Ireland (Eire) Travel Guide - History

In 700 BC, the Celts are believed to have arrived from Britain and Gaul. Historians popularly hold that they colonised Ireland over a period of seven thousand years with the last wave known as the Gael, believed to have conquered the island and divided it into around five separate kingdoms.

By 350 AD, Christianity had arrived at the island, transforming it and giving it a new sense of prosperity. The arrival of St Patrick in 432 is noted as a significant event in the country’s religious history; this proud traveller spreading the word of God after seeking approval from King Laoghaire. The Irish druid faith was allowed to fall by the wayside as Christianity gained more and more popularity and its influence was felt by more and more of the island’s citizens.

From the 13th century, Ireland began to see the introduction of English law and by the end of this century the feudal system had been established in most of lowland Ireland. The following two centuries saw the balance of power shift firstly back to the Gaelic septs then once again back to the English. By 1603, the English had assumed complete control of the island and by the end of the century there was little or nothing left of the Gaelic superstructure.

From hereon, the division between the Catholic and the Protestant factions began with new laws banning Catholics from voting or attending Parliament. A variety of developments increasing the powers of English Protestant ruling class (known by then as the Protestant Ascendancy) created further rifts and the division grew greater still.

In 1800, the Act of Union was passed by the British and later by the Irish Parliament and in the following year this created a merged entity of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland which was to become known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In the 19th century, the Great Famine occurred, during which about one million Irish citizens died causing large numbers to flee the country and consequently reduced the population significantly.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Irish Nationalism rose with great support from the poorer Catholic citizens of both the north and the southern parts of the island. A long period of trouble ensued which affected mainly Northern Ireland but was felt in the hearts of citizens of the Republic who supported the aims and intentions of those seeking a unified Ireland.