1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Republic of Ireland
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Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the part of the island. The state shares its land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint Georges Channel to the south-east, and it is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The head of government is the Taoiseach, who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President, the state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was officially declared a republic in 1949, following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955. It joined the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union, after joining the EEC, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth. The country achieved considerable prosperity between the years of 1995 and 2007, which known as the Celtic Tiger period. This was halted by a financial crisis that began in 2008. However, as the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the EU in 2015, Ireland is again quickly ascending league tables comparing wealth and prosperity internationally. For example, in 2015, Ireland was ranked as the joint sixth most developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index and it also performs well in several national performance metrics, including freedom of the press, economic freedom and civil liberties. Ireland is a member of the European Union and is a member of the Council of Europe. The 1922 state, comprising 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland, was styled, the Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, provides that the name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland. Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 states, It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland. The 1948 Act does not name the state as Republic of Ireland, because to have done so would have put it in conflict with the Constitution. The government of the United Kingdom used the name Eire, and, from 1949, Republic of Ireland, for the state, as well as Ireland, Éire or the Republic of Ireland, the state is also referred to as the Republic, Southern Ireland or the South. In an Irish republican context it is referred to as the Free State or the 26 Counties. From the Act of Union on 1 January 1801, until 6 December 1922, during the Great Famine, from 1845 to 1849, the islands population of over 8 million fell by 30%
3.
Provinces of Ireland
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Ireland has historically been divided into four provinces, Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The provinces of Ireland serve no administrative or political purposes, a king of over-kings, a rí ruirech was often a provincial or semi-provincial king to whom several ruiri were subordinate. Entities belonging to the 1st and 2nd millennia are listed and these do not all belong to the same periods. Over the centuries, the number of provincial kings varied between three and six, no more than six genuine rí ruirech were ever contemporary, with the average being three or four. Also, following the Norman invasion, the situation became more condensed and complicated than previously. The Norman invasion began in 1169, and the Normans went on to occupy Ireland until 1541, in the early Irish annals these five ancient political divisions were referred to as cúigí such as the fifth of Munster, the fifth of Ulster and so on. Later record-makers dubbed them provinces, in imitation of the Roman imperial provinciae, in modern times they have become associated with groups of counties, although they have no legal status. The provinces were supplanted by the present system of counties after the Norman invasion, during the Tudor conquest, and for about a century after, provincial Presidencies existed in Connacht and Munster, serving a primarily military role. Six of the nine Ulster counties form modern-day Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is sometimes called a province of the United Kingdom. These two inconsistent usages of the province can cause confusion. This dinnseanchas poem named Ard Ruide poetically describes the kingdoms of Ireland, Munster in the south is the kingdom of music and the arts, of harpers, of skilled ficheall players and of skilled horsemen. The fairs of Munster were the greatest in all Ireland, the last kingdom, Meath, is the kingdom of Kingship, of stewardship, of bounty in government, in Meath lies the Hill of Tara, the traditional seat of the High King of Ireland. The ancient earthwork of Tara is called Rath na Ríthe
4.
Leinster
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Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes. In later centuries, local government legislation has seen further sub-division of the historic counties, Leinster has no official function for local-government purposes. However, the province is an officially recognised subdivision of Ireland and it is listed on ISO 3166-2 as one of the four provinces of Ireland and IE-L is attributed to Leinster as its country sub-division code. Leinster had a population of 2,630,720 according to the results of the 2016 census. The traditional flag of Leinster features a harp on a green background. The first part of the name Leinster derives from Laigin, the name of a tribe that once inhabited the area. The latter part of the name either from the Irish tír or from the Old Norse staðr. Úgaine Mór, who built the hill-fort of Dún Ailinne, near Kilcullen in County Kildare. He is a likely, but uncertain candidate as the first historical king of Laigin in the 7th century BC, circa 175/185 AD, following a period of civil wars in Ireland, the legendary Cathair Mor re-founded the kingdom of Laigin. The legendary Finn Mac Cool, or Fionn mac Cumhaill, reputedly built a stronghold at the Hill of Allen, on the edge of the Bog of Allen, in Wales some of the Leinster-Irish colonists left their name on the Llŷn Peninsula, which derives its name from Laigin. In the 5th century the emerging Uí Néill dynasties from Connacht conquered areas of Westmeath, Meath and Offaly from the Uí Enechglaiss, Uí Néill Ard Righ attempted to exact the Boroimhe Laighean from the Laigin from that time, in the process becoming their traditional enemies. This southern dynasty provided all the later Kings of Leinster, the ancient Kingdom of Mide today encompasses much of counties Meath and Westmeath with five west County Offaly baronies. The Offaly parishes of Annally and Lusmagh were formerly part of Connacht while the baronies of Ballybritt, County Louth was formerly part of Ulster. The last major changes occurred with the formation of County Wicklow, from lands in the north of Carlow. The provincial borders were redrawn by Cromwell for administration and military reasons, later minor changes dealt with islands of one county in another. By the late 1700s, Leinster looked as shown in the map of 1784. Leinster represents the extended English Pale, counties controlled directly from Dublin, gradually Leinster subsumed the term of The Pale, as the difference between the old Pale area and the wider province, now under English administration, grew less distinct
5.
Counties of Ireland
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The counties of Ireland are sub-national divisions that have been, and in some cases continue to be, used to geographically demarcate areas of local government. These land divisions were formed following the Norman invasion of Ireland in imitation of the then in use as units of local government in the Kingdom of England. The older term shire was historically equivalent to county, the principal function of the county was to impose royal control in the areas of taxation, security and the administration of justice at the local level. Cambro-Norman control was limited to the southeastern parts of Ireland. The powers exercised by the Cambro-Norman barons and the Old English nobility waned over time, new offices of political control came to be established at a county level. In the Republic of Ireland, some counties have been resulting in the creation of new counties. Along with certain defined cities, counties form the basis for the demarcation of areas of local government in the Republic of Ireland. Currently, there are 26 county level,3 city level and 2 city and county entities – the modern equivalent of counties corporate – that are used to demarcate areas of government in the Republic. In Northern Ireland, counties are no longer used for local government, upon the partition of Ireland in 1921, the county became one of the basic land divisions employed, along with county boroughs. The word county has come to be used in different senses for different purposes, in common usage, many people have in mind the 32 counties that existed prior to 1838 – the so-called traditional counties. However, in usage in the Republic of Ireland, the term often refers to the 28 modern counties. The term is also conflated with the 31 areas currently used to demarcate areas of government in the Republic of Ireland at the level of LAU1. In Ireland, usage of the county nearly always comes before rather than after the county name, thus County Roscommon in Ireland as opposed to Roscommon County in Michigan. The former Kings County and Queens County were exceptions, these are now County Offaly and County Laois, the abbreviation Co. is used, as in Co. There appears to be no official guidance in the matter, as even the local council uses all three forms, the synonym shire is not used for Irish counties, although the Marquessate of Downshire was named in 1789 after County Down. Parts of some towns and cities were exempt from the jurisdiction of the counties that surrounded them and these towns and cities had the status of a County corporate, many granted by Royal Charter, which had all the judicial, administrative and revenue raising powers of the regular counties. The political geography of Ireland can be traced with accuracy from the 6th century. At that time Ireland was divided into a patchwork of petty kingdoms with a political hierarchy which
6.
County Louth
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County Louth is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Border Region and it is named after the village of Louth. Louth County Council is the authority for the county. The population of the county is 122,897 according to the 2016 census, County Louth is colloquially known as the Wee County as it is Irelands smallest county by area (826 km2. It is the 18th-largest in terms of population and it is the smallest of Leinster’s 12 counties by size and the sixth-largest by population. Despite its fairly average total population, Louth is the second most densely populated county in Ireland behind Dublin, County Louth is named after the village of Louth, which in turn is named after Lugh, a god of the ancient Irish. Historically, the placename has had various spellings, Lugmad, Lughmhaigh, lú is the modern simplified spelling. The county is steeped in myth, legend and history, and is a setting in the Táin Bó Cúailnge, later it saw the influence of the Vikings as seen in the name of Carlingford Lough. They also established a longphort at Annagassan in the ninth century, at this time Louth consisted of three sub-kingdoms each subject to separate over-kingdoms, Conaille, Fir Rois, and, the Fir Arda Ciannachta. The whole area became part of the OCarroll Kingdom of Airgialla early in the 12th century, a number of historic sites are in the county, including religious sites at Monasterboice, Mellifont Abbey and the St Mary Magdalene Dominican Friary. The Normans occupied the Louth area in the 1180s, and it known as English Oriel. The latter became the McMahon lordship of Oriel of Monaghan, in the early 14th century, the Scottish army of Edward Bruce was repulsed from Drogheda. Edward was finally defeated, losing his claim to the High Kingship of Ireland along with his life, in the Battle of Faughart near Dundalk, by a chiefly local force led by John de Bermingham. In 1189 AD, a charter was granted to Dundalk after a Norman nobleman named Bertram de Verdun erected a manor house at Castletown Mount. Later in 1412, a charter was granted to Drogheda. This charter unified the towns of Drogheda-in-Meath and Drogheda-in-Uriel as a County in its own right, oliver Cromwell attacked Drogheda in 1649 slaughtering the Royalist garrison and hundreds of the towns citizens. Drogheda held for James II under Lord Iveagh, but surrendered to King William of Orange the day after the battle of the Boyne. They were betrayed by informers, notably a Dr. Conlan, who came from Dundalk, the priest and scientist Nicholas Callan was from Darver
7.
