Irish History Timeline

A Timeline of Irish History

1594

A peace eight centuries in the making

The Nine Years War begins.

1367

The violence in Northern Ireland in the last half of the 20th century may seem like recent history, but the hostilites between the British and the Irish actually go back over 850 years! How did the conflict begin? Why is Ireland divided? Is reunification possible? To better understand Ireland's complicated history, click on each IMAGE, or each , as it appears. When you have finished, click "NEXT".

1171

The Statutes ofKilkenny

King Henry II arrives in Ireland.

Ireland

1536 -

England colonizes all of Ireland.

1509

Britain

Henry VIII becomes king of England.

1517

1533

Europe

The Protestant Reformation begins in Wittenberg, Germany.

Useful Vocabulary

Henry VIII severs ties with Rome.

a chieftan: un chef de clan a foothold: une implantation to dispossess: déposséder an heir: un héritier / une héritière

to quash: étouffer, supprimer the ruling class: la classe dirigeante to sever: couper, rompre a tenant: un métayer

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1916

1919-'22

1998

1800

The Easter Rising takes place in Dublin.

The Irish War of Independence

The Good Friday Agreement

The Acts of Union are passed.

1649-'53

Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland

1949

1845-'52

2024

Sovereignty

The Irish Potato famine

Michelle O'Neill is elected First Minister.

1798

Ireland

The IrishRebellionof 1798

1968-'98

- 1922

The Troubles

England colonizes all of Ireland.

1639-1648

Britain

1800

The Wars of the Three Kingdoms & The English Civil Wars

The Acts of Union are passed.

1939-'45

Useful Vocabulary

2016

Europe

World War II

a blight: un mildiou customs: droits de douane Home Rule: l'autonomie politique indentured servant: un serviteur sous contrat sovereignty: la souveraineté trade: le commerce

treason: la trahison a treaty: un traité a truce: une trève tutelage: la tutelle To Withdraw: se retirer

The United Kingdom votes in favor of Brexit.

1914-'18

World War I

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Sources

BBCBritannica British Pathé Donegal County Council Gaelic Athletic Association MuseumThe Guardian The Insurrection in Dublin, by James Stephens (1999) Irish Central THEIRISHSTORY.COM The Irish Times Koninklijke Bibliotheek Lambeth Palace Library Law Society Gazette - Ireland Life Picture Collection Magnum Photos National Geographic National Library of IrelandNational Musueum of Ireland National Portrait Gallery, UK The Northern Ireland Assembly Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency Petworth House, National Trust Royal Irish Academy Library RTÉ Sky History Sky News UK Parliament Ulster Museum University of Rochester

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TIME FOR PEACE The fighting between loyalists, nationalists, and the British Army had killed over 3,700 people and injured 47,000. More than half the victims were civilians. After 30 years of violence, the people of Northern Ireland were weary and longing for peace. After 2 years of negociations between the Irish and British governments, with support from international partners such as the U.S., an agreement was reached on Good Friday 1998.

Tony Blair (UK Prime Minister) and Bertie Ahern (Irish Prime Minister) sign the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 1998. @ BBC News

THE GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT This accord created a new, power-sharing parliament in Northern Ireland (with unionist and nationalist representatives), introduced social reforms to provent religious and political discrimination, and required the demilitarization of all sectarian militias (including the IRA). It also allowed for the early release of paramilitary prisoners. A month later, a referendum was held in all of Ireland. The Irish people voted massively in favor of the Good Friday Agreement (71% in the North, 94% in the Republic).

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AN IRISH REPUBLIC Since the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, the Dáil Éireann (Irish Parliament) had progressively distanced itself from the Commonwealth through a series of political manoeuvres and legislation. Finally, in 1949, the UK Parliament adopted the Ireland Act by which it officially recognized the Republic of Ireland as a sovereign nation, and no longer a member of the Commonwealth. Northern Ireland, however, would remain British for as long as it wanted. The act took effect on Easter Sunday 1949.

Crowds in Dublin celebrate the Ireland Act, Easter Sunday 1949 © The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images

Starting 1536, Henry VIII took control of the entire country. The Irish were dispossessed of their lands, often becoming tenants to English lords. The British (Protestant) ruling class controlled all of Ireland's political, legal and economic institutions, which were now governed from London.

© Koninklijke Bibliotheek

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BREXIT In 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. The Irish border was a crucial issue as the UK negotiated its exit. People worried that establishing a hard border between the North and the Republic would revive the Troubles. In order to protect the Good Friday Agreement and maintain an open border, a deal was needed to regulate trade and customs between the two countries. The Northern Ireland Protocol (2021), and the Windsor Framework (2023), set up specific customs policies for products imported from Great Britain into Northern Ireland (within the UK), and for products imported into the Republic, which would need to comply with EU regulations.

