Ireland Lecture Notes Flashcards

Introduction to the Many Faces of Ireland

• The Diverse Irelands: Ireland is characterized by multiple overlapping identities. It is simultaneously a land of natural beauty (mountains, beaches, and rivers), a cultural hub of music and literature, and a historically complex region marked by conflict.

• Natural Landscapes: The country is known for high mountains, expansive empty beaches, and long deep rivers. It is frequently described as a quiet and friendly destination for fishing, swimming, and walking.

• Culture and Arts: Ireland is renowned for its stories and music. The majority of Irish people can sing, and many world-famous writers in the English language are Irish. While English is predominant, some populations speak only or mostly the Irish language.

• Historical Conflict: Between the years $1968$ and $1998$, Northern Ireland was a site of significant violence, including bombings and thousands of deaths. Despite this history, the majority of the Irish population is described as being uninterested in violence.

Geography and the Natural Landscape

• The "Plate" Analogy: Geographically, Ireland is shaped like a plate, meaning the land is higher near the coast and lower in the center.

• Lakes and Rivers: Due to its structure, the center of Ireland is rich in lakes and rivers.

  • Lough Neagh: This is the largest lake in Ireland.

  • River Shannon: This is the longest river in Ireland, measuring $260\,kilometres$ in length. It flows through several lakes, including two large ones: Lough Ree and Lough Derg.

• Mountains and Cliffs: Most mountains are situated near the sea.

  • Carrantouhill: The highest point in Ireland, located in the south-west, reaches an elevation of $1,040\,metres$.

  • Cliffs of Moher: Located in the west, these cliffs drop $200\,metres$ straight into the sea.

• Geological Wonders: The Giant’s Causeway in the north consists of unusual hexagonal rock pillars approximately $2\,metres$ tall.

• Islands: There are hundreds of small islands. On the Aran Islands in the west, life remains traditional and the Irish language is the primary tongue.

• Regional Differences:

  • North and West: Beautiful, green, and full of flowers and beaches (locally called "loughs"). The weather is warm and wet, but the rocky terrain makes farming difficult.

  • Centre and East: Features high-quality land suitable for farming. Irish milk and meat are considered among the best in the world.

  • Horse Culture: Horses are a major export to countries including Britain, America, Australia, and Japan. Unique horse races take place on the beach at Laytown, north of Dublin, every September.

Celtic Ireland and Early Culture

• Origins: The Irish are a Celtic people. Thousands of years ago, the Celts migrated to Ireland from western France and northern Spain.

• Cultural Traits: They were known for their love of singing, horses, stories, and intricate gold and silver jewellery, specifically gold rings worn around the neck and arms.

• The Celts in Historical Accounts: The Greek writer Diodorus Siculus described the Celts as tall, strong fighters who wore colorful shirts and trousers. They used loud shouts and hit swords against shields before battle. A gruesome custom included decapitating enemies and displaying the heads above doorways.

• Mythology and Symbols:

  • Finn Mac Cool: A famous fighter who gained the world's knowledge by touching the hot "fish of knowledge" and putting his finger in his mouth.

  • Cúchulainn: Known as "The Hound of Ulster." As a boy, he killed a dangerous guard dog belonging to King Conor by hitting a hurling ball into its mouth and then using his stick.

• Celtic Legacy Today:

  • Hurling: A traditional game where players hit a small hard ball with a stick.

  • Gaelic football: A popular sport where players use both hands and feet.

  • Language: Irish (Gaeilge) is a Celtic language. Though it was nearly dead a century ago, it is currently experiencing a revival through schools, radio (Raidió na Gaeltachta), and television (TG4).

St Patrick, the Church, and the Vikings

• St Patrick: In $401$, Patrick was captured from Britain at age $16$ and enslaved as a shepherd in Ireland for $6\,years$. After escaping to France and studying in a monastery, he returned in $432$ to convert the Irish to Christianity. He established a major church in Armagh.

• Christian Hub: By the $6th$ century, Ireland was a center of European Christianity. Famous artifacts include the Book of Kells (housed in Dublin).

• St Brendan: Legend says he sailed to America in a leather boat. In $1976$, Tim Severin proved this possible by sailing a similar leather boat, the Brendan, to America. It is currently displayed at Craggaunowen in County Clare.

• Viking Invasions: Norwegian Vikings attacked in the $9th$ century to pillage monasteries. Monks built tall round towers as hiding spots. Some Vikings eventually stayed and founded cities like Dublin, Cork, Waterford, and Limerick.

• The Red Hand of Ulster: A legend regarding a Viking race to claim land in Ulster. To ensure he touched the land first, one man cut off his own hand and threw it onto the beach. The "Red Hand" remains a symbol on the Northern Ireland flag.

English Rule and the Religious Divide

• The Norman Invasion: In $1152$, King Dermot MacMurrough attacked Tiernan O'Rourke and stole his wife. After being driven out by Rory O'Connor (High King of Ireland), Dermot sought help from Henry the Second of England. English forces arrived in $1169$ and began colonizing the land.

• The Reformation: In $1536$, England became Protestant while Ireland remained Catholic. This created a lasting conflict between loyalty to the British monarch versus the Pope in Rome.

• The Plantation of Ulster: English and Scottish Protestants were given land taken from Irish Catholics, especially in the north. The city of Derry was renamed Londonderry by London settlers.