County Meath
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County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Mid-East Region and it is named after the historic Kingdom of Meath. Meath County Council is the authority for the county. The population of the county is 194,942 according to the 2016 census, the county is drained by the River Boyne. Meath is the 14th largest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area and it is the second largest of Leinster’s 12 counties in size and third largest in terms of population. The county town is Navan, where the county hall and government are located, although Trim, County Meath also has the only two Gaeltacht areas in the province of Leinster, at Ráth Cairn and Baile Ghib. There are eighteen historic baronies in the county and they include the baronies of Morgallion and Ratoath. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for administrative purposes. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, There are 40 elected members in Meath County Council. Fine Gael hold 13 seats, Fianna Fáil hold 10, Sinn Féin hold 8, There are 2 Dáil constituencies, Meath West and Meath East. Before, there was only one constituency, the two current constituencies are within the borders of the county. The constituencies also include part of the county of Westmeath. Together they return 6 deputies to Dáil Éireann, part of the county along the Irish Sea coast, known as East Meath which includes Julianstown and Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington are part of the Louth constituency for general elections. Fianna Fáil currently hold no seats, Fine Gael have 2 in each constituency, Labour has 1 in the East constituency, the county is colloquially known by the nickname The Royal County due to its history as the seat of the High King of Ireland. It formed from the part of the former Kingdom of Mide. The seat of the High King of Ireland was at Tara, the archaeological complex of Brú na Bóinne is 5,000 years old and includes the burial sites of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, in the north-east of the county. It is a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site, the Hill of Tara, an ancient historical site. Castles at Trim, Slane, Dunsany, Killeen, religious ruins at Trim, Bective, Slane, Dunsany, Skryne
8.
European Parliament
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The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union. Together with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, the Parliament is composed of 751 members, who represent the second-largest democratic electorate in the world and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world. It has been elected every five years by universal suffrage since 1979. However, voter turnout at European Parliament elections has fallen consecutively at each election since that date, voter turnout in 2014 stood at 42. 54% of all European voters. The Parliament is the first institution of the EU, and shares equal legislative and it likewise has equal control over the EU budget. Finally, the European Commission, the body of the EU, is accountable to Parliament. In particular, Parliament elects the President of the Commission, and it can subsequently force the Commission as a body to resign by adopting a motion of censure. The President of the European Parliament is Antonio Tajani, elected in January 2017 and he presides over a multi-party chamber, the two largest groups being the Group of the European Peoples Party and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. The last union-wide elections were the 2014 elections, the European Parliament has three places of work – Brussels, the city of Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Luxembourg is home to the administrative offices, meetings of the whole Parliament take place in Strasbourg and in Brussels. Committee meetings are held in Brussels, the Parliament, like the other institutions, was not designed in its current form when it first met on 10 September 1952. One of the oldest common institutions, it began as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and it was a consultative assembly of 78 appointed parliamentarians drawn from the national parliaments of member states, having no legislative powers. Its development since its foundation shows how the European Unions structures have evolved without a master plan. Some, such as Tom Reid of the Washington Post, said of the union, nobody would have designed a government as complex. Even the Parliaments two seats, which have switched several times, are a result of various agreements or lack of agreements, the body was not mentioned in the original Schuman Declaration. It was assumed or hoped that difficulties with the British would be resolved to allow the Council of Europes Assembly to perform the task, a separate Assembly was introduced during negotiations on the Treaty as an institution which would counterbalance and monitor the executive while providing democratic legitimacy. The wording of the ECSC Treaty demonstrated the desire for more than a normal consultative assembly by using the term representatives of the people. Its early importance was highlighted when the Assembly was given the task of drawing up the treaty to establish a European Political Community
9.
Demonym
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A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above
10.
Western European Time
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Western European Time is a time zone covering parts of western and northwestern Europe. WEST is called British Summer Time in the UK and is known as Irish Standard Time in Ireland. Conversely, Iceland and eastern Greenland are included although both are west of 7. 5°W, in September 2013, a Spanish parliamentary committee recommended switching to WET, a move being considered by MPs. However, the German occupation switched France to German time, two other occupied territories, Belgium and the Netherlands, did the same, and Spain also switched to CET in solidarity with Germany under the orders of General Franco. In the United Kingdom, from 1940 to 1945 British Summer Time was used in winters, between 18 February 1968 and 31 October 1971, BST was used all year round. In Ireland, from 1940 to 1946 Irish Summer Time was used all year round, between 18 February 1968 and 31 October 1971, Irish Standard Time was used all year round. In Portugal, CET was used in the mainland from 1966 to 1976, the autonomous region of the Azores used WET from 1992 to 1993. Iceland Mykines, Faroe Islands Western Ireland Western Portugal Madeira Canary Islands These areas are located between 7°30′ W and 22°30′ W Areas using UTC+1, See Central European Time
11.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
12.
Irish Standard Time
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Ireland uses Irish Standard Time in the summer months and Greenwich Mean Time in the winter period. In Ireland, the Standard Time Act 1968 legally established that the time for purposes in the State shall be one hour in advance of Greenwich mean time throughout the year. This act was amended by the Standard Time Act 1971, which legally established Greenwich Mean Time as a time period. Ireland therefore operates one hour behind standard time during the winter period and this is defined in contrast to the other states in the European Union, which operate one hour ahead of standard time during the summer period, but produces the same end result. The instant of transition to and from saving time is synchronised across Europe. In Ireland, Winter time begins at 02,00 IST on the last Sunday in October, the Statutes Act,1880 defined Dublin Mean Time as the legal time for Ireland. T. M. Healy opposed the reading on the basis that while the Daylight Saving Bill added to the length of your daylight. After the Irish Free State became independent in 1922, subsequent developments tended to mirror those in the United Kingdom and this avoided having different times on either side of the border with Northern Ireland. Summer time was provided on a basis by acts in 1923 and 1924. The 1925 act provided a summer time period, which could be varied by ministerial order. Double summer time was considered but not introduced during the Emergency of World War II, from 1968 standard time was observed all year round, with no winter time change. This was an experiment in the run-up to Irelands 1973 accession to the EEC, in those years, time in Ireland was the same as in the six EEC countries, except in the summer in Italy, which switched to Central European Summer Time. From the 1980s, the dates of switch between winter and summer time have been synchronised across the European Union. The statutory instruments that have been issued under the Standard Time Acts are listed below, in format year/SI-number, except where stated, those issued up to 1967 were called Summer Time Order <year>, while those issued from 1981 are Winter Time Order <year>. In November 2012, Tommy Broughan introduced a members bill to permit a three-year trial of advancing time by one hour, to CET in winter. In July 2014, the joint committee issued an invitation for submissions on the bill, closing time in Irish public houses was half an hour later during summer time. In 2000, the closing hours were simplified by removing summer/winter time changes. Between 1933 and 1961, lighting-up time was an hour before/after sunrise/sunset in summer-time, since 1961, it has been half-an-hour in all cases
13.
