Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare
Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare, also known as Silken Thomas, was a leading figure in 16th-century Irish history.
Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare
Dress of gallowglasses, c. 1521. Many fought on Fitzgerald's side.
Illustration of the Earl of Kildare throwing down the sword of state.
The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 33,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of homo sapiens to around 10,500 to 7,000 BCE. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Quaternary around 9700 BCE, heralds the beginning of Prehistoric Ireland, which includes the archaeological periods known as the Mesolithic, the Neolithic from about 4000 BCE and the Copper Age beginning around 2500 BCE with the arrival of the Beaker Culture. The Irish Bronze Age proper begins around 2000 BCE and ends with the arrival of the Iron Age of the Celtic Hallstatt culture, beginning about 600 BCE. The subsequent La Tène culture brought new styles and practices by 300 BCE.
Newgrange, built c. 3200 BCE, is an Irish passage tomb located at Brú na Bóinne.
Kevin's monastery at Glendalough, County Wicklow
A page from the Book of Kells that opens the Gospel of John
A tower house near Quin, County Clare. The Normans consolidated their presence in Ireland by building hundreds of castles and towers such as this.