kingdom. He sailed up the Shannon and the River Bann to Armagh in 839 where he forged a realm spanning Ulster, Connacht and Meath which lasted from 839 to 845. In 845, he was captured and drowned in Lough Owen by Maelsechlainn I, King of Meath.

Related Topics:
Thorgest - Shannon - River Bann - 839 - Ulster - Connacht - Meath - 845

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In 848, Maelsechlainn, now High king, defeated a Norse army at Sciath Nechtain. Arguing that his fight was allied with the Christian fight against pagans, he requested aid from the Frankish emperor Charles the Bald, but to no avail.

Related Topics:
848 - Sciath Nechtain - Charles the Bald

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In 852, the Vikings Ivar Beinlaus and Olaf the White landed in Dublin Bay and established a fortress, on which the city of Dublin (from the Irish Gaelic Án Dubh Linn meaning the "black pool") now stands. Olaf the White was the son of a Norwegian king and made himself the king of Dublin. This moment is generally considered to be the founding of Dublin, although Greek and Roman records do mention a settlement called Eblana (or Deblana) on the same site as early as the 1st century. The death of Olaf the White's successor, Ivar, caused political instability in the kingdom of Dublin and caused many Viking settlers to depart for places such as France and England.

Related Topics:
852 - Ivar Beinlaus - Olaf the White - Dublin - Eblana

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The Vikings founded many other coastal towns, and after several generations a group of mixed Irish and Norse ethnic background arose (the so-called Gall-Gaels, Gall then being the Irish word for "foreigners" - the Norse). This Norse influence is reflected in the Norse-derived names of many contemporary Irish kings (e.g. Magnus, Lochlann or Sitric), and DNA evidence in some residents of these coastal cities to this day.

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A new wave of Viking attacks on Ireland began in 914 which created an unstable peace between the Irish and the Norse and evolved into a drawn-out war. This time, the Vikings attacked from the south of Ireland at Waterford, and developed a settlement there. From here, the Vikings set out to raid areas in southern Ireland. The Vikings went to the west of Waterford and established another settlement at Limerick.

Related Topics:
914 - Waterford - Limerick

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The descendants of Ivar Beinlaus established a long dynasty based in Dublin, and from this base succeeded in dominating much of the isle. This rule was ultimately broken by the joint efforts of Maelsechlainn II, King of Meath, and the famous Brian Boru (c. 941- 1014) at the Battle of Clontarf where Brian Boru died.

Related Topics:
Brian Boru - Battle of Clontarf

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Although the Irish were subsequently free from foreign invasion for 150 years, interdynastic warfare continued to drain their energies and resources. In 1150, Christian Malone, Abbot of Clonmacnoise, wrote a famous book entitled "Chronicum Scotorum". It is a chronology of Ireland from the Flood to the twelfth century.

Related Topics:
1150 - Twelfth century

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Early Ireland had an unusual government. All men who owned land, all professionals, and all craftsmen, were entitled to become members of an assembly, known as a tuath. Each tuath's members annually formed an assembly which decided all common policies, declared war or peace on other tuatha, and elected or deposed their 'kings'. The tuath was thus a body of persons voluntarily united for socially beneficial purposes, and its territorial dimension was the sum total of the landed properties of its members. About 80 to 100 tuatha coexisted at any time throughout Ireland.{{inote|see Murray N. Rothbard, For a New Liberty, Chapter 12|For a New Liberty}}

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