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 O'Kellys in Ireland predates this period and there are many stories and legends surrounding the O'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 Turin 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 republican movement who had striven for a thirty two county united republic refused to accept the Peace Treaty and a bitter Civil War between those in favour and those against the Treaty effectively splitting the Irish Republican Army (IRA) into pro-treaty and anti-treaty factions.

Almost eighty years later this conflict continues to perpetuate the violent history of Ireland .