Ireland history notes cartoonbuddy

Hello Buddy... Well, look now yourself, at the Emerald Isle of Ireland (Eire) to be sure... Myself, I have been taking notes of your human life in this place since the Great Test of Time began, an awful long age ago and when the Cartoon Buddy Club Penguin People first started their note club...

Although in your today’s history, the Emerald Isle is sitting there like a big ship in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of the huge, European Union thing. At first, the island was joined by land to the rest of Europe. But, with the thawing of the Ice Age, it eventually, like Britain, became an island all of it's own.

From your earliest human times here, about 6500 BC, nomadic hunter gatherers scoured this fertile land and were the first folks to start peopling, or as you say (populating) it. In the 3rd Century BC, Celtic tribes first invaded the Island and formed over a hundred small chiefdoms, taking over from the descendants of these hunter gatherer tribes.

With the withdrawal of the Roman Legions from Britain (7th century), the Scots Celtic tribe, settled in the North of Britain and merged with the Pict Tribe, attempting to then, create a larger Ireland, by dominating the previously Roman ruled, Ancient British Tribes known as Welsh.

With the intervention of the Anglo Saxon tribes from Europe also settling Britain (later called English). The new Gaelic land of Scotland was formed, along with the Celtic Wales that is known today. So too, were formed from this early time, the seeds of fear to be so ingrained into the future Anglo Saxon Kings and Queens of England, whose brutal attitude toward Ireland (also Scotland and Wales), were fed by the fear of having any potentially hostile, independent Celtic state, so close to their own English borders. With this in mind, the island off Britain’s Welsh coast and fear of a potential launch pad for any invasion of Britain, has led to lingering and very painful conflict, even in today’s history.

In Ireland itself, while the Irish Scots tribe created their own lands. Many new tribal chieftains took the name king of their respective areas of control. But the agreed leader and chieftain to be of total dominance, of all other kings, was to be called the 'High King'. The history of this island from there, has been very interesting indeed and below you will find some of my notes that I have included on this page, I hope you will find them interesting too.

So, look now yourself today. Your human Great Test of Time all over planet Earth (of living together in peace) is still in full swing. No more so than in this place. So when one day you all pass the Great Test of Time and I hope and am sure you humans will. You can look back at history’s notes and see more clearly how things could have been done so much better and in a peaceful way.

My history notes

432 AD St Patrick the patron saint of Ireland introduced Christianity faith.

5th-9th centuries the Irish church is the main source of unity, culture and learning.

9th- 11th century Vikings raid the island frequently.

1014 High King Brian Boru forces a major defeat on the Vikings at Clontarf

12th-13th Century Normans (French descendants of the Vikings) conquer much of the island asserting their own individual local kingdoms, with no overall control.

14th-15th Century Irish Chieftains recover their lands and force the Norman English to the small area around Dublin.

1536 Henry VIII attempted to enforce the Protestant Reformation upon the Island, but it was rejected.

1541 The Irish Chieftain parliament recognised Henry VIII as king of Ireland in return for peerages and wealth.

1579 The Desmond Rebellion was suppressed, lands were confiscated and English settlers were introduced in an attempt to pacify the island.

1610 James I again introduced settlers, declaring the plantation of Ulster and sending Protestants from England and Scotland.

1641 The Catholic Irish rebelled against English rule.

1649-1650 Oliver Cromwell of England most brutally suppressed the rebellion and evicted Irish landowners giving their land to Protestant settlers.

1689-1681 Catholic Irish supported Pro-Catholic James II against Protestant William III in Williamite civil war. Upon losing new laws barred Catholics from holding both wealth or power.

1720 British Parliament passes act to legislate for Ireland.

1739-1741 Great Famine kills thousands.

1798 The Irish revolt with French support, but are defeated.

1800-1801 The Act of Union. Ireland's parliament is abolished. The Union Of Great Britain and Ireland is declared by the English parliament.

1846-1851 Potato Famine kills thousands, there is a mass emigration of people to other shores.

1886 The home rule bill is rejected.

1905 Political Party Sinn Fein (or Ourselves alone) is formed.

1914 The Home rule act is delayed due to the first world war and as Ulster is close to Civil War to resist the Act.

1916 The Easter rising. Nationalists proclaimed a republic in Dublin and conflict ensues between the British military and insurgents. Fifteen leaders of the uprising are executed.

1919-21 Sinn Fein members of Parliament form an Irish Parliament in Dublin, to defy the English Parliament. An Irish insurrection against British rule followed, leading to the Anglo Irish treaty which partitioned Ireland. The south won full self government dominion status and the North (Ulster) remained under British rule.

