Ireland - land of lore and myth has been populated for many millennia and its history could be described as anything but placid. During the ice-age, sea levels dropped and Ireland was joined to Britain and mainland Europe. During that time, the ice sheet came from the north-east and covered most of of the land. When the ice finally melted it left a scoured landscape of rounded mountains with deep rounded valleys and lowlands covered with drift material. Vegetation and animals came across the land bridge and began a sequence of colonisation. As the ice across Europe melted at the end of the ise age, 14, 000 years ago, sea levels rose by up to 50 metres, to the level that they are now, turning Ireland back into an island again. The land itself, depressed by the weight of the ice, also began to rise and this rise is continuing to this day, albeit at a slow rate of roughly 2mm per year.
The first humans to set foot in Ireland crossed the sea in wooden boats from Scotland to what is now County Antrim (Northern Ireland) around 8000BC. This made it one of the last places in Europe to be settled by humans. These Mesolithic settlers were hunter/gatherers and dwelt mainly on the shores of lakes, rivers or the sea. They were a nomadic people, living in skin huts which they packed up and moved with them. The Mesolithic settlers hunted animals, birds and fish with spears, harpoons and bows-and-arrows, using flint tools mined in north-east of the island. The native population was low at this time, and the interior of the island remained forested with practically no human influence.
The Neolithic age was characterised by the invention of farming, as well as the use of porcellanite - a more effective cutting stone than flint. The Mesolithic residents of Ireland did not invent this Neolithic technology. Instead, they were assimilated from new Neolithic settlers who arrived from Britain bringing these new technologies. This process began to happen around 4000BC and took several hundred years. They set about clearing upland forest (which was easier to fell) to build their farms. They also introduced grain crops, cattle, sheep and goats to Ireland. Because they were living on permanent farms, the Neolithic farmers were able to build larger houses, made from wood and thatched with reeds. They also made simple coiled-clay pots which they fired in kilns.
These Neolithic farmers are most famous for the megaliths (large stone and earthen tombs) that they constructed across Ireland. These are not unique to Ireland, being found also in Spain, Portugal, France, Denmark and Britain. Most megaliths are found in the north of Ireland, and there are three distinct types. Court tombs consist of a stone chamber covered in earth with a courtyard in front of it. Portal tombs, or dolmens, consist of three or more vertical stones with a large capstone on top. Passage tombs consist of a stone passage into the centre of a large earthen mound. The most famous passage tombs in Ireland are Newgrange and Knowth which predate the Pyramids in Egypt by a 1, 000 years. Newgrange is the oldest megalithic structure in Europe. While definitely used for burials, there is plenty evidence to suggest that these monuments and tombs had an astronomical or calendrical significance.
The
Bronze Age in Ireland lasted from about 2000BC to 500BC. Knowledge of how to make bronze, an alloy of tin and copper, also came to Ireland from Europe. The copper was mined in Ireland, chiefly in
County Kerry, while the tin was imported from Britain. Initially, items were made by pouring melted bronze into a hollowed-out stone but as technology improved, this gave way to two-part moulds and eventually to fully three-dimensional clay moulds. Items produced in this way included axes, daggers and awls - some of which appear to have been designed with human targets in mind. By the end of the Bronze Age, cauldrons and horns were being made from beaten sheet bronze. Gold items were also produced, although mainly for ceremonial or decorative purposes.
The Celts,
Iron Age warriors from eastern Europe, reached Ireland around 300 BC. They controlled the country for 1, 000 years and left a legacy of language and culture that survives today, especially in Galway, Cork, Kerry and Waterford. The Romans don't appear to have reached Ireland, and when the rest of Europe sank into the decline of the
Dark Ages after the fall of the Roman Empire, the Emerald Isle became an outpost of European civilisation, particularly after the arrival of Christianity, between the 3rd and 5th centuries. Scholars and monks brought learning back to Europe and
St. Brendan is reputed to have sailed to America in the early 6th century, predating Columbus by nearly 1, 000 years.
Invasions by the
Vikings that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King
Brian Boru defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions.
A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the United Kingdom for the 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the United Kingdom (and still do). In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973.
Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, known as the Good Friday Agreement and approved in 1998, is being implemented with some difficulties. It's on ongoing process but there has been a cessation of hostilites between the various paramilitary groups for several years now.
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