1.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
2.
Brian Boru
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Brian Boru was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill. He was the founder of the OBrien dynasty, with a population of under 500,000 people, Ireland had over 150 kings, with greater or lesser domains. The Uí Néill king Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, abandoned by his northern kinsmen of the Cenél nEógain and Cenél Conaill, acknowledged Brian as High King at Athlone in 1002. Brians hard-won authority was challenged in 1013 when his ally Máel Sechnaill was attacked by the Cenél nEógain king Flaithbertach Ua Néill. This was followed by attacks on Máel Sechnaill by the Dubliners under their king Sihtric Silkbeard. Brian campaigned against these enemies in 1013, in 1014, Brians armies confronted the armies of Leinster and Dublin, with Norsemen fighting on both sides, at Clontarf near Dublin on Good Friday. The resulting Battle of Clontarf was an affair, with Brian, his son Murchad. The list of the dead in the Annals of Ulster includes Irish kings, Norse Gaels, Scotsmen. The immediate beneficiary of the slaughter was Máel Sechnaill, who resumed his interrupted reign, the Norse-Gaels and Scandinavians also produced works mentioning Brian, including Njals Saga, the Orkneyinga Saga, and the now-lost Brians Saga. Many Irish annals state that Brian was in his 88th year when he fell in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, if true, this would mean that he was born as early as 926 or 927. Other birth dates given in retrospect are 923 or 942 and he was one of the 12 sons of Cennétig mac Lorcáin, king of Dál gCais and king of Tuadmumu, modern County Clare, then a sub-kingdom in the north of Munster. Cennétig was described as rígdamna Caisil, meaning that he was either heir or candidate to the kingship of Cashel or Munster, Brians mother was Bé Binn inion Urchadh, daughter of Urchadh mac Murchadh, king of Maigh Seóla in west Connacht. That they belonged to the Uí Briúin Seóla may explain why he received the name Brian, Brian was born at Kincora, Killaloe, a town in the region of Tuadmumu. Brians posthumous cognomen Bóruma may have referred to Béal Bóruma, a north of Killaloe. Another explanation, though possibly a late interpretation, is that the nickname represented Old Irish bóruma of the cattle tribute, when their father died, the kingship of Tuadmumu passed to Brians older brother, Mathgamain, and, when Mathgamain was killed in 976, Brian replaced him. Subsequently, he became the king of the kingdom of Munster. In earlier times their ancestors had controlled some lands in todays County Limerick as well, but these had been overrun by the Uí Fidgenti from the 9th century, the River Shannon served as an easy route by which raids could be made against the provinces of Connacht and Meath. Both Brians father, Cennétig mac Lorcáin and his older brother Mathgamain conducted river-borne raids and this was probably the root of his appreciation for naval forces in his later career
3.
Monarchy of Ireland
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A monarchical system of government existed in Ireland from ancient times until, for what became the Republic of Ireland, the mid-twentieth century. Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, remains under a system of government. The Gaelic kingdoms of Ireland ended with the Norman invasion of Ireland and this lasted until the Parliament of Ireland conferred the crown of Ireland upon King Henry VIII of England during the English Reformation. The monarch of England held the crowns of England and Ireland in a personal union, the Union of the Crowns in 1603 expanded the personal union to include Scotland. The personal union between England and Scotland became a union with the enactments of the Acts of Union 1707. After that date, most of Ireland left the United Kingdom to become the independent Irish Free State, the remaining part, Northern Ireland, elected to remain in the United Kingdom. Both the Free State and the United Kingdom, which changed its name to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927, had