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.

The Coming of the Normans 1167-1185

Main article Norman Ireland

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By the 12th century, Ireland was divided politically into a shifting hierarchy of petty kingdoms and over-kingdoms. Power was concentrated into the hands of a few regional dynasties contending against each other for control of the whole island. The Northern O'Neills ruled much of what is now Ulster. Their kinsmen, the Southern O'Neills, were Kings of Meath. The kingship of Leinster was held by the dynamic Ui Cheinnselaigh (modern Kinsella) dynasty. A new kingdom rose between Leinster and Munster, Osraige, ruled by the family of Mac Gilla Pádraig. Munster was nominally controlled by the Mac Cartaig, who were however in reality often subject to the Ó Brians of Thomond. North of Thomond, Connacht's supreme rulers were the Ó Conchobair.

Related Topics:
Petty kingdom - Ulster - Leinster - Munster - Thomond - Connacht

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After losing the protection of High King Muirchertach MacLochlainn - who died in 1166 - the King of Leinster Diarmait Mac Murchada (anglicised as Diarmuid MacMorrough) was forcibly exiled from his kingdom by a confederation of Irish forces under the new High King, Ruaidri mac Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair. Fleeing first to Bristol and then to Aquitaine, Diarmait obtained permission from Henry II to use his subjects to regain his kingdom. By 1167 he had obtained the services of the brothers Robert fitz Stephen and Maurice fitz Gerald, their first cousin, Prince of Dehurbarth Rhys ap Gruyffd, and most importantly, Earl of Pembroke Richard de Clare, known as Strongbow.

Related Topics:
Leinster - Diarmait Mac Murchada - Ruaidri mac Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair - Bristol - Aquitaine - Henry II - Strongbow

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The first Norman knight to land in Ireland was Richard fitz Godbert de Roche in 1167, but it was not until 1169 that the main forces of Normans, Welsh and Flemings landed in Wexford. Within a short time Leinster was regained, Waterford and Dublin were under Diarmait's control, and he had Strongbow as a son-in-law, and named him as heir to his kingdom. This latter development caused consternation to King Henry II of England, who feared the establishment of a rival Norman state in Ireland. Accordingly, he resolved to visit Leinster to establish his authority.

Related Topics:
Welsh - Flemings - Wexford - Waterford - Dublin - King Henry II

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Pope Adrian IV (the first English pope, in one of his earliest acts) had already issued a Papal Bull in 1155, giving Henry authority to invade Ireland as a means of curbing ecclesiastical corruption and abuses.

Related Topics:
Adrian IV - Pope - Papal Bull - 1155

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Henry landed with a large fleet at Waterford in 1171, becoming the first King of England to set foot on Irish soil. Both Waterford and Dublin were proclaimed Royal Cities. Adrian's successor, Pope Alexander III ratified the grant of Irish lands to Henry in 1172. Henry awarded his Irish territories to his younger son John with the title Dominus Hiberniae ("Lord of Ireland"). When John unexpectedly succeeded his brother as King John, the "Kingdom of Ireland" fell directly under the English Crown.

Related Topics:
Waterford - 1171 - King of England - Dublin - Royal Cities - Pope Alexander III - 1172 - King John

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Henry was happily acknowledged by most of the Irish Kings, who saw in him a chance to curb the expansion of both Leinster and the Normans. This led to the ratification of the Treaty of Winsor in 1175 between Henry and Ruaidhrí. However, with both Strongbow and Diarmuid dead (in 1171 and 1176), Henry back in England and Ruaidhrí unable to curb his nominal vassals, within two years it was not worth the vellum it was enscribed upon. John de Courcy invaded and gained much of east Ulster in 1177, Raymond le Gros had already captured Limerick and much of north Munster, while the other Norman families such as Prendergast, fitz Stephen, fitz Gerald, fitz Henry and le Poer were actively carving out virtual kingdoms for themselves.

Related Topics:
Treaty of Winsor - 1171 - 1176 - John de Courcy - Limerick

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