Postal addresses in the Republic of Ireland
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In Ireland, rural addresses are specified by the county, nearest post town, and the townland. Urban addresses are specified by county, city or town name, street name, house number or name, 35% Irish premises have non-unique addresses due to an absence of house numbers or names. In smaller towns and many townlands, this requires postal workers to remember which family names correspond to which house, for this reason, a postal code system called Eircode was launched in April 2014. Eircode suffixes an identifier that is unique to each premises, the system was criticised at its launch for its estimated ten-year cost of €27 million, omissions and inaccuracy, in addition to not being immediately available with satnav systems or Google Maps. However, since September 2016 the system is available on Google Maps, in Dublin city and its suburbs, a system of postal districts was introduced in 1917 by the Royal Mail with the prefix D, and retained after Ireland became an independent country, without the prefix. However the use of numbers by the public did not begin until 1961. Prior to that time, street signs displayed the street name in Irish and English. The Dublin system had 22 districts — Dublin 1,2,3,4,5,6 and these were incorporated into the new routing keys now being used with the Eircode national postcode system as D01, D02, D12, D22, etc. In Cork, there are also numbered districts, e. g. the Patrick Street sign will display the digit 1, District 1 covers the city centre and large parts of the surrounding city. District 2, administered from the Ballinlough sorting office, covers the south-east, in practice, these numbers are used only internally by An Post and rarely used on mail. The numbers are not used in the new Eircode system, the launch of a national postcode system in Ireland began on 28 April 2014. The system incorporates the existing numbered Dublin postal districts as part of the new code, according to the government the new system made Ireland the first country in the world to have a unique postcode for each address. The codes, known as Eircodes, consist of seven characters, the first three characters, called the Routing Key, are designed to benefit the postal and logistics industry and contain on average 15,000 addresses each. The Routing Key is used to sort mail, however it is not directly linked to counties, towns. The second part of the Eircode, called the Unique Identifier and they are stored in a central database, Eircode Address Database, along with other useful geographic information including addresses, variants/aliases, and geo-coordinates of each address point. Sample product data and pricing details were issued to businesses in March 2015, Dublin City Council, Lord Mayor’s Office, Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2. D02 AF30 Unlike other postcode systems, Eircode is not used for PO Box addresses, an Post did not introduce automated sorting machines until the 1990s. By then, the character recognition systems were advanced enough to read whole addresses, as opposed to just postcodes
14.
Telephone numbers in the Republic of Ireland
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Numbers on the Irish Telephone Numbering Plan are regulated and assigned to operators by ComReg. Telephone numbers in Ireland are similar in format to those in many European open numbering plans, for example the UK or Germany, however, one can also dial local calls with the full area code without any difference in charge. The trunk prefix is 0 and is followed by an area code, calls made from mobile phones, however, always require the full area code and phone number. Irish area codes vary in length, between one and three digits, and subscribers numbers are between five and seven digits, Irish geographical area structured on a regional basis and follow a logical hierarchy of regions and sub-regions. These area codes correspond to the following geographical regions,01 - Greater Dublin,02 - South,04,0506,07,09. The midlands area is covered by several regional codes, Codes do not necessarily match county or provincial boundaries, as they evolved to suit technical requirements of the network as it developed over the decades. Except for the 01 area, each area is subdivided into smaller areas. Usually, the city or town in the area is 0X1. 01 — Dublin area – also extends to parts of Wicklow, Meath. 021–029 — Most of County Cork, Cork City, Bantry, Bandon,0402,0404, 041–047 and 049 — North East, Midlands and parts of Wicklow. 061–069 South West and Mid West Area 071,074 — North West Area,01 — Dublin city, County Dublin and parts of counties Kildare, Wicklow and Meath. 02 — Cork city, most of County Cork and a part of County Waterford, Cork City, Mallow, Bandon, Youghal, Fermoy, Macroom, Bantry, Skibbereen. 04 — East Coast, and parts of Midlands e. g. Drogheda, Dundalk, Longford, Mullingar, Kildare, Navan, Monaghan, Cavan, Arklow, Wicklow. 05 — Southeast & East Midlands e. g.07 — Northwest including Counties Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal, e. g. Sligo, Carrick-on-Shannon, Manorhamilton and Bundoran, Letterkenny, Ballybofey, the prefix,088, was previously issued to the Eircell analogue service. This has subsequently been issued to Digiweb, Irish mobile telephone numbering is part of a closed numbering plan. This means that a phone number must have 10 digits. Calls to landlines, and the like, require the code on mobile phone. Mobile number portability has been in operation since 2003, while a new connection to any network will take the prefix above, there is no guarantee that a number with one of those prefixes has remained on that network
15.
Irish language
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Irish, also referred to as Gaelic or Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people. Irish enjoys constitutional status as the national and first official language of the Republic of Ireland and it is also among the official languages of the European Union. The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island of Ireland and it has the oldest vernacular literature in Western Europe. The fate of the language was influenced by the power of the English state in Ireland. Elizabethan officials viewed the use of Irish unfavourably, as being a threat to all things English in Ireland and its decline began under English rule in the 17th century. In the latter part of the 19th century, there was a decrease in the number of speakers. Irish-speaking areas were hit especially hard, by the end of British rule, the language was spoken by less than 15% of the national population. Since then, Irish speakers have been in the minority, efforts have been made by the state, individuals and organisations to preserve, promote and revive the language, but with mixed results. Around the turn of the 21st century, estimates of native speakers ranged from 20,000 to 80,000 people. In the 2011 Census, these numbers had increased to 94,000 and 1.3 million, there are several thousand Irish speakers in Northern Ireland. It has been estimated that the active Irish-language scene probably comprises 5 to 10 per cent of Irelands population, there has been a significant increase in the number of urban Irish speakers, particularly in Dublin. In Gaeltacht areas, however, there has been a decline of the use of Irish. Údarás na Gaeltachta predicted that, by 2025, Irish will no longer be the language in any of the designated Gaeltacht areas. Survey data suggest that most Irish people think highly of Irish as a marker of identity. It has also argued that newer urban groups of Irish speakers are a disruptive force in this respect. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil the name of the language is Gaeilge, before the spelling reform of 1948, this form was spelled Gaedhilge, originally this was the genitive of Gaedhealg, the form used in Classical Irish. Older spellings of this include Gaoidhealg in Classical Irish and Goídelc in Old Irish, the modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent dh in the middle of Gaedhilge, whereas Goidelic languages, used to refer to the language family including Irish, comes from Old Irish
16.
Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle
17.
River Boyne
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The River Boyne is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about 112 kilometres long. Salmon and trout can be caught in the river, which is surrounded by the Boyne Valley and it is crossed just west of Drogheda by the Boyne River Bridge that carries the M1 motorway and by the Boyne Viaduct that carries the Dublin-Belfast railway line to the east. The catchment area of the River Boyne is 2,695 km2, the long term average flow rate of the River Boyne is 38.8 Cubic Metres per second Despite its short course, the Boyne has historical, archaeological and mythical connotations. The Battle of the Boyne, a battle in Irish history. It passes near the ancient city of Trim, Trim Castle, the Hill of Tara, Navan, the Hill of Slane, Brú na Bóinne, Mellifont Abbey, and the medieval city of Drogheda. In the Boyne Valley can also be found other historical and archaeological monuments, like Loughcrew, Kells, Celtic crosses, castles and this river has been known since ancient times. The Greek geographer Ptolemy drew a map of Ireland in the 2nd century which included the Boyne, which he called Βουουινδα, and somewhat later Giraldus Cambrensis called it Boandus. In Irish mythology it is said that the river was created by the goddess Boann, according to F. Dinneen, lexicographer of the Irish Gaelic language, in other legends, it was in this river where Fionn mac Cumhail captured Fiontán, the Salmon of Knowledge. The Meath section of the Boyne was also known as Smior Fionn Feidhlimthe, the Boyne Navigation is a series of canals running roughly parallel to the main river from Oldbridge near Drogheda to Navan. Owned by An Taisce and mostly derelict, the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland are restoring the navigation to navigable status, the canal at Oldbridge which runs through the battle of the Boyne Site was the first to be restored. A rock with indications of being Prehistoric art was found in August 2013, cliadh O’Gibne reported through the Archaeological Survey of Ireland that a boulder with geometric carvings had been found in Donore, County Meath. Initial examination by an underwater archaeologist, suggests it could be very rare because, unlike other log-boats found here, the vessel is to be excavated as it poses a hazard to navigation. See Annals of Inisfallen AI770.2 The battle of Bolg Bóinne against the Uí Néill, HMS Boyne Salmon fishing on the River Boyne, from Salmon Ireland A canoeing and kayaking guide to the River Boyne, from Irish Whitewater
18.
