THE HISTORY OF IRELAND 

The history of Ireland is rich in the legends, myths and folklore of 
different races. It has been proven that the traditions of the Irish 
people are the oldest of any race in all western Europe and that 
they are the longest settled on their own land. The Irish, too, was 
one of the first peoples to adopt surnames and , as many of these 
were fixed during or shortly after the reign of Brian Boru , The 
High King of Ireland (AD941-1014AD) the Irish may indeed be justly 
proud of their tradition. Indeed the history of the Kellys in 
Ireland predates this period and there are many stories and legends 
surrounding the Kelly family from this time. 

Pre Christian History


In earliest days the mysterious Tuatha De Danann , mysterious god 
like warriors with magical powers roamed Ireland along with their 
servants the Firbolgs and their sea going henchmen the Formorians. 
By the sixth century BC they had disappeared , probably annihilated 
by King Milesius and his forces from Spain. In about 350BC the 
Celts, who had marched across Europe came to a halt in Ireland, the 
western most outpost and from the 1st 
century AD the gaels started to emerge, having adopted the myths, 
genes and lifestyles of all those who had come before them. Gaelic 
culture was set to become a integral part of Irish history from then 
until the modern day and formed moulded Ireland into the nation it 
is now.

Early Christian

Ireland was a pagan country until the arrival of Saint Patrick in 
432AD. He had been preceded by Palladius , who is believed to have 
been sent to Ireland, then called Scotia, by Pope Celestine I . 
Little trace of him now remains and there are several conflicting 
theories as to Saint Patrick's origins. Amongst those postulated are 
that he was either Welsh, Roman or French. His impact was, however, 
enormous. Christianity ushered in Ireland's Golden Age. Schools were 
opened , laws formulated , the era of the great manuscripts dawned, 
ancient folklore which had been passed down orally from generation 
to generation was committed to writing and the great monastic 
settlements, that were to form such an inherent part of society for 
centuries, thrived about this time. Beautiful metalwork , much of in 
it indigenous gold, was produced as were stone sculptures and books, 
many of which form part of modern day Ireland's national treasures. 
This was the era of the fabled "Land of Saints and Scholars" 
during which time many of her Saints and scribes went abroad to 
Europe to spread the gospel , and lay people, went to tend the sick 
in Europe, which was then descending into the Dark Ages. 

The Arrival of the Vikings

In the ninth century , the Vikings and Norsemen from Scandinavia 
arrived by longboat , plundering and looting the monasteries and 
treasures that lay close to the sea and rivers. Some remained to 
found the ports of Waterford, originally known as Vadrefjord and 
Dublin where artefacts continue to be unearthed even today. In 
1014AD most, but by no means all, of the Norsemen were defeated at 
the Battle of Clontarf , four miles to the north of modern day 
Dublin City centre. Even at this stage the O'Kellys were making a 
considerable impact on Irish history and is was during this battle 
that the legendary Tadhg Mor O'Kelly fell "fighting like a wolf dog" 
against the Danes in defence of Ireland . During and after the 
battle it is said that the legendary sea monster, which can be seen 
on the O'Kelly crest , came from the sea to protect the fallen body 
of Tadgh Mor and his O'Kelly kinsmen. 
The Danes had , however, successfully laid the foundations of modern 
Dublin and their influence in building the capital is still very 
much in evidence today.

