The Romans referred to Ireland as Hibernia and/or Scotia.

Ptolemy in
AD 100 records Ireland's geograhy and tribes. !ati"e acco#nts are
confined to Irish oetry$ myth$ and archaeology. The e%act
relationshi bet&een Rome and the tribes of Hibernia is #nclear' the
only references are a fe& Roman &ritings.
In medie"al times$ a monarch (also )no&n as the High *ing+ resided
o"er the (then fi"e+ ro"inces of Ireland. These ro"inces too had their
o&n )ings$ &ho &ere at least nominally s#b,ect to the monarch$ &ho
resided at Tara. The &ritten ,#dicial system &as the -rehon .a&$ and
it &as administered by rofessional learned ,#rists &ho &ere )no&n as
the -rehons.
According to early medieval chronicles, in 431, Bishop Palladius
arrived in Ireland on a mission from Pope Celestine I to minister
to the Irish "already believing in Christ" !he same chronicles
record that "aint Patric#, Ireland$s patron saint, arrived in 43%
!here is continued debate over the missions of Palladius and
Patric#, but the general consensus is that they both e&isted and
that 'th century annalists may have mis(attributed some of their
activities to each other Palladius most li#ely )ent to *einster,
)hile Patric# is believed to have gone to +lster, )here he
probably spent time in captivity as a young man
The dr#id tradition collased in the face of the sread of the ne&
religion. Irish /hristian scholars e%celled in the st#dy of .atin and
0ree) learning and /hristian theology in the monasteries that
flo#rished$ reser"ing .atin and 0ree) learning d#ring the 1arly
2iddle Ages. The arts of man#scrit ill#mination$ metal&or)ing$ and
sc#lt#re flo#rished and rod#ced s#ch treas#res as the -oo) of *ells$
ornate ,e&ellery$ and the many car"ed stone crosses that dot the
island. 3rom the 4th cent#ry$ &a"es of 5i)ing raiders l#ndered
monasteries and to&ns$ adding to a attern of endemic raiding and
&arfare. 1"ent#ally 5i)ings settled in Ireland$ and established many
to&ns$ incl#ding the modern day cities of D#blin$ /or)$ .imeric) and
6aterford.
3rom 1174$ Ireland &as entered by /ambro8!orman &arlords$ led by
Richard de /lare$ 9nd 1arl of Pembro)e (Strongbo&+$ on an in"itation
from the then *ing of .einster. In 11:1$ ,ing -enry II of .ngland
came to Ireland$ #sing the 11;; -#ll .a#dabiliter iss#ed to him by
then Poe Adrian I5$ an 1nglishman$ to claim so"ereignty o"er the
island$ and forced the /ambro8!orman &arlords and some of the
0aelic Irish )ings to accet him as their o"erlord. 3rom the 1<th
cent#ry$ 1nglish la& began to be introd#ced. -y the late thirteenth
cent#ry the !orman8Irish had established the fe#dal system
thro#gho#t most of lo&land Ireland. Their settlement &as
characterised by the establishment of baronies$ manors$ to&ns and
large land8o&ning monastic comm#nities$ and the co#nty system. The
to&ns of D#blin$ /or)$ 6e%ford$ 6aterford$ .imeric)$ 0al&ay$ !e&
Ross$ *il)enny$ /arlingford$ Drogheda$ Sligo$ Athenry$ Ar)lo&$
-#tte"ant$ /arlo&$ /arric)8on8S#ir$ /ashel$ /lonmel$ D#ndal)$
1nniscorthy$ *ildare$ *insale$ 2#llingar$ !aas$ !a"an$ !enagh$
Th#rles$ 6ic)lo&$ Trim and =o#ghal &ere all #nder !orman8Irish
control.