Irish Sea
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The Irish Sea, separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St Georges Channel, anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man. The sea is occasionally, but rarely, referred to as the Manx Sea, the sea is of significant economic importance to regional trade, shipping and transport, fishing, and power generation in the form of wind power and nuclear power plants. Annual traffic between Great Britain and Ireland amounts to over 12 million passengers and 17 million tonnes of traded goods, the Irish Sea has undergone a series of dramatic changes over the last 20,000 years as the last glacial period ended and was replaced by warmer conditions. At the height of the glaciation the central part of the sea was probably a long freshwater lake. As the ice retreated 10,000 years ago the lake reconnected to the sea, becoming brackish, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Irish Sea as follows, On the North. The Southern limit of the Scottish Seas, a line joining St. Davids Head to Carnsore Point. It is connected to the North Atlantic at both its northern and southern ends, to the north, the connection is through the North Channel between Scotland and Northern Ireland and the Malin Sea. The southern end is linked to the Atlantic through the St Georges Channel between south eastern Ireland and Pembrokeshire in Wales, and the Celtic Sea. The Irish Sea is composed of a channel about 300 km long and 30–50 km wide on its western side. The western channels depth ranges from 80 metres up to 275 m in the Beauforts Dyke in the North Channel, the main embayments – Cardigan Bay in the south and the waters to the east of the Isle of Man – are less than 50 m deep. The Sea has a water volume of 2,430 km3, 80% of which is to the west of the Isle of Man. The largest sandbanks are the Bahama and King William Banks to the east and north of the Isle of Man, the Irish Sea, at its greatest width, is 200 km and narrows to 75 km. Unlike Great Britain, Ireland has no tunnel or bridge connection to continental Europe, thus the vast majority of heavy goods trade is done by sea. The Port of Liverpool handles 32 million tonnes of cargo and 734 thousand passengers a year, Holyhead port handles most of the passenger traffic from Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ports, as well as 3.3 million tonnes of freight. Ports in the Republic handle 3,600,000 travellers crossing the sea each year and this has been steadily dropping for a number of years, probably as a result of low cost airlines. There is also a connection between Liverpool and Belfast via the Isle of Man or direct from Birkenhead, the worlds largest car ferry, Ulysses, is operated by Irish Ferries on the Dublin Port–Holyhead route, Stena Line also operates between Britain and Ireland. The Port of Barrow-in-Furness, despite being one of Britains largest shipbuilding centres, a ferry crossing used to run between Swansea and Cork, but given the geographical limits defined above, this route crosses the Celtic Sea rather than the Irish Sea
19.
UNESCO
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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris. It is the heir of the League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, UNESCO has 195 member states and nine associate members. Most of its offices are cluster offices covering three or more countries, national and regional offices also exist. UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs, education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and it is also a member of the United Nations Development Group. UNESCO and its mandate for international cooperation can be traced back to a League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, on 18 December 1925, the International Bureau of Education began work as a non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development. However, the work of predecessor organizations was largely interrupted by the onset of World War II. On 30 October 1943, the necessity for an organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration, agreed upon by China, the United Kingdom, the United States. This was followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944, a prominent figure in the initiative for UNESCO was Rab Butler, the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom. At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, the Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and 4 November 1946—the date when UNESCOs Constitution came into force with the deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state. The first General Conference took place between 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Dr. Julian Huxley to Director-General and this change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the CICI, in how member states would work together in the organizations fields of competence. In 1956, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO claiming that some of the organizations publications amounted to interference in the racial problems. South Africa rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, UNESCOs early work in the field of education included the pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, started in 1947. This project was followed by missions to other countries, including, for example. In 1948, UNESCO recommended that Member States should make free primary education compulsory, in 1990, the World Conference on Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, launched a global movement to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults. Ten years later, the 2000 World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, UNESCOs early activities in culture included, for example, the Nubia Campaign, launched in 1960. The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after construction of the Aswan Dam, during the 20-year campaign,22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of campaigns including Mohenjo-daro, Fes, Kathmandu, Borobudur, the organizations work on heritage led to the adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Committee was established in 1976 and the first sites inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978, since then important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by UNESCO member states in 2003 and 2005
20.
World Heritage Site
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A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
21.
Newgrange
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Newgrange is a prehistoric monument in County Meath, Ireland, located eight kilometers west of Drogheda on the north side of the River Boyne. It was built during the Neolithic period, around 3200 BC, making it older than Stonehenge, the site consists of a large circular mound with an inner stone passageway and chambers. Human bones and possible grave goods or votive offerings were found in these chambers, the mound has a retaining wall at the front, made mostly of white quartz cobblestones, and is ringed by engraved kerbstones. Many of the stones of Newgrange are covered in megalithic art. The mound is also ringed by a stone circle, some of the material that makes up the monument came from as far away as the Mournes and Wicklow Mountains. There is no agreement about what the site was used for and its entrance is aligned with the rising sun on the winter solstice, when sunlight shines through a roofbox and floods the inner chamber. Several other passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with solstices and equinoxes, Newgrange also shares many similarities with other Neolithic constructions in Western Europe, such as Maeshowe in Orkney, Scotland and Bryn Celli Ddu in Wales. After its initial use, Newgrange was sealed for several millennia, however, it featured prominently in Irish mythology and folklore, in which it is said to be a dwelling of the gods, particularly The Dagda and his son Aengus. Antiquarians first began its study in the 17th century, and archaeological excavations took place at the site in the years that followed. Archaeologist Michael J. OKelly led the most extensive of these and also reconstructed the frontage of the site in the 1970s, the mound is 76 metres across and 12 metres high, and covers 4,500 square metres of ground. Within the mound is a passage, which can be accessed by an entrance on the southeastern side of the monument. The passage stretches for 19 metres, or about a third of the way into the centre of the structure, at the end of the passage are three small chambers off a larger central chamber, with a high corbelled vault roof. Each of the chambers has a large flat basin stone. The ceiling shows no evidence of smoke, situated around the perimeter of the mound is a circle of standing stones. Twelve standing-stones survive out of a possible original thirty-five or thereabouts, most archaeologists say they would have been added later, during the Bronze Age, centuries after the original monument had been abandoned as a tomb. Newgrange contains various examples of abstract Neolithic rock art carved onto it which provide decoration and these carvings fit into ten categories, five of which are curvilinear and the other five of which are rectilinear. They are also marked by differences in style, the skill-level that would have been needed to produce them. One of the most notable examples of art at Newgrange are the features found on the entrance stone
22.
Kingdom of Meath
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Meath was a kingdom in Ireland for over 1000 years. Its name means middle, denoting its location in the middle of the island, at its greatest extent, it included all of the current County Meath, all of Westmeath, and parts of Cavan, Dublin, Kildare, Longford, Louth and Offaly. Meath is traditionally said to have created in the first century by Túathal Techtmar. The Uí Enechglaiss was a dynasty who were kings of the region. An ogham stone found south of Slane suggests they originally may have controlled this area in County Meath and they along with the Uí Failge and Uí Bairrche, belonged to the Laigin, but may also be associated with the Iverni. During the early 6th century, they were away from their original homeland in Kildare and over the Wicklow Mountains by the Uí Néill, whose sept. The Uí Enechglaiss were later based in and around Arklow well into the historic period, in medieval Ireland, the Kings of Mide were of the Clann Cholmáin, a branch of the Uí Néill. Several were High Kings of Ireland, after the collapse of the kingdom in the 12th century, the dynasty of the Ua Mael Sechlainn or O Melaghlins were forced west and settled on the east bank of the River Shannon. Bearers of the name were still noted as among the Gaelic nobility as late as the 1690s, melaugh is the more commonly associated name in Ireland today, though it is more often rendered McLoughlin. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, in 1172 the kingdom was awarded to Hugh de Lacy as the Lordship of Meath by Henry II of England in his capacity as Lord of Ireland. Meath is also considered to have one of five Provinces of Ireland, along with the four current provinces of Connacht. The Diocese of Meath established by the Synod of Ráth Breasail in 1111 had boundaries similar to those of the kingdom, Clann Cholmain Kings of Mide 766–1184, page 195–196 in A New History of Ireland, Vol. IX, ed. Byrne, Martin, Moody,1984. Irish Leaders and Learning Through the Ages, Paul Walsh, ed. O Muraile,2004, king James IIs Irish Army List, DAlton,18. Irelands History in Maps, Ancient Midhe and Brega, the southern Uí Neill Irelands History in Maps, Tribes of Mide & Brega, the Southern Uí Neill, et al, Background on Midhe
23.
