An outline of Irish history on the web-site for teachers and learners of English as a secondary language from a German point of view
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An outline of Irish History by "Tha Outsidaz" (class 9d, 2001)


 
about 200B.C. Celtic speaking peoples arrive in Ireland.
432 St Patrick comes to Ireland to spread Christianity, which leads to a "Golden Age" of religion, art and scholarship.
795 The Vikings begin to invade the Irish island, destroy the Irish monasteries and form settlements of their own, until they are defeated in 1024.
1169 The Anglo-Normans invade Ireland and control most of the country. But many Gaelic chieftains remain powerful (this is said to be the beginning of the English-Irish conflict).
1536 Henry VIII tries to spread Reformation on the Irish, but he's not successful (this is said to be the origin of the religious conflict).
1603 The Irish chieftains are defeated, the "Plantation" of Ulster with Protestant settlers from Britain follows (This is said to be the origin of the Ulster problem).
1690 In the Battle of the Boyne William III (William of Orange) defeats the Catholics, the Protestants get all power and the Catholics are oppressed by "Penal Laws".
1798 The Rebellion of the "United Irishmen" fails, the Irish parliament is replaced by the Act of Union.
1829 A movement for Catholic Emancipation leads to the end of the "penal Laws".
1846 The potato crop fails and the poor Irish peasants die of starvation or emigrate.
1858 The Fenian Movement wants to establish an Irish Republic; it later becomes the IRA.
1881 A mass movement for peasant ownership of the land leads to a reform of the landlord system; the movement for "Home Rule" begins.
1912 Northern Ireland's Protestants form the Ulster Volunteers to fight against "Home Rule" which was planned for Ireland.
1916 The Easter Rising of Irish Republicans is defeated; the execution of the leaders causes public rebellion and years of fighting between Republicans and British forces.
1921 The war ends with the treaty creating an Irish Free State

6 Ulster counties stay within the UK.

1949 The "Irish Free State" leaves the Commonwealth of Nations and becomes the "Republic of Ireland".
1969 In Northern Ireland a Civil Rights movement aims to end the discrimination of the Catholics. Extremist Protestants fight against this movement. The IRA and the British Army step in the trouble. Since then there is open conflict and violence.
1973 The Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom join the EEC (European Economic Community)
1881 The results of the civil war is as follows:2,100 civilians, policemen, soldiers killed; 8,000 people crippled for the rest of their lives; 22,000 people injured; damages of £ 20,000,000 to houses, factories, roads ..7,610 people taken to court because of murder, illegal possession of guns, bombing and terrorism.
August 1976 Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan found the Northern Ireland Peace Movement and get the Nobel Prize in Peace in 1977.
Dec 1993 "Downing Street Declaration": Reynolds, prime minister of the Republic of Ireland, and John Major, British prime minister, agree that they will talk to the men of violence if those first give up violence. By that time 3,000 civilians were killed.
1994 Loyalist gunmen kill 6 people in County Down. On 30th August the IRA proclaim that they will stop all military operations to support the democratic peace process. In October the loyalist paramilitaries announce a cease-fire.
1995 President Clinton is the first US President, who visits Northern Ireland. 
1996 The IRA explode a bomb, which injures 200 people and then the IRA announces the cease-fire will end.
1997 A Catholic man is killed outside Belfast. It is the first killing since the IRA cease-fire in July.
1998 Twenty eight people are killed by an explosion. 

The Nobel peace prize was awarded jointly to John Hume and David Trimble for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.

1999 The British government formally transfers governing power to Northern Ireland Parliament.
2000 As a result, the British government is suspended by the Parliament. Sinn Fein promises that the IRA will put down their weapons
2001 David Trimble resigns his post as first minister in response to the September 11 attacks, which make the IRA's claim to weapons of terror seem even more senselessly brutal. 
<Click here and you will always get back to the table of contents>
Table of Contents
An outline of Irish history HOMEback to the homepagePAGE to the top back to the previous page back to
Project plan: Northern Ireland
go on to
Minutes
on to the next page