The Anglo Norman Invasion

Just as the arrival of Saint Patrick and the Vikings were turning 
points in Irish history so too was the arrival of the Normans. The 
Anglo Norman Invasion , which commenced in 1169 was not planned?it 
just happened! A bitter rivalry existed between two warrior kings; 
Dermot MacMurrough of Leinster and Tiernan O'Rourke of Breifne (now 
Cavan). Mac Murrough had learned the wrath of O'Rourke by wooing his 
wife , Devorgilla, from him. Although she returned to her husband 
after a short interval , O'Rourke supported Rory O'Connor, King of 
Connacht, in a feud against Mac Murrough and his ally, Murtough Mac 
Lachlainn, the powerful king of Ulster. The sudden death of Mac 
Lachlainn left Mac Murrough isolated and helpless. His castle at 
Ferns in County Wexford was destroyed and he fled secretly to Europe 
to seek the assistance of Henry, Duke of Normandy, count of Anjou 
and Maine, who had been crowned King Of England in 1154 at the age 
of 21. Henry actively encouraged Mac Murrough to recruit some of the 
Normans and Flemings who had invaded England in 1066, a turning 
point in English history which secured Duke William of Normandy's 
position on the English throne. 
Richard Fitzgilbert de Clare , an ambitious Norman known as 
"Strongbow" agreed to lead a force to Ireland in exchange for the 
hand in marriage of Aoife, Mac Murroughs daughter and the rights of 
succession to the land of Leinster. In May 1169 the first of the 
Norman invaders landed on the beaches of County Wexford followed 
later by Strongbow. The indigenous Irish, supported by their allies 
and naturalised Normans fought valiantly against the invaders but 
were thwarted by superior military ingenuity. Within a year Mac 
Murrough had died and his ambitions had come to nothing. The Normans 
however, thrived in Ireland and in 1175 Henry II came to Ireland to 
stop the progress and set up centralised administration. During his 
time in Ireland he built the first Dublin Castle, introduced coinage 
and the legal jury system. 
Within eight years of their arrival the Normans dominated much of 
Irish life with the exception of parts of Munster and Connacht , 
which was still dominated by the O'Kellys of Ui Maine. The Normans 
were superb builders and administrators and gave much to the 
infrastructure of Ireland at that time. They did not however, 
completely conquer the country but integrated into the local 
population. So much so that the English initiated Poynings' Law .In 
an attempt to frustrate integration into the local population the 
Normans were forbidden to marry Irish, adopt the customs, dress or 
traditions of the local gaels or to speak the language. 

The Cromwellian Period 

To save the expense and administration of governing Ireland from 
abroad the English appointed the Fitzgeralds as Governors of 
Ireland. Garrett Mor Fitzgerald , the great Earl of Kildare, became 
known as "all but the King of Ireland" and was later succeeded by 
his son Garrett Og Fitzgerald, a man who lacked his fathers fine 
diplomacy and authority. In addition to that he had the arrogant 
young King Henry VIII to contend with. In 1541 Henry, after 
declaring himself head of the Church of England also declared 
himself King of Ireland. For the most part many of the Irish 
chieftains and Anglo Irish entertained this position and paid him 
patronage. However he also declared himself head of the church in 
Ireland which infuriated the devout Christian Church and led to 
revolt. 
There were numerous uprisings .Eventually a strong army, led by the 
Earl of Tyrone, Hugh O'Neill , and Red Hugh O'Donnell marched south 
from Ulster to join a Spanish force which had sailed to the County 
Cork coast at Kinsale. The battle that ensued, the Battle of 
Kinsale, was another turning point in Irish history. O'Neill and 
O'Donnell retreated to Ulster and they along with almost ninety of 
Irelands most powerful families fled to continental Europe from 
Lough Swilly in County Donegal in what became known as "The Flight 
of the Earls." 
In spite of this retreat Ireland remained a considerable military 
risk to the English and in 1649 Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) arrived 
in Ireland with his army. He began by capturing the town of Drogheda 
in County Louth after the infamous siege of Drogheda and went on to 
engulf the country granting his soldiers confiscated lands in lieu 
of pay and wrecking the infrastructure of Ireland . He thus laid the 
foundation for the widespread Protestant ownership of land and the 
Protestant land-owning ascendancy. 
The Flight of the Earls had left a strong power vacuum in Ulster 
which James I of England filled with Protestant immigrants, mostly 
from Scotland, who were given land subsidies in the six counties of 
Ulster. The importation three hundred years ago of privileged 
immigrants with a distinct nationality and strict religious 
observances could be said to have laid the foundation for the years 
of religious conflict that dogs modern Ireland.