Lordship of Meath
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The Lordship was roughly co-extensive with the medieval kingdom of Meath. At its greatest extent, it included all of the counties of Fingal, Meath, Westmeath as well as parts of counties Cavan, Kildare, Longford, Louth. The Lordship or fiefdom was imbued with privileges enjoyed in no other Irish liberty, including the four royal pleas of arson, forestalling, rape, and treasure trove. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, King Henry II visited Ireland in 1171 to establish his authority over both Norman adventurers and the native Irish and he failed, however, to bring the country under a single, centralised control. Henry only claimed the title Lord of Ireland, which he passed to his son, John and his successors remained as Lords of Ireland until the 16th century. Instead of a government, the royal policy was to promote individual lordships. As a secondary objective, Henry aimed to break the power of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and to divide the Geraldines. He recognised that he was unable to curb their ambitions but wished to avoid any one baron having such a base of power as one day threaten his own realm. He therefore awarded offices and the lands of the newly created lordships to new men – his own loyalists, consistent with this plan, he kept the major ports of Waterford, Cork and Dublin in his own hands, as well as a strip of the Wicklow coast. He replaced Maurice FitzGerald as Keeper of Dublin with Hervey de Clare, Lord of Montmorency who was FitzGeralds brother-in-law, Montmorency also took over command of Strongbows forces from Raymond le gros who was recalled to Wales by the King. He also took another prime mover in the invasion – Miles de Cogan – to Wales, in March 1172, the King granted the Lordship of Meath to Hugh de Lacy by service of fifty knights. On John de Courcy he bestowed Ulster if he could conquer it and these lords were reliant on their own aggression for laying claim to their lands and for securing them. Castles, by virtue of their defensive and offensive capabilities as well as their status, were indispensable for dominating the area of the lordship. The grant of Meath was not accepted by Tighearnán Ó Ruairc, King of Bréifne, following a confrontation at the Hill of Ward in early 1172, Ó Ruairc was slain and de Lacy assumed control. King Henry preferred Hugh de Lacy over Strongbow in the positions of Justiciar, the grant was on the basis of grand serjeanty for his services as bailiff to the King. De Lacy chose the barons Robert Fitz-Stephen, Maurice FitzGerald, Meiler Fitzhenry and this kept them apart from Strongbow. On 17 April 1172, Henry sailed from Ireland never to return, Hugh also returned to England in late 1172 and spend much of the following year fighting for Henry in France. He was sent over to Ireland as procurator-general in 1177, Richard de Clare having died shortly before, the grant of Meath was now confirmed, with the addition of Offelana, Offaly, Kildare, and Wicklow
24.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Meath
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The Diocese of Meath is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses which belong to the province of Armagh. The incumbent ordinary is the Most Reverend Michael Smith, who succeeded to the title on 16 May 1990, Meath diocese covers most of counties Meath and Westmeath, part of Offaly along with part of counties Longford, Louth, Dublin and Cavan. The principal towns are Ashbourne, Drogheda, Dunboyne, Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington, Mullingar, Navan, although there had been abbot-bishops of Clonard since the sixth century, the diocese of Clonard proper was not formally established until 1111. It was one of the dioceses established by the Synod of Rathbreasail. The diocese covered roughly the part of the Kingdom of Meath with the bishops seat located at Clonard Abbey. During the twelfth century the bishops of Clonard acquired most of Meath as their territory, after Bishop Simon Rochfort transferred his seat from Clonard to Trim in 1202, the normal style became the Bishop of Meath. From 1778 until the late 19th century it had its seat in Navan, Charles Stewart Parnells relationship with Mrs Katharine OShea led to the Bishop of Meath having a letter read at masses in the diocese in condemnation of the relationship. As Parnell was popular, this caused a backlash which eventually led to the cathedral removing to Mullingar, the diocesan School, St. Finians College also moved to Mullingar from Navan. The incumbent bishop is Dr. Michael Smith, the diocesan cathedral is Christ the King Cathedral, Mullingar, situated near the town centre. org - Diocese Profile Herbermann, Charles, ed. Meath
25.
Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898
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The Act effectively ended landlord control of local government in Ireland. From the 1880s the issue of government reform in Ireland was a major political issue. Questions of constitutional reform, land ownership and nationalism all combined to complicate matters, eventually, the Conservative government of Lord Salisbury found it politically expedient to introduce the measures in 1898. Each county and county corporate of Ireland was administered before the 1898 Act by a grand jury and these bodies were made up of major landowners appointed by the assizes judge of the county. As well as their judicial functions the grand juries had taken on the maintenance of roads, bridges and asylums. The grand jury made proposals for expenditure known as presentments which required the approval of the assizes judge, the money to pay for the presentments was raised by a county cess levied on land owners and occupiers in the county, a form of rate tax. A second tier of administrative division below the county was the barony, a similar system operated at this level, with the justices of the area empowered to meet in baronial presentment sessions to raise a cess to fund minor works. This was because they had represented and were chosen from the actual taxpayers since the Middle Ages, the understanding was that larger taxpayers had a greater motive to see that the tax money was spent properly. The Representation of the People Act 1884 created a larger electorate that had very different needs. By now public works such as roads and bridges were being funded increasingly by central government via the Office of Public Works, in 1838 Ireland was divided into poor law unions, each consisting of a geographical area based on a workhouse. The union boundaries did not correspond to those of any existing unit, the unions were administered by Boards of Guardians. The boards were in part elected, with one guardian elected for each electoral division. With the growth of population a need to create authorities to administer health and provide or regulate such services as sewerage, paving. The Public Health Act 1878 created sanitary districts, based on the already existing in England. Larger towns were created urban districts, the existing local council became the urban sanitary authority. The remainder of the country was divided into rural sanitary districts and these were identical in area to poor law unions, and the rural sanitary authority consisted of the poor law guardians for the area. Directly elected county councils were introduced to England and Wales by the Local Government Act 1888, attempts to bring about similar reforms in Ireland were delayed because of the civil unrest caused by the Plan of Campaign. The government argued that before they could bring in reforms, law
26.
Navan
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Navan is the county town of County Meath in Ireland. In 2016, the town and its environs had a population of 31,689, making it the 5th largest town, Navan is along the River Boyne and the confluence of the Blackwater and the Boyne is situated in Navan. Navan is one of the few towns that has a palindromic name. Variants of Navan had been in use since Norman times and it is thought to come from Irish an Uamhain, meaning the cave/souterrain, a variant of its more common Irish name an Uaimh. In 1922, when the Irish Free State was founded, an Uaimh was adopted as the only official name. However, it failed to gain popularity in English and in 1971 the name was reverted to Navan in English, Tara Mine, Europes largest lead and zinc mine is located in Navan. The town traditionally was famous for carpets and for a thriving furniture industry, both are now in decline, or have ceased, as a result of the move away from manufacture to cheaper locations like Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, Navan had rapidly expanded with the Celtic Tiger to become a dormitory town due to its proximity to Dublin. Following the Global economic crisis and the collapse of the Celtic tiger in 2008 Navan once again declined, employment in the mining industry remained stable however tertiary industries reliant on consumer spending suffered. The town has a freight railway line which passes the former Navan railway station. Navan was a crossroads, with the GNR line from Drogheda to Oldcastle. The GNR line from Navan to Oldcastle and the MGWR line from Clonsilla to Navan closed in 1963, a spur to Tara Mines on the Navan to Oldcastle trackbed was reinstated in 1977. As of 2005 the railway is used by Iarnród Éireann to bring freight from the local lead and zinc mine, Tara Mines. The line from Kingscourt was used for transport of gypsum until quite recently, the Transport 21 plan envisaged the reopening of Clonsilla services happening in two stages, initially to a park and ride off the M3 at Pace by 2009 and later extending to Navan by 2015. The first stage of the project as far as Pace, Co Meath was completed in 2010, the second stage of the rail link to Navan has been postponed indefinitely as a consequence of cutbacks in the states infrastructural spend announced in July 2010. Navan is served by bus routes. However the town as of yet has no bus station and there are four separate stops in the town. The majority of routes are operated by Bus Éireann, the most frequent route is the 109 to Dublin which departs from the Market Square
27.
Passage grave
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A passage grave or passage tomb consists of a narrow passage made of large stones and one or multiple burial chambers covered in earth or stone. The building of tombs was normally carried out with megaliths and smaller stones. Those with more than one chamber may have multiple sub-chambers leading off from the burial chamber. One common layout, the passage grave, is cross-shaped. Sometimes passage tombs are covered with a cairn, especially those dating from later times, not all passage graves have been found to contain evidence of human remains. Passage tombs of the type often have elaborate corbelled roofs rather than simple slabs. Megalithic art has been identified carved into the stones at some sites and this appears to be one of the first uses of the term passage tomb. It is likely that the writers borrowed from the Spanish term tumbas de corredor, which is used for tombs in Cantabria, Galicia, of their list, only passage tombs appear to have widespread distribution throughout Europe. Passage graves are distributed extensively in lands along the Atlantic seaboard of Europe and they are found in Ireland, Britain, Scandinavia, northern Germany and the Drenthe area of the Netherlands. They are also found in Iberia, some parts of the Mediterranean, the earliest passage tombs seem to take the form of small dolmens. In Ireland and Britain, passage tombs are found in large clusters. Many later passage tombs were constructed at the tops of hills or mountains, Newgrange. com World Heritage IE - Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth
28.