A POLITICAL BOYCOTT The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) opposed certain restrictions in the agreements, and withdrew from the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2022, paralyzing the government. Despite the DUP's protest, the Windsor Framework took effect on October 1, 2023. On January 30, 2024, the DUP and the British government reached a new deal, which resolved many of their concerns. The DUP ended its boycott and the Assembly was restored.

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A NEW FIRST MINISTER Following the restoration of the government, the Northern Ireland Assembly appointed a nationalist First Minister for the first time in its history. Michelle O’Neill, a Sinn Féin politician and the daughter of a former IRA prisoner, took office on February 3, 2024. SINN FÉIN ON THE RISE Perhaps a sign of changing times, Sinn Féin has been the largest political party in Northern Ireland for nearly two years. Notorious for its IRA connections during the Troubles, Sinn Féin has tried to turn the page on its controversial past. The party still advocates for a united Ireland, but through peaceful means, while its democratic socialist platform tends to appeal to younger voters who grew up after the Troubles.

UNIFICATION? The rise of O’Neill to the office of First Minister has raised questions about the possibility of a united Ireland in the future. In a recent interview with Sky News, she expressed her belief that a referendum on Irish unification would take place within the next ten years: [play video]

“Yes, I believe we’re in a decade of opportunity. And there are so
 many things that are changing all the old norms, the nature of the state, the fact that a nationalist republican was never supposed to be first minister. This all speaks to that change.”

©PA , Sky News

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HOME RULE For years, the Irish had been divided on the question of Home Rule, which would give Ireland political autonomy while remaining under the tutelage of the Crown. Unionists and loyalists opposed it, whereas Irish nationalists felt it was a step in the right direction. For Irish republicans, however, it was insufficient. Home Rule was finally passed in 1914, but the outbreak of World War I postponed its implementation.

THE EASTER RISING On Easter Monday 1916, the Irish Volunteers (republican militia) and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) staged an uprising in Dublin to fight for Ireland's independence. British soldiers crushed the rebellion in under a week. Sixteen of the rebel leaders were captured and executed. Although the rebel leaders would eventually be considered national heroes in most of the country, unionists viewed the uprising as an act of treason and resented the strain it put on valuable military resources during wartime. The rift between factions was growing.

Damages in Dublin following the uprising © British Pathé

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REBELLION IN THE NORTH Towards the end of the 16th century, Elizabeth I was worried that Spain would form an alliance with Irish Catholics and try to invade England from Ireland. So she sent English troops in an attempt to control the Irish chieftans and quash any rebellions against English authority. Although Ireland had been Anglicized over the centuries, the north had remained largely Gaelic. Hoping to defend their Gaelic culture from the increased English presence, two Irish nobles joined forces: Hugh O'Neill (Earl of Tyrone) and Hugh Roe O'Donnell (Earl of Tyrconnell). With support from Spain, they assembled an army to combat the English.

Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone © Ulster Museum, National Museums NI

THE END OF GAELIC LIFE The Nine Years War, also known as "Tyrone's Rebellion", ended in defeat for the Irish. In 1607, the earls, along with ninety of their supporters, fled the country. Their absence created a power vaccuum in Ulster, which allowed Scottish (British) Presbyterians to settle there and impose their branch of Protestantism. Their arrival, referred to as "The Plantation of Ulster", marked the end of the Gaelic way of life in the province, and the beginning of a distinct cultural and religious divide with the rest of Ireland.

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LEAVING HOME In the early 19th century, many Irish Catholics were choosing to emigrate to escape poverty and oppression. Since they could not prosper in Ireland, they aspired to a better life in countries like the United States, Canada and Australia. HUNGER In 1845, a blight destroyed Ireland's potato crops, causing a devastating famine and leading to new waves of mass emigration. It is estimated that bewteen 1845 and 1852, one million Irish died of famine, and another million emigrated to North America.

Famine Memorial in Dublin © Irish Central

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BREAKING WITH ROMEHenry VIII was desperate for a male heir! He and his wife, Katharine of Aragon, had one daughter, but no surviving sons. In the late 1520s, the king began having an affair with Anne Boleyn, a Protestant noblewoman. He wanted to marry her, but the Pope refused to annul his marriage to Katharine. So in April 1533, Henry officially severed ties with Rome and declared himself the head of the Anglican Church. As such, he gave himself permission to divorce Katherine and marry Anne, who was already pregnant. Their daughter, the future Elizabeth I, was born a few months later. Still no son...

NOT PROTESTANT... YET Although Henry VIII never actually converted, his split from Rome opened the door for Protestantism to grow within the English court. Two of his three heirs, Edward VI (by his third wife) and Elizabeth I would rule as Protestant monarchs, and the Church of England would become definitively Protestant under Elizabeth's reign.