the person as monarch. In 1937, the year after George Vs death, the Free State adopted a new constitution changed the states name to Ireland. In April 1949, Ireland was declared a republic, with the description of the Republic of Ireland, since April 1949, the only part of the island of Ireland that retains a monarchical system is Northern Ireland. Gaelic Ireland consisted of as few as five and as many as nine Primary kingdoms which were subdivided into many minor smaller kingdoms. The primary kingdoms were Connacht, Ailech, Airgíalla, Ulster, Mide, Leinster, Osraige, Munster, until the end of Gaelic Ireland they continued to fluctuate, expand and contract in size, as well as dissolving entirely or being amalgamated into new entities. The role of High King of Ireland was primarily titular and rarely absolute, Gaelic Ireland was not ruled as a unitary state. The names of Connacht, Ulster, Leinster and Munster are still in use, the following is a list of the main Irish kingdoms and their kings. Kings of Ailech – divided into Tír Eóghain and Tír Conaill in twelfth century Kings of Connacht – all the land west of the Shannon except Thomond, Kings of Leinster – Its last de facto king died in 1632. Kings of Mide – Irelands central kingdom, annexed by Connacht in the 11th century, Kings of Osraige – the independent western portion of Leinster, was also the eastern portion of Munster between the sixth and ninth centuries. Kings of Munster – an over kingdom of late prehistoric origins Kings of Ulster – properly, leading kings appear in public roles at church-state proclamations. and at royal conferences with their peers. Yet change only gained ground after the stranglehold of Uí Néill power-structures was broken in the eleventh century. The renaming of a kingship, engendered a new self-perception which shaped the future definition of a kingdom and of its subjects. Nevertheless, the achievements of Mael Sechlainn and his successors were purely personal and he was arguably the first undisputed full king of Ireland
4.
Armagh
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Armagh is the county town of County Armagh in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh. In ancient times, nearby Navan Fort was a ceremonial site. Today, Armagh is home to two cathedrals and the Armagh Observatory, and is known for its Georgian architecture, although classed as a medium-sized town, Armagh was given city status in 1994 and Lord Mayoralty status in 2012, both by Queen Elizabeth II. It had a population of 14,749 people in the 2011 Census, making it the city in Northern Ireland. Eamhain Mhacha, at the edge of Armagh, is believed to have been an ancient pagan ritual or ceremonial site. According to Irish mythology it was one of the royal sites of Gaelic Ireland. It appears to have largely abandoned after the 1st century. In the 3rd century, a ditch and bank was dug around the top of Cathedral Hill and its circular shape matches the modern street layout. Evidence suggests that it was a sanctuary and the successor to Navan. Like Navan, it too was named after the goddess Macha – Ard Mhacha means Machas height and this name was later anglicised as Ardmagh, which eventually became Armagh. After Christianity spread to Ireland, the sanctuary was converted into a Christian one. According to tradition, Saint Patrick founded his church there in the year 457. Saint Patrick was said to have decreed that only those educated in Armagh could spread the gospel. According to the Annals of the Four Masters, Ard Mhacha was founded by Saint Patrick, it having been granted to him by Daire, son of Finnchadh, son of Eoghan, twelve men were appointed by him for building the town. In 839 and 869, the monastery in Armagh was raided by Vikings, as with similar raids, their goal was to acquire valuables such as silver, which could often be found in churches and monasteries. The Book of Armagh came from the monastery and it is a 9th-century Irish manuscript now held by Trinity College Library in Dublin. It contains some of the oldest surviving specimens of Old Irish, Brian Boru is believed to be buried in the graveyard of the St. Patricks Church of Ireland cathedral
5.