In the 1>th cent#ry the 1nglish settlement &ent into a eriod of
decline and large areas$ for e%amle Sligo$ &ere re8occ#ied by 0aelic
sets (families$ clans+. The medie"al 1nglish resence in Ireland &as
deely sha)en by -lac) Death$ &hich arri"ed in Ireland in 1<>?.
13/4 8 Richard II leads e%edition to s#bd#e Ireland' ret#rns to
1ngland in 1<4;
3rom the late 1;th cent#ry 1nglish r#le &as once again e%anded$ first
thro#gh the efforts of the 1arls of *ildare and @rmond then thro#gh
the acti"ities of the T#dor State #nder Henry 5III and 2ary and
1liAabeth. !his resulted in the complete con0uest of Ireland by
1123 and the final collapse of the 3aelic social and political
superstructure at the end of the 1'th century, as a result of
.nglish and "cottish Protestant colonisation in the Plantations of
Ireland, and the disastrous 4ars of the !hree ,ingdoms and the
4illiamite 4ar in Ireland Appro&imately 122,222 people, nearly
half the Irish population, died during the Crom)ellian con0uest
of Ireland
1141 8 Triennial Act reB#ires Parliament to be s#mmoned e"ery three
years' Star /hamber and High /ommission abolished by Parliament'
/atholics in Ireland re"olt' some <0$000 Protestants massacred' 0rand
Remonstrance of Parliament to /harles I
After the Irish Rebellion of 17>1$ Irish /atholics &ere barred from
"oting or attending the Irish Parliament. !he ne) .nglish Protestant
ruling class )as #no)n as the Protestant Ascendancy
114/ 8 /harles I is tried and e%ec#ted' The /ommon&ealth$ in &hich '
1ngland is go"erned as a re#blic$ is established and lasts #ntil 1770'
/rom&ell harshly s#resses /atholic rebellions in Ireland
115/ 8 Parliament dra&s # the Declaration of Right detailing the
#nconstit#tional acts of *ing Cames II. Cames' da#ghter and her
h#sband$ his nehe&$ become ,oint so"ereigns of -ritain as *ing
6illiam III and D#een 2ary II. Parliament asses the -ill of Rights.
Toleration Act grants rights to Trinitarian Protestant dissenters.
/atholic forces loyal to Cames II land in Ireland from 3rance and lay
siege to .ondonderry
11/2 8 *ing 6illiam defeats the Irish and 3rench armies of his father8
in8la& at the -attle of the -oyne in Ireland
11/1 8 The Treaty of .imeric) allo&s /athloics in Ireland to e%ercise
their religion freely$ b#t se"ere enal la&s soon follo&. The 3rench
6ar begins
To&ards the end of the 1?th cent#ry the entirely Protestant Irish
Parliament attained a greater degree of indeendence from the -ritish
Parliament than it had re"io#sly held. Ender the Penal .a&s no Irish
/atholic co#ld sit in the Parliament of Ireland$ e"en tho#gh some 40F
of Ireland's o#lation &as nati"e Irish /atholic &hen the first of
these bans &as introd#ced in 1741. This ban &as follo&ed by others in
1:0< and 1:04 as art of a comrehensi"e system disad"antaging the
/atholic comm#nity$ and to a lesser e%tent Protestant dissenters. In
1:4?$ many members of this dissenter tradition made common ca#se
&ith /atholics in a rebellion insired and led by the Society of Enited
Irishmen. It &as staged &ith the aim of creating a f#lly indeendent
Ireland as a state &ith a re#blican constit#tion. Desite assistance
from 3rance the Irish Rebellion of 1:4? &as #t do&n by -ritish
forces.
In 1522, the British and subse0uently the unrepresentative Irish
Parliament passed the Act of +nion )hich, in 1521, merged the
,ingdom of Ireland and the ,ingdom of 3reat Britain to create
the +nited ,ingdom of 3reat Britain and Ireland The assage of
the Act in the Irish Parliament &as achie"ed &ith s#bstantial
ma,orities$ in art (according to contemorary doc#ments+ thro#gh
bribery$ namely the a&arding of eerages and hono#rs to critics to get
their "otes. Th#s$ Ireland became art of an e%tended Enited
*ingdom$ r#led directly by the E* Parliament in .ondon.
