Ireland

Lore & Background

Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century AD. The island was Christianised from the 5th century onwards. During this period Ireland was divided amongst petty kings, who in turn served under the kings of the traditional provinces vying for dominance and the title of High King of Ireland. Between the late 8th and early 11th centuries, Viking raids and settlement took place culminating in the Battle of Clontarf on 23 April 1014 which resulted in the end of Viking power in Ireland. Following the 12th-century Anglo-Norman invasion, England claimed sovereignty. However, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, and was extended during the 18th century. With the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. The Great Famine of the 1840s saw the population fall by over 20%, through death and emigration. A war of independence in the early 20th century was followed by the partition of the island, leading to the creation of the Irish Free State, which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades until it declared a republic in 1948 (Republic of Ireland Act, 1948) and Northern Ireland, which remained a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s. This subsided following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. In 1973, both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, with Northern Ireland as part of it, joined the European Economic Community. Following a referendum vote in 2016, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland included, left the European Union (EU) in 2020. Northern Ireland was granted a limited special status and allowed to operate within the EU single market for goods without being in the European Union.

In Their Own Story

The Atlantic mist clung to the white cliffs of Moher as old Seamus struck a match, the flare of flame briefly illuminating the stone wall where he stood. Below, the grey sea hammered against the rocks, a rhythm that had echoed his grandfather's tales of hollow hills and lost ships for generations. He watched a lone gull dive into the churning water, thinking of the countless sons who traded this green soil for distant shores, only to be pulled back by the scent of peat smoke and the frantic joy of fiddles in a local pub. Here, the past never truly fades; it lives in the wind, the ancient stones, and the quiet, stubborn resilience of the people.

Reader's Guide

The geography of Ireland comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. Much of Ireland was woodland until the end of the Middle Ages. Today, woodland makes up about 10% of the island, compared with a European average of over 33%, with most of it being non-native conifer plantations. Its lush vegetation is a product of its mild climate, which is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and thus very moderate, and winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, although summers are cooler than those in continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant.

Did You Know?

• Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles and the third-largest in Europe.
• The island's population as of 2022 is just over 7 million, with 5.1 million in the Republic of Ireland and 1.9 million in Northern Ireland.
• The names Ireland and Éire both derive from Old Irish Ériu, meaning 'fertile soil'.
• The earliest evidence of human activity in Ireland was pushed back to 33,000 years ago by a reindeer bone found in County Cork.