This is VERY LONG but interesting stuff if you've the time. Happy St.
Patrick's Day - and where's my green beer!
Celebrating Irish History Month and Saint Patrick's Day
Ireland is a land rich in history. Relics from the Stone Age lend support to
the conclusion that the first settlers arrived in Ireland at least 8,000 years
ago. Since that time, Ireland has had many "visitors" to her shores.
The Celts began arriving from Europe as early as 600 B.C. During this time,
Ireland became divided into 150 small kingdoms and five provinces. Four of
these provinces, Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht, still exist today.
The first raid made by the Vikings occurred in 795 A.D. when they pillaged a
monastery on Lambay Island, off the coast of Dublin. After each raid, the
Vikings would return home. However, beginning in 830 A.D., the Vikings
established bases and began
attacking the surrounding countryside. In 841 A.D., the Vikings established
the city of Dublin. While the Irish began to successfully defend against the
attacks, the Vikings were never driven from the country, and eventually the
Vikings married into
Irish families and became Christians.
From 1100 onward, the relationship between England and Ireland forms a central
theme of Irish history. In 1169, the Normans (who were descended from Vikings)
arrived on the southeast coast of Ireland, quickly capturing Waterford and
Dublin. King Henry II
of England supported Norman leaders in their claim of portions of Ireland. By
1300, the Normans controlled most of the country.
In 1536, King Henry VIII negotiated agreements with the Irish where they
surrendered their land to Henry and received the land back as his servants.
When Queen Mary took over the throne in 1553 she reversed the arrangement and
sent colonies of English
people into Ireland to subdue the country. In 1575, after Queen Elizabeth had
succeeded Mary on the throne, Irish bishops and priests were executed. This
led to the development of a new national spirit that was both Roman Catholic
and anti-English.
In the late 1500,s and early 1600,s England began confiscating land and
planting various areas of Ireland with mainly English and Scottish settlers.
The Ulster Settlement was the most successful of these efforts and gave the
area the Protestant character
that continues today. In the 1700,s, extremely harsh religious laws, known as
the Penal Laws, were passed that were intended to keep Irish Roman Catholics
poor and without power. In 1801, the Act of Union came into effect; it united
the two kingdoms of
Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom. Roman Catholics were ineligible
to vote or become members of the new parliament, but in 1829, fearing
revolution from the Irish, an act was passed allowing Roman Catholics to sit
in parliament and to hold
almost all government offices.
By 1841, the population in Ireland was more than 8 million. At this time, many
families lived on potatoes and little else. In 1845, blight affected the
potato crop in widely separated areas. By 1846, it had appeared throughout the
whole country, rotting
most of the potato crop. Almost a million people died of hunger and disease;
nearly a million people emigrated, most of them to the United States and
Canada due to economic and political circumstances. Emigration continued
through the 1900s. During this
time, Ireland witnessed the largest mass exodus of Irish people in recorded
history.
By the time the 1900s arrived, Ireland had been consistently invaded by
Britain for over 800 years. Throughout this time, Ireland proved to be one of
the most rebellious of all of Britain's conquered countries with a refusal to
accept British rule. The
1900s were to see a permanent change in the control of the country.
In 1916, the famous "Easter Rising" rebellion occurred in Dublin against
British authority. While this was suppressed, it was to be the turning point
which would lead to Irish independence. In 1921, Ireland negotiated with
Britain the independence of 26
counties within Ireland, while Britain retained authority over six counties
in the North. The 26 counties now comprise the Republic of Ireland, a
sovereign nation.
While the British controlled Northern Ireland, the community was made up of
both Irish "Nationalists" and British "Loyalists". This resulted in conflicts
within the province. These conflicts resulted in terrorist activities from
1970-1998 on both sides.