Saint Patrick
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Saint Patrick was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the Apostle of Ireland, he is the patron saint of Ireland, along with saints Brigit of Kildare. He is also venerated in the Anglican Communion, the Old Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox Church as equal-to-the-apostles and Enlightener of Ireland. The dates of Patricks life cannot be fixed with certainty but there is agreement that he was active as a missionary in Ireland during the second half of the 5th century. He has been generally so regarded ever since, despite evidence of some earlier Christian presence in Ireland, after becoming a cleric, he returned to northern and western Ireland. In later life, he served as a bishop, but little is known about the places where he worked, by the seventh century, he had already come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patricks Day is observed on 17 March, the date of his death. It is celebrated inside and outside Ireland as a religious and cultural holiday, in the dioceses of Ireland, it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation, it is also a celebration of Ireland itself. Two Latin works survive which are accepted as having been written by St. Patrick. These are the Declaration and the Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus, the Declaration is the more biographical of the two. In it, Patrick gives an account of his life. Most available details of his life are from subsequent hagiographies and annals, the only name that Patrick uses for himself in his own writings is Pātricius, which gives Old Irish Pátraic and Modern Irish Pádraig, English Patrick and Welsh Padrig. Hagiography records other names he is said to have borne, Magonus appears in the ninth century Historia Brittonum as Maun, descending from British *Magunos, meaning servant-lad. Succetus, which appears in Muirchú moccu Machthenis seventh century Life as Sochet, is identified by Mac Neill as a word of British origin meaning swineherd. The dates of Patricks life are uncertain, there are conflicting regarding the year of his death. His own writings provide no evidence for any dating more precise than the 5th century generally, the Letter to Coroticus implies that the Franks were still pagans at the time of writing, their conversion to Christianity is dated to the period 496–508. The Irish annals for the century date Patricks arrival in Ireland at 432. The date 432 was probably chosen to minimise the contribution of Palladius, who was known to have sent to Ireland in 431
6.
Sigtrygg Silkbeard
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Sigtrygg II Silkbeard Olafsson was a Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin of the Uí Ímair dynasty. He was caught up in the abortive Leinster revolt of 999–1000, after which he was forced to submit to the King of Munster and his family also conducted a double marriage alliance with Boru, although he later realigned himself with the main leaders of the Leinster revolt of 1012–1014. He has a prominent role in the 12th-century Irish Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh, Sigtryggs long reign spanned 46 years, until his abdication in 1036. During that period, his armies saw action in four of the five Irish provinces of the time, in particular, he conducted a long series of raids into territories such as Meath, Wicklow, Ulster, and perhaps even the coast of Wales. He also came into conflict with rival Norse kings, especially in Cork and he went on pilgrimage to Rome in 1028 and is associated with the foundation of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. Although Dublin underwent several reversals of fortune during his reign, on the trade in the city flourished. Sigtrygg was of Norse and Irish ancestry and he was a son of Olaf Cuarán, King of York and of Dublin, and Gormflaith ingen Murchada. Gormflaith was the daughter of the King of Leinster, Murchad mac Finn, and she had previously been married to the King of Meath and High King of Ireland, Máel Sechnaill — the first of her three husbands. Sigtryggs paternal half-brother was Glúniairn, Iron-knee, who ruled as King of Dublin from 980–989, Sigtrygg may have succeeded his paternal half-brother Glúniairn as king of Dublin in 989, but it is just as likely his rival Ivar of Waterford came to power in the city then. The Irish annals record little information about Sigtrygg, his family or Dublin during these first five years of his reign. Benjamin Hudson claims this was because of the arrival of the future King of Norway, Olaf Tryggvason, Tryggvason had met Gytha while raiding along the coasts of the Irish Sea. The presence of a powerful Viking leader in Dublin was a deterrent to Irish raids, Hudson argues that Tryggvasons return to Norway in 994 coincided with the temporary expulsion of Sigtrygg from Dublin by his rival Ivar of Waterford. Ivar may have ruled there from 989 until forced out by Sigtrygg in 993. Either way, Sigtrygg was back within a year, in 995, he and his nephew, Muirchertach Ua Congalaich, attacked the church at Donaghpatrick in County Meath. In retaliation, Máel Sechnaill entered Dublin and took the ring of Thor, Sigtrygg then attacked Kells and Clonard in 997. In 998, Máel Sechnaill and the King of Munster, Brian Boru, Sigtrygg realised that Dublins wealth made him a target, and that his city needed powerful allies and walls. The Dublin countryside did not provide sufficient resources for competition against powerful Irish princes, Sigtrygg first allied with his maternal uncle, Máel Mórda mac Murchada, King of the Uí Fáeláin of north Leinster. In 999, they defeated their cousin the King of Leinster Donnchad mac Domhnaill, late in 999, the Leinstermen, historically hostile to domination by either the Uí Néill overkings or the king of Munster, allied themselves with the Norse of Dublin and revolted against Brian Boru
