We’ve been spending some time soaking up the early history of Ireland, so we thought we’d share some of it with you! There is ample evidence of occupation on the island starting from as far back as 12,500 BCE. The majority of this evidence is in the form of tombs: chamber, portal, and (especially) passage. These last are all-but-unique to Ireland, and often contain grave goods. The most famous site is Newgrange, which dates to 3,200 BCE. (This means it’s older than Stonehenge and the pyramids in Egypt!) But the area around the River Boyne is full of these tombs. Most of them align with astrological events (summer or winter solstice, vernal or autumnal equinoxes).
The relationship between the people who built these tombs and the Celts is unclear. They might be related, or one or more groups might have moved here. At any rate, the Neolithic period ends with the introduction of metallurgy, somewhere around 2,500 BCE in Ireland. And the Celts firmly ensconced themselves here and in neighbouring areas in Northern and Western Europe by the 5th century BCE. The Romans were scared to death of them! They spread across northern Europe, speaking a related family of languages. (The Irish branch includes Irish, Scots Gaelic, and Manx.) They were the main occupants of Ireland for something like a thousand years. They also brought some serious metal-working skills, as you can see from the Brooch of Tara (which dates to the 8th century CE), and various swords of the period.
The topography of Ireland led to the rise of local Celtic warlords, forts, and cattle raids. The Celts also had a remarkably complicated system of law. Also Celtic mythology and some fantastic literature! But there were no real cities; Celtic government was small and local, with limited ability for coordination. This was both a strength and a weakness, as it would turn out.
But there’s more going on in the early history of Ireland! The earliest Christian activity on the island must have been before 431 BCE, when a priest named Palladius Patricius was sent to Ireland, as bishop to the island’s Christian communities. So, obviously, there must have been some by then. It’s not a dead certainty that this was St. Patrick, but there’s a fairly good chance of it. Within about a hundred years, the island was overwhelmingly Christian, mostly thanks to him and his disciples. Later came Colum Cille, who Christianised Scotland and England. And the Book of Kells (late 8th century CE).
In the meantime, however, the Vikings, who had been pillaging and raiding in the area for nearly a century, created a permanent settlement at Dublin in 841. Pressure from the Franks led the Vikings to move south and west from their Nordic homelands. Dublin was mostly a trading post at first. They settled in the oldest part of the city, near St Audoen’s, Christchurch, and Dublin Castle. Viking presence was felt throughout the island, and only really ended at the Battle of Clontarf (in what is now suburban Dublin) in 1014, when Brian Boru led a group of clans against them.
Defeat didn’t mean the Vikings left; lots of them stayed and assimilated. Among their important influences were the creation of towns across Ireland and the introduction of coinage. They remained traders and businesspeople. The Gaelic unity displayed under Brian Boru, however, was short-lived.
One of the things we think is so interesting about all of this is that, looking at a map, you’d think Ireland was a bit off the beaten track. Not so: it was right in the middle of everything! Speaking of people who couldn’t get enough of Ireland, stay tuned for the Normans!
