The first human settlements in Ireland, an island lying on the western fringe of Europe, were made relatively late in European prehistory- about 6000 BC.

Irish History

Click on one of the following links below for information on the different stages of the History of Ireland.

Early Gealic Ireland and Medieval Ireland Sometime between about 600 and 150 BC, Celtic peoples from western Europe, who came to be known as Gaels, invaded Ireland and subdued the previous inhabitants. more... The Viking Invasions In the late 8th century, Vikings from Scandinavia began to raid Ireland . Other parts of Europe at about this time were responding to such pressures by developing the system of feudalism, but the Gaelic society did not lend itself to such development. more... The Anglo-Norman Conquest Even such unity as there had been under Brian had disappeared by the time Ireland faced its next challenge. This challenge came from the highly effective feudal monarchy that had been founded in England by William I (William the Conqueror) after his invasion of that country in 1066 from Normandy in France. more... Modern Ireland The most determined resistance to reconquest came from the Gaelic chieftains of Ulster (the northeastern quarter of the island), led by Hugh O'Neill, 2d earl of Tyrone, at the end of Elizabeth's reign. In suppressing their rebellion between 1595 and 1603, English forces devastated the Ulster countryside. more... The Protestant Ascendency Hoping to recover their lands and political dominance in Ireland Catholics took the side of the Catholic king James II in England's Glorious Revolution of 1688 and thus shared in his defeat by William III at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. more... The Great Famine The Great Famine also referred to as "The Great Hunger", that lasted between 1845 and 1849 was arguably the single greatest disaster that affected the Irish history. more... The Home Rule Movement Under Parnell's leadership an Irish nationalist party, demanding home rule - a separate Irish parliament within the Union--and land reform, was able to win every parliamentary seat having a Catholic majority. more... The Division of Ireland Frustration arising from the postponement of home rule led to the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin. Although a military failure, this rebellion brought a new generation of potential leadership to public attention. more... 20th Century Ireland The state composed of the southern 26 of Ireland's 32 counties has had three different names, which reflect the stages by which the goals of the defeated antitreaty side were actually attained during the generation after the civil war. more... Northern Ireland Whereas the southern Irish state was born out of a positive nationalist demand, Northern Ireland arose out of a negative defensive reaction on the part of a people who never quite became nationalists of any sort. This difference helps in understanding why Northern Ireland failed, whereas the South of Ireland succeeded, at the enterprise of state building. more...