©Petworth House, National Trust

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THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE In 1919, the Irish Volunteers and the IRB joined forces to form the first Irish Republican Army (IRA). Their goal? To achieve independence for Ireland by using guerilla warfare tactics against strategic British targets.

THE PARTITION OF IRELAND In May 1920, while the war was still ongoing, the UK passed the Government of Ireland Act, which officially divided the island along religious lines, into Southern and Northern Ireland.

The Dublin team at Croke Park, Bloody Sunday 1920 © GAA Museum

BLOODY SUNDAY Later that year, on November 21, the IRA captured and killed 14 English intelligence agents. British soldiers responded by opening fire on the crowd at a Gaelic football match at Croke Park in Dublin. Fourteen civilians died, and 60 were injured. This "Bloody Sunday" would sway public opinion against the British during the war.

A TRUCE AND A FREE STATE In July 1921, the British called for a truce. Peace negociations resulted in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1922. The treaty created the Irish Free State, which meant that Ireland would be an independent nation within the British Empire. However, the six predominently Protestant counties in the north would remain in the UK as Northern Ireland.

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THE TROUBLES BEGIN In the late 1960s, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, Catholic nationalists in Northern Ireland began to protest againt religious and political discrimination. The police would sometimes use force to suppress the protests, which only escalated the tensions.

GOING TO EXTREMES As hostilities grew, a group of radical Irish republicans banded together to form a new, Provisional IRA (not to be confused with the original IRA of the War of Independence). The Provisional IRA's mission was to force the British out of Northern Ireland "by any means necessary," including bombings and other acts of terrorism. It is important to note that public support for the IRA was limited. Politics aside, the majority of Northern Irish Catholics were strongly opposed to the IRA's methods and did not condone the violence.

ANOTHER BLOODY SUNDAY In 1972, a large group of Irish nationalists organized a peaceful (albeit unauthorized) protest in Derry. When the army tried to stop the protest, the two groups clashed. British soldiers opened fire on the crowd, killing 13 people and injuring several others... yet another "Bloody Sunday". The incident intensified the situation, and the back-and-forth of violence between loyalists and republicans continued for thirty years. This period of conflict is known as "The Troubles." In an effort to maintain order, "peace walls" were erected to separate Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. And a policy known as "internment" saw suspected IRA members imprisoned without trial.

A "peace wall", erected by the British authorities, seperates Catholics (left) from Protestants.Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1997. © Abbas | Magnum Photos

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COLONIZATION Starting in 1536, Henry VIII took control of the entire country. The Irish were dispossessed of their lands, often becoming tenants to English lords. The Anglican ruling class controlled all of Ireland's political, legal and economic institutions, which were now governed from London. RESISTANCE Only in the northern province of Ulster did Gaelic culture manage to resist the impending English influence. But for how long?

© Koninklijke Bibliotheek

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A NEW KINGDOM Between December 31, 1800 and January 1, 1801, the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland passed simultaneous acts of union, officially creating The United Kingdom.

An Act for the Union of Great Britain and Ireland. © Parliamentary Archives, HL/PO/PU/1/1800/39

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CONQUEST During the Anglo-Norman invasions (1169-'75), Henry II became the first English king to set foot in Ireland. He established a foothold in Waterford and expanded England's control over parts of the country. The Pope approved this invasion, in hopes that the king would help impose religious reforms in Ireland.

King Henry II, Unkown artist (1597-1618)© National Portrait Gallery, London

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TOO IRISH? The descendents of the English invaders began to assimilate into the local Irish culture. As such, the English (in England) believed that the Anglo-Irish had become too Irish and were no longer English enough. So to preserve the dominance of the English way of life in Ireland, the Parliament of Kilkenny passed a series of 35 laws restricting Gaelic traditions and culture. These statutes banned the Irish language in the presence of the English, imposed the English justicial system, prohibitted marriage between English and Irish, and even outlawed the Irish sport of hurling! These restrictions proved difficult to enforce, but they did set a precedent. Over the centuries, many other laws would be passed in an attempt to make Ireland less... Irish.

"Itm ordiue est ⁊ estabile qe chescun Engleys vse la lang Englies et soit nomer p nome Englejs enterlessant oultermt Ia manere de nomer use p Irroies et qe chescan Englejs vse la manere guise monture et appeill Eagleis solonc son eslat ⁊ si nul Engleys ou Irroies conusant entre Engleys use la lang Irroies entre eux-mesmes encontre ceste ordinance ⁊ de ceo soit atteint soint sez terres ⁊ Tentz sil eit seisiz en les maines son sior immediate [...]"

