Ireland!
Ireland is thought to have been inhabited from around 6000BC by people of a mid-Stone Age culture. And about 4,000 years later, tribes from Southern Europe arrived and established a high Neolithic culture. The best-known Neolithic sites in Ireland are the megalithic passage tombs of Newgrange and Knowth in County Meath. Both were built around 3200BC, making them older than Stonehenge in England, and the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Statue of St Patrick, Hill of Tara, Meath
Ireland’s famous patron saint didn’t actually come from Ireland. Saint Patrick was taken prisoner from his family home in Britain by Irish raiders and was brought to Ireland to work as a shepherd. After Patrick escaped back to Britain, he had a vision from God telling him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Now credited with introducing Christianity to Ireland, relics of St Patrick’s time here can be seen all over Ireland. One of the best known is Croagh Patrick in County Mayo, where Patrick fasted for 40 days in 441AD. Today, pilgrims climb the mountain every year on the last Sunday in July. Saint Patrick’s remains are believed to be buried in the grounds of Downpatrick Cathedral.
The Vikings first launched their attack on Ireland in 795AD. And in 837AD, 60 Viking Dragon warships appeared at the mouth of the River Liffey. Five years later, Dublin was taken under force, but the Vikings were attacked by the local Irish and fled. They returned 17 years later under Olaf the White and made a permanent settlement at Dyflinn (later to be Dublin). The King’s Palace stood on the present Dublin Castle site and part of the town’s defenses can still be seen at the Undercroft in Dublin Castle.
The latter half of the 19th century was a period of tragedy in Irish history. Ireland was struck by the Great Famine caused by a potato blight that struck crops over a four-year period from 1845-49. Over a million of the population died from starvation, with many more falling prey to diseases such as typhus. Over two million people emigrated to countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, and from 1848-1950 over six million Irish fled the land. Now the Irish diaspora is thought to contain over 80 million people scattered all over the globe. To learn more about the famine visit The Famine Museum in Strokestown Estate, The Cobh Heritage Centre and the Famine Commemoration Centre in Skibbereen.
Modern Ireland now enjoys more immigration than emigration. Thanks in large part to the boom of the Celtic Tiger economy in the 1990s, the Ireland of the 21st century is a vibrant, culturally rich and ethnically diverse country with an entirely youthful and optimistic outlook – over half the population is under 30, after all!
There are an estimated 80 million people who claim Irish ancestry. Imagine tracing your ancestry and discovering your family history! The Irish Genealogical Project can help you find the answers to the questions you have about your Irish roots. Take yourself on a journey of discovery that may inspire you to visit the land of your ancestors.
Traditions
The Irish love traditions. So much so, in fact, that the country is full of them – from eating colcannon (a mixture of cabbage and mashed potatoes) on Halloween to wearing something green on St. Patrick’s Day. Two of the most enduring and internationally famed, however, are traditional music and Irish dancing. Northern Ireland also has its own unique Ulster-Scots culture, which is prevalent throughout the counties and is often expressed through music and dance. The Lambeg Drum, fiddle, fife and flute are just some of the melodic accompaniments to sessions of Highland Dancing, Scottish Country Dancing, Ulster-Scots Square and Country Dancing.
The pub lies at the heart of cultural, social and musical life in Ireland. Not just places to have a drink, in an Irish pub you can philosophize on the meaning of life, ruminate on global politics, listen to a poetry reading, tap your feet to a traditional session, feast on delicious food or just enjoy the quiet settling of a pint of Guinness in front of a crackling fire. Sit at the bar if you fancy chatting to the locals, or hole yourself up in one of the old snugs – private little spaces, which were historically designed just for the ladies.
The Irish love a good excuse for a party. The country is legendary for its “craic”, and “fleadhs“, festivals and fairs are a massive part of cultural life whether it’s the gastronomic delights of the Kinsale Gourmet Festival or the high-brow Dublin Theatre Festival. If you’re looking for something unique then head to the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival. It’s Europe’s biggest singles event. Puck Fair in Kerry, where a goat is crowned king, is well worth a trip, while the Ould Lammas Fair in North Antrim draws crowds from across the globe.
The Irish like to think that Celtic blood flows through the veins of all the great and the good. Among those we are proud to call our own are John F. Kennedy, Davy Crockett, Gene Kelly, Grace Kelly and Ned Kelly, too. On St. Patrick’s Day, though, everyone’s Irish. So don your green and enjoy one of the many St. Patrick’s Day festivals around the world.
The Irish accent is famed the world over for its romantic and lyrical lilt, but it’s not until you actually get to Ireland that you realize how different the language around the country can be. To start with, in the Republic of Ireland (except for counties Monaghan and Donegal) Hiberno-English is spoken, while in Ulster the form of English is called mid-Ulster English. But the real key is the speed in which the words come out – so listen carefully!
As a race, we’re proud of the Irish language. So proud that the Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Minister passed regulations that decree only the Gaelic versions of place names and street signs are to be used in the Gaeltacht – any region where the Irish language is officially the major language. Just be sure to bring a map with you when traveling. And to make things a little more interesting, in the North of Ireland, Ullans is spoken. This beautiful language is a unique form of Scots/Irish and is peculiar to the Ulster region.
