| Home |
|
Until 12,000 BC
Ireland and Britain were joined to the continent.
The earliest settlers
arrived in Northern Ireland from Scotland
around 8000 BC. Farming began in
3500 BC, and from 3000 BC on,
many megalithic tombs (passage and gallery
tombs) were built.
Around 2000 BC, the beginning of the Irish bronze age,
they built
wedge tombs, with their entrance facing the Winter Solstice.
There
are 400 such tombs today, many in the Burren area of County
Clare.
The Celts first arrived in 600 BC from Europe, a nomadic and
warlike
people, with their own laws and religion. They had a good
knowledge
of metalworking, bringing iron chariots and rich and subtle
artefacts,
as well as heady liquor. The second wave of Celts, from the
Belgae
tribe in Europe, were called Euerni or
Érainn
from which comes Erin, Eire and Ireland. The last wave
was the
Feni, known by the Irish inhahitants as Gaeils, from
their
language Gaedelg. They settled into small
independent
units of fighting farmers, often fighting with each other.
Wealth
was counted in cattle.
The southern Gaels (as opposed to those
in the north and west),
became known as the Eoghanacht, ruiling Munster,
with their capital
at Cashel.
The Gaels had three classes the
free warriors (landowning
nobles), the professionals (Druids, musicians and
poets), and
slaves (prisoners of war, farm labourers and artisans). This
pattern,
which shows the origins of their strong feeling for learning
and
intellectual exercise, and their refinement in use of language,
lasted
until 1700 AD.
In 432 St. Patrick was one of the first
missionaries sent by the
Pope. Within 100 years Christianity was widely
adopted, with hundreds
of monasteries springing up. The monks from these
monasteries
became missionaries, who went across Europe teaching
Christianity.
In 795 the first of many waves of Vikings arrived. They
were Teutons,
Danes (dark haired), Swedish and Norwegian
(fair-haired).
During the frequent battles of rival tribes, women
and children
were safeguarded by law.
Irishmen generally got a
reputation for being individualistic
- respecting no laws, easygoing and
entertaining. As Chesterton
remarked "All their wars were merry, all
their songs sad".