© The Statutes of Kilkenny, temp Edw. III., Carew Papers, Lambeth Palace Library

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THE TROUBLES BEGIN In the late 1960s, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, Catholic nationalists in Northern Ireland began to protest againt religious and political discrimination. The police would sometimes use force to suppress the protests, which only escalated the tensions.

GOING TO EXTREMES As hostilities grew, a group of radical Irish republicans banded together to form a new, Provisional IRA (not to be confused with the original IRA of the War of Independence). The Provisional IRA's mission was to force the British out of Northern Ireland "by any means necessary," including bombings and other acts of terrorism. It is important to note that public support for the IRA was limited. Politics aside, the majority of Northern Irish Catholics were strongly opposed to the IRA's methods and did not condone the violence.

ANOTHER BLOODY SUNDAY In 1972, a large group of Irish nationalists organized a peaceful (albeit unauthorized) protest in Derry. When the army tried to stop the protest, the two groups clashed. British soldiers opened fire on the crowd, killing 13 people and injuring several others... yet another "Bloody Sunday". The incident intensified the situation, and the back-and-forth of violence between loyalists and republicans continued for thirty years. This period of conflict is known as "The Troubles." In an effort to maintain order, "peace walls" were erected to separate Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. And a policy known as "internment" saw suspected IRA members imprisoned without trial.

A "peace wall", erected by the British authorities, seperates Catholics (left) from Protestants.Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1997. © Abbas | Magnum Photos

Listen

THE TROUBLES BEGIN In the late 1960s, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, Catholic nationalists in Northern Ireland began to protest againt religious and political discrimination. The police would sometimes use force to suppress the protests, which only escalated the tensions.

GOING TO EXTREMES As hostilities grew, a group of radical Irish republicans banded together to form a new, Provisional IRA (not to be confused with the original IRA of the War of Independence). The Provisional IRA's mission was to force the British out of Northern Ireland "by any means necessary," including bombings and other acts of terrorism. It is important to note that public support for the IRA was limited. Politics aside, the majority of Northern Irish Catholics were strongly opposed to the IRA's methods and did not condone the violence.

ANOTHER BLOODY SUNDAY In 1972, a large group of Irish nationalists organized a peaceful (albeit unauthorized) protest in Derry. When the army tried to stop the protest, the two groups clashed. British soldiers opened fire on the crowd, killing 13 people and injuring several others... yet another "Bloody Sunday". The incident intensified the situation, and the back-and-forth of violence between loyalists and republicans continued for thirty years. This period of conflict is known as "The Troubles." In an effort to maintain order, "peace walls" were erected to separate Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. And a policy known as "internment" saw suspected IRA members imprisoned without trial.

A "peace wall", erected by the British authorities, seperates Catholics (left) from Protestants.Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1997. © Abbas | Magnum Photos

Listen

COLONIZATION Starting in 1536, Henry VIII took control of the entire country. The Irish were dispossessed of their lands, often becoming tenants to English lords. The Anglican ruling class controlled all of Ireland's political, legal and economic institutions, which were now governed from London. RESISTANCE Only in the northern province of Ulster did Gaelic culture manage to resist the impending English influence. But for how long?

© Koninklijke Bibliotheek

Listen

COLONIZATION Starting in 1536, Henry VIII took control of the entire country. The Irish were dispossessed of their lands, often becoming tenants to English lords. The Anglican ruling class controlled all of Ireland's political, legal and economic institutions, which were now governed from London. RESISTANCE Only in the northern province of Ulster did Gaelic culture manage to resist the impending English influence. But for how long?

© Koninklijke Bibliotheek

Listen

CIVIL WAR The Wars of the Three Kingdoms saw bloody rebellions in both Scotland and Ireland, as well as the English Civil Wars between Royalists (supporters of the monarchy) and Parliamentarians (proponents of a parliamentary republic in England). The Parliamentarians won the war and, in 1649, executed King Charles I, whom they considered a tyrant. Fearing for his life, the king's son and heir, Charles II, fled to safety in France. Oliver Cromwell, the military and political leader who orchestrated the coup, was named "Lord Protector of England".

CROMWELL IN IRELAND Following the king's execution, Cromwell invaded Ireland. Driven by his desire to restore order after a previous rebellion (1641), and his general disdain for the Irish people, he led a brutal campaign to assert his control over the island. He also sought to subdue any exiled Royalists who had fled to Ireland after their defeat. Hundreds of thousands of Irish lives were lost, and another 50,000 were transported to America as indentured servants. Cromwell also passed a series of penal laws, in an effort to extinguish whatever Gaelic culture still persisted in Ireland. Irish Catholics were banned from voting, holding public office, owning land, or even teaching.

Oliver Cromwell, by Robert Walker (1649) © National Portrait Gallery, London