In 1998, all political parties in Northern Ireland, under the sponsorship of
the Irish and British governments, finally agreed to a structure for governing
Northern Ireland in a peaceful manner. All political parties and social
communities are part of
this power-sharing structure. Recently, however, the process was dealt a
setback when Britain suspended its fledgling, power-sharing government because
the IRA failed to take steps to disarm as demanded by pro-British Unionists in
line with the landmark
1998 Good Friday peace accord.
Ireland is currently going through a very successful period, both economically
and socially. Through the 1900s, there was significant immigration, primarily
involving the young, educated work force. However, the Irish economy has
experienced one of the
highest growth rates over the last three years of any country and is forecast
to again achieve growth of 6-9% this year. Ireland is enjoying surplus budgets
and tax reductions. This phenomenon has been termed the "Celtic Tiger." This
has resulted in a
net inflow of people back to Ireland over the last several years. The
industries that are primarily contributing to this boom include tourism,
financial services, high-tech (e.g., Intel, Dell), and agriculture.
First of all Saint Patrick was not Irish! Although he is the Patron Saint,
national apostle and credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland, he was
from Scotland. At the age of sixteen, he was captured from his father's farm
by Irish raiders and
enslaved in Ireland for six years. His captivity had a profoundly spiritual
effect on him. One night, legend has it, he heard in a dream that a ship that
was to rescue him was ready and so he fled and sailed to England. He continued
to dream of
returning to Ireland and converting the pagan natives to Christianity. After
he was ordained a priest, he returned and began his mission. Saint Patrick had
such success that today over 93% of the population is Christian in the
Republic of Ireland.
Following on from Saint Patrick's legacy, Irish monks were instrumental in
reintroducing Christianity to Europe.
By the end of the 7th century, many legends had been attributed to St.
Patrick. One legend is that he banished snakes from Ireland. Perhaps the best
known is that he used a shamrock, which consists of three leaves on one stalk,
to demonstrate the Holy Trinity, three persons in one God, to the pagans.
Today Irish people wear shamrocks, the national flower of Ireland, in their
lapels on St. Patrick's Day, March 17.
Communication and self-expression can be considered fundamental to the Irish
culture, whether through literature, theater, music, dance, or just conversing
and story telling. A revival of Irish literature, inspired by Celtic
tradition, legends and Irish
beliefs, began in the late 19th century. In addition, Irish traditional music
as brought to the US by immigrants has developed quite a following and has
influenced popular music today.
The Irish Language, also called Gaelic or Gaeilge, was brought to Ireland by
invading Celts around 300 B.C. It belongs to the Celtic family of languages,
which is made up of Irish, Scottish, Manx (extinct), Welsh, Breton, and
Cornish (extinct). Ogham,
was an early written form of Irish. Dating from around 300 A.D., Ogham looks
like a form of bar code. This made it easy to carve in stone and wood.
While Irish was once the language of the majority of the population in Ireland
(even the invading Vikings adopted the language), its use diminished greatly,
particularly after the Famine. Only about 1% of the population currently use
it as a daily
language. A special word you will hear frequently is Cr�ic (pronounced
crack), which means to have fun with good company. It has nothing to do with
drugs!
Irish music and dance have been performed since around 100 B.C. Irish dances
include jigs and reels that are very upbeat and lively. Ballads are songs that
can be thought provoking, amusing, patriotic, or sorrowful. The infusion of
traditional Irish
music into popular music has fueled the success of current music from The
Chieftains, The Cranberries, Sinead O'Connor, U2, The Corrs and Van Morrison.
Music coupled with a distinctive dance made up of lightning fast tap dancing,
foot work and high
kicks leads to great entertainment such as Riverdance.
