History of Ireland

The account of Ireland’s past, from prehistoric settlement to the present, including its societies, political changes, and cultural development.

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Prehistoric Ireland: The period of human settlement in Ireland before written records, spanning the Mesolithic through the Iron Age. Archaeology traces Ireland’s earliest communities and monuments before documentary history.
Lordship of Ireland: The medieval polity established under English authority in Ireland, formally created in the twelfth century. It institutionalized English claims while leaving much of Ireland under Gaelic rule.
Brian Boru: An Irish king who became high king and died at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. His reign became a landmark in accounts of early Irish kingship and Viking conflict.
Irish War of Independence: The 1919–1921 guerrilla conflict between Irish republican forces and British government forces. The war forced negotiations that led to the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
Great Famine (Ireland): The catastrophic 1845–1852 famine caused primarily by potato crop failure, with mass death and emigration in Ireland. The famine transformed population, landholding, and attitudes toward British rule.
Celtic Ireland: The societies, languages, and material cultures associated with Celtic peoples in ancient and early medieval Ireland. Celtic languages and traditions shaped identities later associated with Ireland.
Kingdom of Ireland: The kingdom created in 1542 under Henry VIII, ruled by the English monarch and later the British crown. Its creation marked a stronger Tudor effort to govern Ireland as a kingdom.
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone: A Gaelic Irish lord who led resistance to English rule during the Nine Years’ War. His defeat and departure helped end the old Gaelic political order.
Irish Civil War: The 1922–1923 conflict between opposing Irish factions over the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The treaty split became a defining conflict in the new state’s politics.
Easter Rising: An armed insurrection in Dublin in April 1916 seeking to end British rule in Ireland. Its execution of leaders shifted public opinion toward republican independence.