!he 1/th century sa) the 15%1(%3 3amine in Ireland and the
3reat 6amine of the 1542s, during )hich one million Irish people
died and over a million emigrated
By the 1542s as a result of the famine fully half of all immigrants
to the +nited "tates originated from Ireland A total of 37 million
Americans 81%9 of total population: reported Irish ancestry in
the %227 American Community "urvey ;ass emigration became
entrenched as a result of the famine and the population continued
to decline until late in the %2th century !he pre(famine pea# )as
over 5 million recorded in the 1541 census !he population has
never returned to this level
The 14th and early 90th cent#ry sa& the rise of Irish !ationalism
esecially among the /atholic o#lation. Daniel @'/onnell led a
s#ccessf#l #narmed camaign for /atholic 1manciation. A
s#bseB#ent camaign for Reeal of the Act of Enion failed. .ater in
the cent#ry /harles Ste&art Parnell and others camaigned for self
go"ernment &ithin the Enion or GHome R#leG.
An armed rebellion too) lace &ith the 1aster Rising of 1417$ and the
s#bseB#ent Irish 6ar of Indeendence. In 1491$ a treaty &as
concl#ded bet&een the -ritish 0o"ernment and the leaders of the Irish
Re#blic. The Treaty recognised the t&o8state sol#tion created in the
0o"ernment of Ireland Act 1490. !orthern Ireland &as res#med to
form a home r#le state &ithin the ne& Irish 3ree State #nless it oted
o#t. !orthern Ireland had a ma,ority Protestant o#lation and oted
o#t as e%ected$ its in8b#ilt ma,ority choosing to remain art of the
Enited *ingdom$ incororating &ithin its border a significant
/atholic/!ationalist minority. A -o#ndary /ommission &as set # to
decide on the bo#ndaries bet&een the t&o Irish states$ tho#gh it &as
s#bseB#ently abandoned after it recommended only minor ad,#stments
to the border. Disagreements o"er some ro"isions of the treaty led to
a slit in the !ationalist mo"ement and s#bseB#ently to the /i"il 6ar.
The ci"il &ar ended in 149< &ith the defeat of the Anti8treaty forces.
The Anglo8Irish Treaty &as ratified by the DHil (lo&er Ho#se of
Reresentati"es in the Irish Parliament+ in December 1491 by a "ote
of 7> 8 ;:. The minority ref#sed to accet the res#lt and this res#lted
in the beginning of the Irish /i"il 6ar$ &hich lasted #ntil 149<. In
1499$ in the middle of this ci"il &ar$ the Irish 6ree "tate came into
being. D#ring its early years the ne& state &as go"erned by the "ictors
of the /i"il 6ar. Ho&e"er$ in the 14<0s 3ianna 3Hil$ the arty of the
oonents of the treaty$ &ere elected into go"ernment. The arty
roosed and the electorate acceted in a referend#m in 14<: a ne&
constit#tion &hich renamed the state G<ire or in the 1nglish lang#age$
IrelandG (article 4 of the Constitution).
The state &as ne#tral d#ring 6orld 6ar II$ &hich &as )no&n
internally as The 1mergency. It offered some assistance to the Allies$
esecially in !orthern Ireland. It is estimated that aro#nd ;0$000
"ol#nteers from ire/Ireland ,oined the -ritish armed forces d#ring
the second 6orld 6ar. In 14>4$ Ireland declared itself to be a re#blic
and that henceforth it sho#ld be described additionally as the
=epublic of Ireland.
The Re#blic e%erienced large8scale emigration in the 14;0s and
again in the 14?0s.