Monasterboice
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The historic ruins of Monasterboice are of an early Christian settlement in County Louth in Ireland, north of Drogheda. It was founded in the late 5th century by Saint Buithe who died around 521, the site houses two churches built in the 14th century or later and an earlier round tower, but it is most famous for its 10th century high crosses. The round tower is about 28-metres tall, and is in good condition. The passage of time has laid down layers of earth so now the doorway is almost at ground level, the monastery was burned in 1097. The 5. 5-metre Muiredachs High Cross is regarded as the finest high cross in the whole of Ireland and it is named after an abbot, Muiredach mac Domhnaill, who died in 923 and features biblical carvings of both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. The North and West crosses are also examples of this kind of structure. A copy of the cross is held in the Victoria. Poet and historian Flann Mainistrech, Flann of Monasterboice, was lector here, the name Monasterboice is a part-anglicization of the Irish name Mainistir Bhuithe meaning monastery of Buithe. It was formerly anglicized as Monasterboye and Monasterboyse, boice is the English version of the Latin name Boecius, which was adopted as the equivalent of the Irish Buithe. Monasterboice is home to Naomh Mairtin, a senior Gaelic football club from County Louth, the club was founded in 1957. The clubs most known players are JP Rooney and Michael Fanning, Monasterboice is home to Albion Rovers Football Club. The club has facilities including 3 full size pitches, an all-weather pitch and Eddies Place. There one bar and restaurant situated in Monasterboice, the Monasterboice Inn, owned by the Donegan family. Arguably one of the best in Louth and one of the best in the province, Monasterboice Inn has fed many famous people like Lisa Kudrow of Friends and Rory Best of the IRFU. It is situated on the R132 right next to Naomh Mairtin football pitches, there are two primary schools situated in Monasterboice, no post-primary schools and no third level institute. One primary school is situated in Harestown, Monasterboice called St. Patricks National School, the second Primary school in Monasterboice is situated in Tenure. It is called Scoil Naomh Buithe and it is a mixed primary school and has 219 pupils. Monasterboice is currently twinned with Letham, Angus, in Scotland, monsterboice is a mostly Roman Catholic village with a church in both Tenure and Harestown
29.
Millmount Fort
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Millmount is a large fortified complex situated on a great mound on the South bank of the River Boyne located in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. The Martello tower is known as The Cup and Saucer by locals. The whole fort is a monument and has been designated as Droghedas Cultural Quarter. The shamanistic Early Irish poem The Song of Amhairgin, uttered by him in the story of his entry into Ireland by the River Boyne, was therefore regarded as the first Irish poem. Hugh De Lacy, one of the Normans who came to Ireland after Strongbow, built the fort circa 1172. Later a stone castle was built on the site and this castle formed part of the defences of the town during the siege of Drogheda during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. The forts English defenders attempted to surrender to Parliamentarian troops under Oliver Cromwell but were massacred when they gave themselves up on 11 September 1649, the complex was later called Richmond Barracks. Some of the present buildings, in the courtyard, were built circa 1714, after the unrest and rebellions of the 1790s and the Act of Union in 1800 the complex was re-fortified and the present tower built. The fort suffered considerable damage during the Irish Civil War and it was occupied by Anti-Treaty forces and on 4 July 1922, it became the target of shelling by the army of the Irish Free State. The Free State Forces under Michael Collins had been given support by the British Army at the express wish of Winston Churchill who insisted that the Republican Forces be crushed. It has been restored in 2000 and is now open to the public as a military museum, the Museum houses a wide variety of artifacts of local and national importance. Chief amongst the attractions is the collection of Guild and Trade Banners. This collection is recognised by Irelands National Museum as being of special significance, popular exhibits at the Millmount Museum include an authentic 18th century Irish folk kitchen, dairy and laundry, and the Irish History Room which details the major events in Irelands history
30.
Motte-and-bailey castle
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The Normans introduced the design into England and Wales following their invasion in 1066. Motte-and-bailey castles were adopted in Scotland, Ireland, the Low Countries, by the end of the 13th century, the design was largely superseded by alternative forms of fortification, but the earthworks remain a prominent feature in many countries. The term motte and bailey is a modern one, and is not medieval in origin. The word bailey comes from the Norman-French baille, or basse-cour, in medieval sources, the Latin term castellum was used to describe the bailey complex within these castles. One contemporary account of these comes from Jean de Colmieu around 1130. De Colmieu described how the nobles would build a mound of earth as high as they can and dig a ditch about it as wide and deep as possible. The space on top of the mound is enclosed by a palisade of very strong hewn logs, inside the enclosure is a citadel, or keep, which commands the whole circuit of the defences. Mottes were made out of earth and flattened on top, some were also built over older artificial structures, such as Bronze Age barrows. The size of mottes varied considerably, with these mounds being 3 metres to 30 metres in height and this minimum height of 3 metres for mottes is usually intended to exclude smaller mounds which often had non-military purposes. In England and Wales, only 7% of mottes were taller than 10 metres high, a motte was protected by a ditch around it, which would typically have also been a source of the earth and soil for constructing the mound itself. A keep and a wall would usually be built on top of the motte. Smaller mottes could only support simple towers with room for a few soldiers, wooden structures on mottes could be protected by skins and hides to prevent them being easily set alight during a siege. The bailey was a courtyard overlooked by the motte and surrounded by a wooden fence called a palisade. The bailey was often kidney-shaped to fit against a circular motte, the bailey would contain a wide number of buildings, including a hall, kitchens, a chapel, barracks, stores, stables, forges or workshops, and was the centre of the castles economic activity. The bailey was linked to the motte either by a bridge stretching between the two, or, more popularly in England, by steps cut into the motte. Typically the ditch of the motte and the bailey joined, forming a figure of eight around the castle, wherever possible, nearby streams and rivers would be dammed or diverted, creating water-filled moats, artificial lakes and other forms of water defences. In practice, there was a number of variations to this common design. A castle could have more than one bailey, at Warkworth Castle an inner, some baileys had two mottes, such as those at Lincoln
31.
Normans
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The Normans were the people who, in the 10th and 11th centuries, gave their name to Normandy, a region in France. They were descended from Norse raiders and pirates from Denmark, Iceland and Norway who, under their leader Rollo, through generations of assimilation and mixing with the native Frankish and Gallo-Roman populations, their descendants gradually adopted the Carolingian-based cultures of West Francia. The distinct cultural and ethnic identity of the Normans emerged initially in the first half of the 10th century, the Norman dynasty had a major political, cultural and military impact on medieval Europe and even the Near East. The Normans were famed for their spirit and eventually for their Christian piety. They adopted the Gallo-Romance language of the Frankish land they settled, their becoming known as Norman, Normaund or Norman French. The Normans are noted both for their culture, such as their unique Romanesque architecture and musical traditions, and for their significant military accomplishments and their chief men were specially lavish through their desire of good report. They were, moreover, a race skillful in flattery, given to the study of eloquence, so that the boys were orators. They were enduring of toil, hunger, and cold whenever fortune laid it on them, given to hunting and hawking, delighting in the pleasure of horses, and of all the weapons and garb of war. The treaty offered Rollo and his men the French lands between the river Epte and the Atlantic coast in exchange for their protection against further Viking incursions. The area corresponded to the part of present-day Upper Normandy down to the river Seine. The territory was equivalent to the old province of Rouen. Before Rollos arrival, its populations did not differ from Picardy or the Île-de-France, the Norman language was forged by the adoption of the indigenous langue doïl branch of Romance by a Norse-speaking ruling class, and it developed into the regional language that survives today. The Normans thereafter adopted the growing feudal doctrines of the rest of France, the new Norman rulers were culturally and ethnically distinct from the old French aristocracy, most of whom traced their lineage to Franks of the Carolingian dynasty. Most Norman knights remained poor and land-hungry, and by 1066 Normandy had been exporting fighting horsemen for more than a generation, many Normans of Italy, France and England eventually served as avid Crusaders under the Italo-Norman prince Bohemund I and the Anglo-Norman king Richard the Lion-Heart. Opportunistic bands of Normans successfully established a foothold in Southern Italy, probably as the result of returning pilgrims stories, the Normans entered Southern Italy as warriors in 1017 at the latest. In 999, according to Amatus of Montecassino, Norman pilgrims returning from Jerusalem called in at the port of Salerno when a Saracen attack occurred. The Normans fought so valiantly that Prince Guaimar III begged them to stay, the Hauteville family achieved princely rank by proclaiming prince Guaimar IV of Salerno Duke of Apulia and Calabria. He promptly awarded their elected leader, William Iron Arm, with the title of count in his capital of Melfi
32.
Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath
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Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, 4th Baron Lacy was an Anglo-Norman landowner and royal office-holder. He had substantial holdings in Herefordshire and Shropshire, in England. Following his participation in the Norman Invasion of Ireland, in 1172 he was granted the lands of the Kingdom of Meath by the Anglo-Norman King Henry II, the Lordship of Meath was then the most extensive liberty in Ireland. Born at Durrow, Leinster, Hugh de Lacy was the son of Gilbert de Lacy of Ewyas Lacy, Weobley and he is said to have had a dispute with Joscelin de Dinan as to certain lands in Herefordshire in 1154. He was in possession of his fathers lands before 1163, and in 1165–66 held fifty-eight and three-quarters knights fees, and had nine tenants without knight service. In October 1171 Lacy went over with Henry II as part of an Anglo-Norman force to invade Ireland, and early in 1172 he was sent to receive the submission of Rory, High King of Ireland. Before Henrys return to England about the end of March 1172, Lacy was granted Meath by the service of fifty knights and with almost royal authority, he was also put in charge of Dublin Castle. As such, it is accepted that Lacy was de facto the first Viceroy of Ireland. King Henrys ostensible grant of Meath to Lacy was not accepted by Tighearnán Ó Ruairc, King of Bréifne, Ó Ruairc refused to concede, but parleyed with Lacy on the Hill of Ward, in Meath. His head was impaled over the gate of Dublin Castle and was sent to Henry II. The Annals of the Four Masters say that Ó Ruairc was treacherously slain, from the account given by Giraldus Cambrensis, it would appear that there was a plot to destroy Ó Ruairc. Lacy only escaped from Dublin with difficulty, he seems to have left the city in the charge of Richard de Clare by the kings orders, among these was Trim Castle, which was put in charge of Hugh Tyrrel. The Song of Dermot and the Earl states, And Skryne he then gave by charter to Adam de Feypo he gave it, after this Lacy went back to England. On 29 December 1172 he was at Canterbury, where, according to a story preserved by Giraldus, he reproved Archbishop Richard of Dover for his boastful language. Next year he was fighting for King Henry in France and held Verneuil against Louis VII for a month, Lacy was sent back to Ireland as procurator-general in 1177, soon after the death of Richard de Clare. The grant of Meath to Lacy was now confirmed, with the addition of Offelana, Offaly, Kildare, as governor of Ireland Lacy secured Leinster and Meath, building numerous castles, while leaving the Irish in possession of their lands. There were accusations that he intended to seize the sovereignty of the island for himself, the author of the Gesta Henrici, however, says that Lacy lost his favour with Henry in consequence of complaints of his injustice by the Irish. In 1181, Lacy was recalled from his royal post for having married the daughter of Ruadri O Conchobair, King of Connaught and deposed High King of Ireland, without the permission of Henry
33.
The Pale
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The Pale or the English Pale was the part of Ireland that was directly under the control of the English government in the late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast stretching from Dalkey, south of Dublin, the inland boundary went to Naas and Leixlip around the Earldom of Kildare, towards Trim and north towards Kells. In this district, many townlands have English or French names, the Norman invasion of Ireland, beginning in 1169, brought much of Ireland briefly under the theoretical control of the Plantagenet Kings of England. From the 13th century onwards, the Hiberno-Norman occupation in the rest of Ireland at first faltered, across most of Ireland the Normans increasingly assimilated into Irish culture after 1300. They made alliances with neighbouring autonomous Gaelic lords, in the long periods when there was no large royal army in Ireland, the Norman lords, like their Gaelic neighbours in the provinces, acted as effectively independent rulers in their own areas. Parts can still be seen west of Clane on the grounds of what is now Clongowes Wood College, the military power of the crown itself was greatly weakened by the Hundred Years War, and the Wars of the Roses. The Parliament of Ireland was created, often sitting at Drogheda until the Tudors took greater interest in Irish affairs from 1485, the Pale generally consisted of fertile lowlands which were easier for the garrison to defend from ambush than hilly or wooded ground. For reasons of trade and administration, a version of English became the official language and its closest modern derivative is said to be the accent used by natives of Fingal. In 1366, so that the English Crown could assert its authority over the settlers, a parliament was assembled in Kilkenny, the statute decreed that inter-marriage between English settlers and Irish natives was forbidden. It also forbade the settlers using the Irish language and adopting Irish modes of dress or other customs, the adoption of Gaelic Brehon property law, in particular, undermined the feudal nature of the Lordship. The Act was never implemented successfully, even in the Pale itself, at a higher social level, there was extensive intermarriage between the Gaelic Irish aristocracy and Anglo-Norman lords, beginning not long after the invasion. The tax base shrank to a fraction of what it had been in 1300. There was a proverb quoted by Sir John Davies that “whoso lives by west of the Barrow, lives west of the law. ”The earls of Kildare ruled as Lords Deputy from 1470, aided by alliances with the Gaelic lords. This lasted until the 1520s, when the earls passed out of royal favour, a book was published in 1596 entitled “A Perambulation of Leinster, Meath, and Louth, of which consist the English Pale”. The word pale derives ultimately from the Latin word pālus, meaning stake, from this came the figurative meaning of boundary and eventually the phrase beyond the pale, as something outside the boundary. Also derived from the concept was the idea of a pale as an area within which local laws were valid. The term was used not only for the Pale in Ireland but also for various other English colonial settlements, in addition, the term Pale of Settlement was applied to the area in the west of Imperial Russia where Jews were permitted to reside. This barrier consisted of a ditch, raised some ten or twelve feet from the ground, with a hedge of thorn on the outer side
34.
Parliament of Ireland
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The Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. It comprised two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the House of Lords consisted of members of the Irish peerage and the bishops, while the Commons was directly elected, albeit on a very restricted franchise. The main purpose of parliament was to approve taxes that were levied by. Those who would pay the bulk of taxation, the clergy, merchants and landowners, in 1541 the parliament voted to create the Kingdom of Ireland. However, this Irish Parliament was a meeting of Irish nobles and bishops, later, in the 15th century, Irish parliaments began to invite representatives of the people. Among its most famous meeting places were Dublin Castle, the Bluecoat School, Chichester House and, its permanent home. The Irish Parliament was formally founded in 1297 by the Justiciar, John Wogan, to represent the Irish, in 1292 a less formal assembly of unelected nobles and merchants had raised £10,000, known as the lay subsidy. This tax was a fifteenth of the net worth of the chattels of wealthier citizens, the poor, the Parliament arose from and for citizens of the Lordship of Ireland, based on Norman laws and English practices. Magna Carta was extended in 1217 in the Great Charter of Ireland, alongside this reduced control grew a Gaelic resurgence that was political as well as cultural. In turn this resulted in numbers of the Anglo-Irish Old English nobility joining the independent Gaelic nobles in asserting their feudal independence. Eventually the crowns power shrank to a fortified enclave around Dublin known as the Pale. The Parliament thereafter became essentially the forum for the Pale community until the 16th century, the role of the Parliament changed after 1541, when Henry VIII declared the Kingdom of Ireland and embarked on the Tudor conquest of Ireland. Initially in 1537, the Irish Parliament approved both the Act of Supremacy, acknowledging Henry VIII as head of the Church and the dissolution of the monasteries, the Plantation of Ulster allowed English and Scottish Protestant candidates in as representatives of the newly formed boroughs in planted areas. Initially this gave Protestants a majority of 132-100 in the House of Commons, in the House of Lords the Catholic majority continued until the 1689 Patriot Parliament, with the exception of the Commonwealth period. Following the death of Cromwell and the end of the Protectorate, then, during the reign of James II of England, who had converted to Roman Catholicism, Irish Catholics briefly recovered their pre-eminent position as the crown now favoured their community. When James was overthrown in England, he turned to his Catholic supporters in the Irish Parliament for support, nonetheless, the franchise was still available to wealthier Catholics. Until 1728, Catholics voted in House of Commons elections and held seats in the Lords, for no particular reason, beyond a general pressure for Catholics to conform, they were barred from voting in the election for the first parliament in the reign of George II. Privileges were also limited to supporters of the Church of Ireland
35.