Some General Events

1922 The Irish free state was created as a Dominion within the British Empire.

1922-1923 Civil war arose between those factions who wished to see a fully united country of Ireland and those who wished for the state of Northern Ireland, to remain under the control of the United Kingdom.

1937 A new constitution declared the sovereign nation of Eire to include the whole of Ireland. The oath of loyalty to the English Crown was now abolished.

1949 Ireland became an Independent Republic, now no longer within the Commonwealth ( formerly British Empire). Claims to the British Government for the Republic of Ireland to rule Northern Ireland and it's six counties are continued.

1955 Ireland admitted into the United Nations.

1973 Ireland joined the European Community.

1985 Anglo Irish Agreement (Allowing a consultative role in Northern Ireland)

1993 Downing street declaration (If a majority of Northern Ireland's population voted to remain within the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland would relinquish it's claim to control Northern Ireland)

1998 Good Friday Agreement (The Irish Republic gives up it's constitutional claim to full control of Northern Ireland. A North and South Ministerial Council is established)

1999 Ireland joins the Euro (A European joint monetary system)

The High Kings Of Ireland

Throughout History, none of the so called Celtic / Gaelic High Kings of the island ever completely ruled Ireland for all their natural lives. There were no lines of succession to any formalised and centralised throne and far too many lower King Tribal Chieftains, to effect total control. As so many local Kings were present, there was always much in-fighting and political intrigue.

My short notes of High Kings below, contain just some of the main characters that held power in Ireland and lists why they were of particular importance.

46-862 Mael Sechnaill (Fought Viking raiders and subdued local kings)

916-919 Niall Glundub (Fought Viking raiders)

964-976 Mathgamain (Fought Viking raiders and subdued many local kings)

1002-1014 Brian Boruma allied with Mael Sechnaill II

(Subdued most local Kings and divided Ireland between themselves)

1014 Mael Sechnaill II (Took control after his allies death in battle)

1054 Diarmait Mac Mael (Fought Viking raiders and was High King at the time of the battle of Hastings 1066)

Events Leading to The Battle Of The Boyne.

1677 Protestant William Of Orange ( the grandson of King Charles I) married Mary, the eldest daughter of King James VII of Scotland (the future Catholic King of England known as James II).

Mary herself was of Protestant faith, (although her father was a Catholic) and the mainly Protestant English, were quite expectant of William and Mary's eventual accession to the English throne.

1685 Protestant King Charles II of England died, without a legitimate son as heir to the English throne.

Catholic King James VII of Scotland, brother of King Charles II, now became next in line to the English throne. (James VII of Scotland now also held the title King James II of England and united both the thrones of Scotland and England as King).

The English however, would only accept Mary’s father to be a Catholic King James II of England, as a temporary, stop gap measure only.

The bitter problems arose, when James II unexpectedly had a son ( and therefore a new heir to the throne, to eventually become known as Catholic Bonnie Prince Charlie of Scotland).

1688 The so called Glorious Revolution' ended the reign of Catholic King James II, who fled to Europe and sought the aid of French King Louis XIV to regain his throne.

William And Mary were invited by the English to share the throne in place of Mary’s father.

What was The Glorious Revolution?

It was a bill of Rights that was passed in 1689. Items included in the bill, were that here could be no longer be a Roman Catholic King or Queen of Britain. Also that Political supremacy was now to be the right of Parliament only. The bill also stated for the first time that English citizens possessed both civic and political rights.

The bill was called The Glorious Revolution as it had been passed without bloodshed and made constitutional history in Britain ( even today, Britain does not hold a written final Constitution, as does the likes of young America).

William Of Orange and Mary accepted this bill of rights and were then allowed to ascend the throne.

1689 James II landed in Ireland (where Jacobite Catholic support for him was strong) with the aid of French troops of King Louis XIV. The Catholic French King himself, had planned to dominate Europe and supported the Jacobite cause in re-installing Catholic James II as King of Britain and to oust the new Protestant British King William of Orange and Queen Mary.

James II was given a large degree of support and soon became in control of most of Ireland, with the exception of the important towns of Derry and Enniskillen in the North of the country.

1690 The Battle of the Boyne ended the hopes of King James II. His army was defeated and destroyed. He returned to the safety of France and would not again set foot on British soil. However, his son, Charles Edward Stuart, better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, would eventually travel to Scotland and with Jacobite support there, would attempt seize the kingdom for his father.

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The victory of Protestant King William of Orange and Mary over Catholic James II led to the brutal suppression of Pro-Catholic Jacobite citizens in Ireland (as it also did in Scotland after the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie). The following enforced divisions of faith from this battle between both Protestant and Catholic citizens was allowed to fester, to prevent further rebellions. But through eventually ingrained resentments on both sides, this has lead to tension, even in your today's, enlightened human world.

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