3rom 14?: the economy reco"ered and the 1440s sa& the beginning
of #nrecedented economic s#ccess$ in a henomenon )no&n as the
G/eltic TigerG. -y the early 9000s it had become one of the richest
co#ntries (in terms of 0DP er caita+ in the 1#roean Enion$ mo"ing
from being a net reciient of the b#dget to becoming a net contrib#tor
d#ring the ne%t -#dget ro#nd (900:81<+$ and from a co#ntry of net
emigration to one of net immigration. In @ctober 9007$ there &ere
tal)s bet&een Ireland and the E.S. to negotiate a ne& immigration
olicy bet&een the t&o co#ntries$ in resonse to the gro&th of the
Irish economy and desire of many E.S. citiAens &ho so#ght to mo"e
to Ireland for &or).
Then$ the financial crisis hit.
The %225>%211 Irish financial crisis is a ma,or economic crisis in
Ireland that is artly resonsible for the co#ntry falling into recession
for the first time since the 14?0s. The Irish go"ernment officially
anno#nced it &as in recession in Setember 900?$ &ith a shar rise in
#nemloyment occ#rring in the follo&ing months. Ireland &as the
first state in the 1#roAone to enter recession as declared by the /entral
Statistics @ffice.
3ollo&ing are some of the )ey e"ents of the financial crisis in IrelandI
<0 Setember 9010I Ireland's central ban) re"eals that the cost of
resc#ing the ban)s$ and in artic#lar Anglo Irish$ follo&ing the
financial crisis &ill #sh the #blic deficit to <9 ercent of gross
domestic rod#ct in 9010$ from 11.7 ercent c#rrently.
8 Prime 2inister -rian /o&en's go"ernment romises a fo#r8year
a#sterity lan to bring the deficit bac) #nder three ercent by 901>.
1arly !o"emberI In"estor #nease at Ireland's #blic finances sends the
rate at &hich it can borro& money on the financial mar)ets soaring to
record highs.
19 !o"ember 9010I The Irish go"ernment denies r#mo#rs that it has
as)ed the 1#roean Enion for financial hel$ saying it is &ell f#nded
#ntil mid89011.
1; !o"ember 9010I D#blin admits it is in contact &ith Ginternational
colleag#esG o"er its economic diffic#lties b#t denies ma)ing any
bailo#t reB#est.
17 !o"ember 9010I 3inance ministers from the 17 1#roAone co#ntries
say they are ready to hel s#ort the Irish ban)ing sector if necessary
as they see) to ens#re the stability of shared 1#roean c#rrency.
1? !o"ember 9010I 1%erts from the 1#roean Enion and the
International 2onetary 3#nd arri"e in Ireland to assess the sit#ation.
91 !o"ember 9010I 1#roean finance ministers and the I23 agree to
a massi"e loan for Ireland$ estimated at bet&een ?0 and 40 billion
e#ros.
9< !o"ember 9010I Prime 2inister -rian /o&en is forced to call an
election early in 9011 after the 0reen Party$ the ,#nior artners in his
coalition go"ernment$ demand that a "ote ta)e lace after the a#sterity
lan and a December b#dget is assed.
9> !o"ember 9010I D#blin #n"eils a fo#r8year lan detailing lans to
c#t sending by 10 billion e#ros and raise ta%es by fi"e billion e#ros
as it see)s to slash its b#dget deficit. -#t it re,ects ress#re from
-erlin and Paris to raise its lo& rate of cororation ta% from 19.;
ercent.
9; !o"ember 9010I /o&en's go"ernment sees its ma,ority in
arliament fall to ,#st t&o after the oosition Sinn 3ein arty &in a
by8election in Donegal.
9: !o"ember 9010I Tens of tho#sands of Irish rotesters ta)e to the
streets to deno#nce the a#sterity meas#res and the bailo#t.
9? !o"ember 9010I International negotiators reach a deal &ith Ireland
on a bailo#t &orth abo#t ?; billion e#ros.