Wars of the Roses
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The conflict lasted through many sporadic episodes between 1455 and 1487, however, there was fighting before and after this period between the houses. With the Duke of Yorks passing, the transferred to his heir, Edward. His son reigned for 86 days as Edward V, but Parliament then decided that Edward and his brother Richard were illegitimate and offered the crown to Edward IVs younger brother, the two young princes disappeared within the confines of the Tower of London. The final victory went to a claimant of the Lancastrian party, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, after assuming the throne as Henry VII, he married Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter and heir of Edward IV, thereby uniting the two claims. The House of Tudor ruled the Kingdom of England until 1603, with the death of Elizabeth I, granddaughter of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. The name Wars of the Roses refers to the badges associated with the two royal houses, the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster. Wars of the Roses came into use in the nineteenth century. Badges were not always distinct, at the Battle of Barnet, Edwards sun was very similar to the Earl of Oxfords Vere star, which caused fateful confusion. Another example, Henry Tudors forces at Bosworth fought under the banner of a red dragon, although the names of the rival houses derive from the cities of York and Lancaster, the corresponding duchies had little to do with these cities. Although minor armed clashes had occurred previously between supporters of York and Lancaster, the first open fighting broke out in 1455 at the First Battle of St Albans, several prominent Lancastrians died at the hands of the Yorkists. Although peace was restored, the Lancastrians were inspired by Margaret of Anjou to contest Yorks influence. Fighting resumed more violently in 1459, York and his supporters were forced to flee the country, but one of his most prominent supporters, the Earl of Warwick, invaded England from Calais and captured Henry VI at the Battle of Northampton. York returned to the country and became Protector of England, but was dissuaded from claiming the throne, Margaret and the remaining Lancastrian nobles gathered their army in the north of England. When York moved north to engage them, he and his second son Edmund were killed at the Battle of Wakefield in December 1460. The Lancastrian army advanced south and released Henry at the Second Battle of St Albans, but failed to occupy London, Yorks eldest son, Edward, Earl of March, was proclaimed King Edward IV. He gathered the Yorkist armies and won a victory at the Battle of Towton in March 1461. After Lancastrian revolts in the north were suppressed in 1464 and Henry was captured once again, Edward fell out with his chief supporter and adviser, the Earl of Warwick after Edwards unpopular and secretly conducted marriage with the widow of a Lancastrian supporter, Elizabeth Woodville. Within a few years, it clear that Edward was favoring his wifes family
36.
Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond
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Thomas FitzJames FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond, called Thomas of Drogheda, known as the Great Earl, was the son of James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond and Mary de Burgh. He was Lord Deputy of Ireland for the Duke of Clarence from 1463 to his death and his plan to found a University at Drogheda failed due to his judicial assassination. Upon the death of his father, James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond, in 1462, Thomas FitzJames FitzGerald, became the 7th Earl of Desmond. That same year Desmond, having sided, as had his father, with the House of York, put down a Lancastrian invasion of Ireland by John and Thomas Butler, brothers of the Earl of Ormond. Local memory claims that the Battle of Piltown was so violent that the river ran red with blood, hence the names Pill River. Piltown was the battle of the Wars of the Roses fought in Ireland. In appreciation, the following year King Edward IV appointed Desmond Lord-Deputy under the Duke of Clarence, Desmond built castles around the Pale, and continued the hereditary feud with the Butlers. In 1464 he founded the church at Youghal. In 1466 he was defeated in an expedition to Offaly. Another measure forbade ships from fishing in the seas off Ireland, another provided that it was lawful to decapitate thieves found robbing or going or coming anywhere unless they had an Englishman in their company. On bringing the head to the mayor of the nearest town, Desmond was the main defence of the Irish against such exactions. Accused by his enemies of treason, for aiding the Irish against the Kings subjects, as well as extortion. He, along with Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Kildare were attainted for treason, the fact that Desmond had been seized in a Priory, in breach of the right of sanctuary, caused particular indignation. Desmond was summarily beheaded, while Kildare managed to escape to England to plead his case before the King, Desmond was buried at St. Peters Church, Drogheda, then afterwards removed to Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. Desmonds death shocked the nation, slain by the swords of the wicked, some accounts claim that Tiptoft also murdered two of Desmonds young sons, who were attending school in Drogheda. The Munster Geraldines invaded the Pale, not wishing to see a similar uprising in Leinster, Edward revoked the attainder against both Kildare and Desmond. Although Desmonds heir was allowed to succeed to his fathers lands and title, the precise cause of his downfall remains something of a mystery. Apart from Tiptoft, he had another powerful enemy in William Sherwood, Bishop of Meath, a man as ruthless as Tiptoft himself, later accounts suggested that Edward IVs Queen, Elizabeth Woodville, was the prime mover, having taken offence at some tactless remarks of Desmond
37.
John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester
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John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester KG was an English nobleman and scholar, Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Constable and Deputy Governor of Ireland. He was known as the Butcher of England, born at Eversden in 1427, He was the son of John Tiptoft, 1st Baron Tiptoft, and Joyce Cherleton, co-heiress of Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton. He was notable for his education, studying at University College at Oxford University from the ages of 13 to 16 and he married, Cecily Neville, Duchess of Warwick, daughter of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, in 1449, by whom he had no issue. Elizabeth Greyndour, daughter and sole heiress of Robert Greyndour of Clearwell and they had one son, John, who died the year of his birth,1452. Elizabeth, née Hopton, by whom he had a son, Edward and he enjoyed a brilliant early career. After being created Earl of Worcester on 16 July 1449, he was employed in a number of posts, first as Lord High Treasurer. He then departed on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and returned by way of Italy, there he gained a considerable reputation as a scholar of Latin. In 1464 he was appointed Chancellor of Ireland for life and in 1467 he again became Lord Deputy of Ireland, upon the Readeption of Henry VI in 1470, Tiptoft was unable to escape with Edward IV and his supporters. He was captured by the Lancastrians and beheaded at the Tower of London, attainted and his last act was to ask the executioner to chop off his head with three blows, for the sake of the Trinity. The title 2nd Earl of Worcester was the only restored to his minor son Edward, on 14 April 1471. His son Edward died in 1485, while still a minor, the titles thus became extinct on his death, or in abeyance between his aunts as co-heiresses. Leigh Rayments Peerage Pages thePeerage. com Kohl, Benjamin, Tiptoft, John, 1st earl of Worcester
38.
Elizabeth Woodville
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Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. At the time of her birth, her family was mid-ranked in the English aristocracy. Her first marriage was to a supporter of the House of Lancaster, Sir John Grey of Groby, he died at the Second Battle of St Albans. Her second marriage, to Edward IV, was a cause célèbre of the day, thanks to Elizabeths great beauty and lack of great estates. Edward was only the king of England since the Norman Conquest to have married one of his subjects. This hostility turned into open discord between King Edward and Warwick, leading to a battle of wills that finally resulted in Warwick switching allegiance to the Lancastrian cause, Elizabeth Woodville was born about 1437, possibly in October, at Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire. She was the child of a socially unequal marriage that had briefly scandalised the English court. Her father, Sir Richard Woodville, was merely a knight at the time of her birth, Sir Richards own father had made a good career in royal service, rising to become chamberlain to the Duke of Bedford. Sir Richard followed his father into service with the duke, the daughter of Peter of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, and Margaret de Baux, she had been married to the Duke of Bedford in 1433 at the age of 17. The duke was significantly older than Jacquetta of Luxembourg, his second wife and he died in 1435, leaving Jacquetta of Luxembourg a childless, wealthy widow. She was required to seek permission from King Henry VI before she could remarry, the couple was fined £1000, but this was remitted in October of the same year. Despite this inauspicious start, the couple soon prospered, thanks mainly to Jacquettas continuing prominence within the royal family. She retained her rank and dower as Duchess of Bedford, the latter providing an income of between £7000 and £8000 per year. Over the years, this income would diminish due to losses in France. Sir Richard was honoured with military ranks, in which he proved himself a capable soldier, further honours for both came when Henry VI married Margaret of Anjou, whose uncle was Jacquettas brother-in-law. The Woodvilles were among those chosen to escort the bride to England, Sir Richard was raised to the rank of Baron Rivers in 1448. Their children therefore would grow up enjoying considerable privilege and material comfort, in about 1452, Elizabeth Woodville married Sir John Grey of Groby, the heir to the Barony Ferrers of Groby. He was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans in 1461 and this would become a source of irony, since Elizabeths future husband Edward IV was the Yorkist claimant to the throne
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"Drogheda". Encyclopædia Britannica. 8 (11th ed.). 1911.
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