From 1695 penal laws had been introduced with the aim of destroying 
Catholicism as a political force in Ireland, along with its threats 
from sympathetic Catholic allies in Spain and France. Catholics were 
debarred from Parliament , from holding public office , from the 
legal professions and from holding positions in the army. In fact 
they were not even allowed own a horse worth more than £5. However 
those who crossed over to the Established Church were allowed take 
to privileged positions. Thus most of the Norman and Old English 
families managed to retain their land and positions by adopting the 
new faith. The Irish were further compelled to Anglicise their 
family names and drop the 'O' and 'Mac' prefixes in favour of 
English variants. Many town and locality names were also anglicised 
during this period. 
King James II (1633-1700) succeeded his brother, Charles I. James 
II, a Catholic, after a violent and mismanaged reign fled to Ireland 
where the Irish flocked to his side. However the Protestant King 
William of Orange had been invited to take over James's throne and 
in 1690 landed with an army of 35,000 men and fought King James with 
his army of 23,000 Irish and French soldiers at the Battle of The 
Boyne for the throne of England. Outnumbered and defeated King James 
fled. The Irish struggled on, but heavy defeats at Limerick and the 
Battle of Augrim a year later in the heart of O'Kellys Country, 
dominated for generations by the O'Kellys of Ui Maine many of whom 
were amongst the 4,000 Irish fatalities , took their toll and 
effectively ended Irish resistance. 
During the period 1690 to 1730 , it is estimated that as many as 
120,000 Irish sailed for the save haven of mainland Europe. Many of 
them stowed away on merchant vessels smuggling wine from France to 
Ireland and became known as "the Wild Geese". This name later became 
synonymous with the hundreds of thousands of Irish emigrants whose 
talents were to flower abroad as the could not do at home. In fact 
far from defeating Irish Catholicism the flight of the "Wild Geese" 
served to spread Irish influence throughout Europe. 
In the Catholic countries of France, Spain, Portugal and Italy they 
were well received. Supported by the martial art- soldiering, they 
soon occupied high positions within the armies of Europe and put 
their administrative talents to work in the courts of Europe. 

The Struggle for Home Rule

In 1781 the American colonies defiance of English authority inspired 
the Irish to do likewise. Led by patriotic Ulster Protestants , the 
agitated for legislative independence, which they achieved in 1782. 
For a brief period Ireland was an independent kingdom, though 
sharing a monarchy with England. A number of religious restrictions 
were removed , Catholics were permitted to vote but were still 
excluded from holding public office. 
Because of the constant communication between the Irish and the 
exiled "Wild Geese" in France the philosophy of the French 
Revolution filtered back and took seed amongst the Irish. Under the 
leadership of Wolfe Tone a rebellion took place in 1798 mainly in 
Dublin and Wexford. Unsupported as they were by the rest of the 
country the rebellion and brutally and quickly suppressed. 
In 1801, despite much opposition , and by creating many new peerages 
an Act of union with Britain was passed. Ireland lost its 
independent parliament to become once again a minor part of the 
United Kingdom. The union effectively set the political and cultural 
life of Ireland back a hundred years and Dublin ceased to be one of 
Europe's leading capitals. 
It was not until 1829 that Daniel O'Connell won full catholic 
emancipation . the Young Ireland Movement, contrary to O'Connell, 
believed that force was the only way to repeal the harsh anti Irish 
laws. In 1848 their abortive insurrection was defeated and its 
leaders, William Smith O'Brien and Charles Gavin Duffy, were sent to 
Australia as convicts. Not only did their ideas enrich Australia but 
their writings had greater effect in Ireland that their abortive 
coup.

The Great Famine

In 1845 the potato crop, on which the Irish were largely dependant, 
failed as a result of widespread blight. Within the following five 
years the population of seven million fell to an estimated three 
million through starvation, drought and emigration, largely to the 
United States, Canada and the Americas. 
In Ireland, despite the loss of some many of its leaders the fight 
for home rule and land reform continued largely through the efforts 
of Charles Stewart Parnell (1845-1891). In the United States it was 
taken up by the militant Fenian Brotherhood. However sexual scandals 
marred Parnell who died in 1891 without realising his goal of Home 
Rule.

The 1916 Easter Uprising

For many the ill prepared uprising of 1916 came as a surprise. Many 
of the local population were against the Declaration of Independence 
made by a band of poets and young republican idealists in the 
General Post Office in the centre of Dublin City on a quiet Easter 
Monday. Fierce fighting erupted all over Dublin for a short time 
before the English ordered a gunboat up the River Liffey to bombard 
the ill armed rebels in the GPO. Patrick Pearse and the remaining 
rebels quickly surrendered to the British and were marched away 
through a crowd of Dubliners who spat at and insulted them. 
However the ruthless execution of the leaders of the uprising 
quickly turned the tide of public opinion against the English and 
left a legacy of hatred..

The Emergence of Modern Ireland

After the 1916 Uprising Home Rule was finally granted but six 
counties of Ulster held firm and refused to join a united Ireland. A 
compromise solution which allowed for the partition of Ireland and 
separate status for Northern Ireland was agreed under the 
stewardship of Eamonn de Valera, Michael Collins and Lloyd George, 
then Prime Minister of England. However the