Guest Author - Tony King

Ireland, also called Eire or “The Emerald Isle” covers about 32,000 sq. mi. in area and is comprised of the Republic of Ireland (Eire) which occupies almost 85% of the total land-mass, and Northern Ireland in the North East corner which is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland.

In the 1100’s, the country was divided into four ecclesiastical provinces -----Ulster (north-east), Leinster (south-eastern Ireland ), Munster (south-west), and Connaught ( north-west) and these were sub-partitioned into 32 counties, 26 of which are currently within the Republic of Ireland. The political separation of the country was finally constituted in 1922, before which the whole island was under English rule for many centuries.

Historically, the first settlement of Ireland occurred around 6000 BC . While there is still much debate as to who these newcomers were, the first recognizable invasion took place when the Gaels, a Celtic-speaking people from western Europe, found their way to the island sometime between about 600 and 150 BC and overwhelmed the previous inhabitants.

During the first century AD the country was organized into five kingdoms, the traditional "Five Fifths of Ireland", then by AD 400 seven independent kingdoms had evolved.
The kings of these kingdoms often united their armies to complete raids across the Irish Sea into neighboring Britain . It was on one of these raids that a young man of 16 was captured (probably somewhere in Wales), returned to Ireland and sold into slavery.
During his enslavement the boy turned to religion and some six years later at the age of 22 escaped. Having studied theology in the Roman Catholic church , he returned to Ireland AD 432, and began the long quest of converting the Irish to Christianity. This was none other than Ireland's patron, Saint Patrick.

In the 9th and 10th centuries, Ireland fell prey to the fierce attacks from the all-conquering Vikings. Their warlike policy of a “scorched earth” meant that the monasteries and churches of Ireland especially suffered great atrocities.
In the 850’s the Danes invaded the island and were followed by Danish settlers who gradually assimilated with the local population and adopted Christianity. When the four ecclesiastical provinces were created in 1152, both Gaelic and Danish elements of the population helped form a united Church.
This reform, and others advocated by the Irish church were not well received by the pope, Adrian IV, an Englishman.
In 1155 he conferred on Henry II of England the lordship of Ireland hoping to cure some of Ireland's religious ills. In 1168 the English invaded and soon thereafter began invoking reforms, many dealing with the granting of land, invoking havoc on the traditional political and social structure of the society.

From the end of the twelfth century to about 1400, many Norman's from England moved to Ireland and settled the eastern areas, particularly around Dublin. Some assimilated but strife continued between the native Irish and the colonists.