• Oliver Cromwell: In $1649$, he led an English army to Ireland and oversaw the massacre of thousands of Catholics in Drogheda.

• The Battle of the Boyne: In $1688$, the Protestant William of Orange (King Billy) took the English throne from the Catholic James the Second.

  • The Siege of Derry: Catholics besieged the city for $105\,days$. The inhabitants ate cats and dogs to survive until Protestant ships arrived. $15,000$ people died.

  • The Protestant victory was solidified at the Battle of the Boyne ($1690$) and the Battle of Aughrim ($1691$).

The Great Hunger and Emigration

• Act of Union ($1801$): This law joined Ireland and Britain into one country with a single Parliament in London.

  • Nationalists: Catholics who wanted to end the Union.

  • Unionists: Protestants who wanted to keep it.

• The Potato Famine ($1840s$): Poor Catholic farmers relied almost entirely on potatoes. A blight turned the crops black and rotted them.

• Consequences: Thousands died of starvation. Many more emigrated to New York and other American cities. This led to New York hosting the world's largest St Patrick’s Day parade. The Irish language also declined during this period as the government and church promoted English as "modern."

• Sinn Fein: Founded after $1893$ by writers and activists to promote Irish language and independence. The name means "We Ourselves."

The Fight for Independence

• Home Rule: In $1914$, Britain planned to give Ireland its own Parliament. Protestant Unionists in Ulster, led by Sir Edward Carson, threatened to fight to remain fully British.

• World War I: The conflict was delayed by the war. Many Unionists and Nationalists joined the British army.

• Easter Rising ($1916$): On Easter Monday, Patrick Pearse and his followers seized the Dublin Post Office, declaring Ireland free. After six days of fighting, the leaders were executed in prison. This event is commemorated in W.B. Yeats's poem Easter 1916, which includes the line: "All changed, changed utterly. A terrible beauty is born."

• The War of Independence: From $1919$ to $1921$, the IRA (led by Michael Collins) fought the British. In $1921$, a treaty established an Irish government in Dublin for three-quarters of the island, while the north remained British.

The Troubles in Northern Ireland

• Demographics: In $1921$, Northern Ireland was approximately $60\%$ Protestant and $40\%$ Catholic. Today, the numbers represent roughly $53\%$ and $40\%$ respectively.

• Inequality: For decades, Protestants held the best jobs and housing, and the police force was predominantly Protestant.

• Violence escalates:

  • $1968$: Catholic civil rights marches were attacked by police.

  • $1969$: British soldiers arrived to restore order but eventually became targets for the IRA.

  • Bloody Sunday ($30\,January\,1972$): British soldiers killed $14$ Catholic marchers in Derry.

  • Bloody Friday ($21\,July\,1972$): The IRA detonated $22$ bombs in Belfast simultaneously.

• Political Prisoners: In $1980$, prisoners like Bobby Sands went on a hunger strike to protest being treated as criminals rather than political prisoners. Sands died after $66\,days$ without food; nine others followed.

• The Good Friday Agreement ($1998$): A peace treaty requiring Catholics and Protestants to share power in the government.

Major Irish Cities

• Dublin (Pop. $496,000$): The capital of the Republic. Features include the River Liffey, Guinness brewery, Trinity College (housing the Book of Kells), and the statue of Molly Malone.

• Belfast (Pop. $276,000$): The largest city in Northern Ireland. It was a manufacturing hub for ships and planes.

  • The Titanic: Built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in $1912$. Its cranes, Samson and Goliath, are city landmarks.

• Cork (Pop. $123,000$): Located on the River Lee. It has a major harbor and was the European Capital of Culture in $2005$.

• Londonderry/Derry (Pop. $105,000$): Famous for its $17th$-century walls (wide enough to walk on) and its annual Halloween festival.

• Galway (Pop. $65,800$): A hub for the Irish language and music, and a gateway to Connemara and the Aran Islands.

• Waterford (Pop. $45,000$): Ireland’s first city, founded by Vikings in the $9th$ century. Famous for Waterford Glass.

Literature, Music, and Modern Society

• Literary Giants:

  • Jonathan Swift ($1667-1745$): Author of Gulliver’s Travels.

  • James Joyce ($1882-1941$): Author of Ulysses, set entirely on $16\,June\,1904$ (Bloomsday).

  • Samuel Beckett ($1906-1989$): Nobel Prize winner and author of Waiting for Godot.

  • Seamus Heaney ($1939-2013$): Nobel Prize-winning poet from Northern Ireland.

• Modern Music:

  • Bob Geldof: Lead singer of the Boomtown Rats; organized Live Aid to help Africa.

  • Bono: Lead singer of U2, one of the world’s biggest bands.

  • Other Artists: Boyzone, Westlife, Enya, Sinead O’Connor, and Van Morrison.

• Eurovision: Ireland has won the Eurovision Song Contest $7\,times$, more than any other nation.

• Dance: Traditional dancing, where feet move quickly but hands remain at the side, became a global phenomenon through Michael Flatley and Jean Butler in Riverdance.

• Contemporary Ireland: It is a "country for young people," with nearly $50\%$ of the population under age $25$. The influence of the Catholic Church has waned, and the country has seen two female presidents: Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese. Since joining the European Union, Ireland has become a wealthy hub for international business and technology.