Irish literature and drama have made a remarkable contribution to the Western
World. James Joyce's Ulysses was recently voted one of the top ten books of
the century. From Jonathan Swift's political satire, Gulliver's Travels, in
the 18th century to
Seamus Heaney's poetry (Nobel prizewinner 1995), the history of Irish
literature is long and extensive. In addition to Seamus Heaney, three other
Irish writers won Nobel prizes in the 20th century. Early this century the
romantic poet William Butler
Yeats gained international recognition and the Nobel prize in 1923. He was
followed in 1925 by the playwright George Bernard Shaw who took theater into
the 20th century. Samuel Beckett's inventive and striking exploration of self
and identity earned him
a Nobel prize in 1968. Other notable writers are Bram Stoker and the
playwright Sean O'Casey. Contemporary popular writers such as Frank McCourt,
Maeve Binchy, and Brian Friel continue the tradition.
The main Gaelic sports in Ireland are hurling and Gaelic football, with around
250,000 participating in Gaelic Games in Ireland alone. Hurling is one of the
fastest field games in the world. An ancient game similar to hockey, it is
played with a small
ball and a curved wooden stick. It is Europe's oldest field game which
features in Irish folklore to illustrate the deeds of heroic mystical figures
and is chronicled as a distinct Irish pastime for at least 2000 years. Gaelic
football can be described
as a mixture of soccer and rugby, although it predates both of those games.
Both the hurling and Gaelic football seasons culminate in the All-Ireland
finals in September.
There have been a vast number of Irish Americans who have made significant
impact in American politics, military and government services. In 1963, the
President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
the Majority Leader of the
Senate and the Chairman of the National Committee were all Irish-American
Catholic Democrats. Additionally:
Charles Carroll, Thomas Lynch, Thomas McKean, George Read, Edward Rutledge,
James Smith, George Taylor and Matthew Thornton all signed the Declaration of
Independence.
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) defeated John Quincy Adams to become the 7th
President of the United States.
Andrew W. Mellon (1855-1933) was a banker and was named as Secretary of the
Treasury.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy's (1917-1963) political career began in 1946 in a run
for Congress. In 1960, he was elected President.
Sandra Day O'Connor (1930- ) was appointed the first female Supreme Court
justice in 1981.
In addition other well known personalities include Roy Disney, James Cagney,
Maureen O'Hara, Pierce Brosnan, John Huston, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dylan
McDermott, Grace Kelly, Spencer Tracy and George Clooney.
Interested in seeing Ireland firsthand? Bord Failte is the Irish Tourist Board
and can assist with planning needs.
There are plenty of options once you arrive in Ireland.
Dublin is the capital city and houses favorites such as the St. Patrick's
Cathedral, Dublin Castle, the Guinness Brewery, Jameson Distillery and the
Book of Kells (an ancient manuscript) in Trinity College. Glendalough is a
small town southwest of
Dublin. It is an old mission site and contains some of the oldest Celtic
crosses that still exist.
County Cork is home to plenty of castles, the most famous being Blarney
Castle, one of Ireland's oldest and most historic castles. Feel free to kiss
the Blarney Stone. Legend has that if you do, you will have "the gift of the
gab." The coastal towns of
Kinsale, Crosshaven and Schull are very charming and hospitable.
One of the most scenic drives is the Ring of Kerry in the southwest corner of
Ireland. The west coast contains the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren.
In the west, the city of Galway is well worth exploring. From Galway, take a
ferry to the Aran Islands where Irish is still the spoken language. There are
three islands to choose from: Inishmore, Inismaan and Inisheer. North of
Galway lies the area of
Connamara. Roundstone and Clifden are two very scenic towns to also visit.
Newgrange is the oldest building in Europe, even older than Stonehenge. This
is an architectural wonder designed to offer thanks after the harvest. On the
winter solstice every year, the sun hits the building so the entire inner room
is illuminated.
The Mountains of Mourne in County Down are a lovely drive and a good area to
hike. The Giant's Causeway in county Antrim is a series of volcanic rocks that
are quite impressive to view.
If you are interested in learning more about Irish heritage and history,
please see the following sites:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~fianna/history/index.html
http://www.ireland.travel.ie/home/index.asp
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/irish/index.html
<;)))><
Sarah Myers
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves
for they shall never cease to be amused.
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