This website uses cookies to improve your experience. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Ireland has also flourished in areas of textiles, clothing, pharmaceuticals, and even in the fishing industry. The laws provided justice for all, no matter one's social standing, and maintained the independence and dignity of women, which had long been observed in Ireland. Ireland is an island country located in the North Atlantic, bounded by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St. George's Channel. The Hill of Tara in County Meath stands at an elevation of 646 feet (197 metres) and, at the summit, rises the Lia Fail, the stone of destiny where the High Kings of Ireland were inaugurated. However, traditionally, the major sports played and followed by enthusiasts all over the country are Gaelic Football and Hurling, which contribute to over half of the match attendance in the country. Eire is usually translated as 'abundant land' or 'plentiful land', either in reference to the goddess who was thought to inhabit the region and bless it with fertility or to the tribe who Ptolemy claimed possessed rich lands. Bardon and others attribute this to the Midlandian Ice Age whose vast sheets of ice only began melting in Ireland c. 15,000 BCE. The Neolithic farmers cleared more and more land, clearing the forests and building more substantial homes and villages. Legend tells that, when the Milesians invaded Ireland to conquer the Tuatha De Danaan, Eriu and her sisters, Banba and Fodla, asked that they name the island after them. The Beaker People may be the mysterious builders of circular hill forts found throughout Ireland such as the Mooghaun Hill Fort in County Clare where, in 1854 CE, the largest hoard of gold found anywhere outside of the Mediterranean was discovered. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 11 Sep 2015. Bright and cheerful colors can be seen splashed on the walls of most homes with colorful doors. Web. They were attacked by the Tuatha De Danann (children of the goddess Dana) who were masters of magical arts and formidable adversaries. They were made to synchronize with the biblical computation, and integrated into a so-called universal history round about the twelfth century by the authors of the Book of Invasions; they were accepted as true all through the Middle Ages, and even later, and this is where their importance lies. These huts were communal lodges for extended families with a single basin-shaped fire pit in the center and a round opening in the roof for ventilation of smoke. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Pubs or bars are used not only for drinking, but have also become common places for socializing, although Ireland does have the second highest per capita alcohol consumption in the world. The most prominent festivals are Cat Laughs Festival, Cork Jazz Festival, Dublin Writers Week, Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, the Puck fair, the National Plowing Championship, St, Patrick’s Day, and the Wexford Opera. The Ceide Fields were discovered by the local teacher Patrick Caulfield who was harvesting peat from a bog for his hearth. Historian Lloyd Duhaime, writing on the Brehon Laws, notes that "women were held on an equal footing as men and eligible for the highest professions including as warriors, priestesses and judges . The second group of immigrants was led by Partholan, son of Sera, son of Japheth (one of Noah's sons in the Bible), following the Great Flood. While this account of Ireland's past is presently the accepted early history of Ireland, it was not always so. The wooden huts of the Mesolithic era gave way to houses made of wattle-and-daub with thatched roofs, such as the one found at Ballynagilly, County Tyrone, in 1969 CE, a home considered the oldest Neolithic house found in Britain or Ireland, dated to c. 3700 BCE. The Milesian invasion was considered the final colonization of Ireland, which subdued the land and established the civilization and culture as the later writers of these tales knew it. The first people arrived in Ireland between 7,000-6,500 BCE at Coleraine in the far north. The beauty of the Irish dance is such that it can mesmerize even those who have no particular interest in dance. His discovery led to the excavation of the site many years later that uncovered a Neolithic settlement of houses, field systems, walls, and tombs. The "mythological origins" history of Ireland was written long after by Christian scribes drawing on biblical stories to create a national history. History of Ireland covers centuries battles, invasions, and other events in the history timeline. Without the Mission of the Irish Monks, who single-handedly re-founded European civilization throughout the continent in the bays and valleys of their exile, the world that came after them would have been an entirely different one - a world without books (4). There was little effective challenge to Britain’s control of Ireland until the efforts of Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-91). The empire had been in turmoil, to greater or lesser degrees, since the Crisis of the Third Century (235-284 CE) and was divided into eastern and western empires in 285 CE. As…, By the late 1920’s Ireland was in a state of disarray from the Irish war of independence. When the Celts arrived in Ireland, however gradually or swiftly, they brought the knowledge of iron working with them. Let me take you on a trip that explores this amazing country and the traditions that were seen and are followed even today. This beautiful country is rich in history, and has also been the home to many talented writers including the likes of Oscar Wilde. Archaeologists have searched in vain for evidence of dramatic invasions of Ireland, and they now prefer to think of a steady infiltration from Britain and the European mainland over the centuries (12). They believe in displaying their affection rather than curbing the same. Bronze and copper replaced the stone ornaments and weaponry of the earlier age, and advances in technology increased rapidly. Sean-nós dancing, old step dancing, and the modern versions of step dancing are popular all over the world. At marriage, women were partners with their husbands, and not the property of the latter" (2). Patrick did far more than convert pagan Ireland to Christianity; he popularized the faith, carefully integrating it with what he knew of Celtic mythology and Irish lore so that it was more easily assimilated. Classical music has seen its revival only in the past few years; this is primarily because of the divide of the island (North and South). The Viking Age in Ireland began with the first recorded raid in 795 CE off the coast of Antrim and ended in 1014 CE with the Viking defeat by the great High King of Ireland Brian Boru (941-1014 CE) at The Battle of Clontarf. There are many bands that still play traditional music. The traditional music of Ireland still has a strong foothold in the music scene despite the various influences from abroad. Palladius and the others established Christian communities that placed a premium on literacy and became centres of learning, but they were not as successful as the former slave who escaped from captivity in Ireland to return a bishop and change the nation: St. Patrick. They lived in peace until Eber's wife desired the most beautiful hill in the land, Tara, which was in Eremon's territory and Eremon's wife, Tea, refused her.