Week 1 - A Brief Look at Irish History
A Brief Irish History
When researching any new topic it is important that we have an understanding of the background or context of the situation. The political and religious landscape in Ireland, along with a colourful history set the scene for a series of events that led to the divide between the Republic and North of Ireland.
Week 1:
1. Read the following article: http://www.historyextra.com/feature/irelands-history-milestone-moments.
2. Create a timeline of the events outlined
3. Research: Choose one aspect to research further. It could be the importance of Catholic religion, the establishment of English colonies or the Plantations, the Black Death, the battle of Aughrim, the Great Famine or the Easter Rising for example.
4. Post a summary or some facts about the event/aspect you have researched. It can be brief, or you can add to a previous post with additional information.
Great Famine, also called Irish Potato Famine, Great Irish Famine, or Famine of 1845–49, famine that occurred in Ireland in 1845–49. It was caused by a late blight which meant the leaves and the edible roots, or tubers, of the potato plant were affected and could not be eaten. It was the worst famine the 19th century saw. The total deaths caused by the famine is estimated to be around one million, the population size decreased by 20-25% due to immigration and mortality. Around two million people emigrated to escape the famine. By the time Ireland achieved independence in 1921, its population was barely half of what it had been in the early 1840s.
ReplyDeleteThe blight was initially caused by the strain of Phytophthora which arrived from North America in 1845 and the same year Ireland had unusually cold and moist weather which were the perfect conditions for the blight to thrive.
People of Ireland, almost half the Irish population—but primarily the rural poor—had come to depend almost exclusively on the potato for their diet. The rest of the population also consumed it in large quantities. Thus when the potato crops failed people began to die of starvation and disease.
The actions taken by the British government to relive the famine were inadequate. Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel continued to allow the export of grain from Ireland to Great Britain. In early 1845 and 46 he authorised the import of maize from the US which helped avert some starvation. Although the Whig cabinet of Lord John Russel maintained Peel’s policy regarding the exportation of grain he otherwise took a laissez-faire approach to the situation.
Further examples of famines from the 20th century include the Chinese famine of 1959–61, which resulted in 15–30 million deaths, the Ethiopian famine of 1984–85, which caused approximately 1 million deaths but affected more than 8 million people, and the North Korean famine of roughly 1995–99, which killed an estimated 2.5 million people.
The Black Death:
ReplyDeleteNot much is known about the black death in Ireland, due to the lack of records from the time, however, it is known that the black death arrived in Ireland in ports north of Dublin in august 1348, and spread quickly throughout the country. Whilst some estimate the death toll in Dublin to be around 14,000 this is believed to be an exaggeration, as there were only 20,000 living in Dublin.
By 1349 the plague had spread to the west coast, but mostly avoided the largely isolated Gaelic-Irish population in the north-west. The death toll is estimated to be between 1/4 and 1/3, but after 2 years, the effects had mostly ceased, with all carriers dying and people developing a resistance to the plague.
Elliott Wilkie
ReplyDelete12NMN
The Easter Rising 1916:
The years leading up to the rebellion against British rule in Ireland in April 1916 were marked by significant political, cultural and military developments in Ireland and throughout Europe the rebellion became known as the Easter Rising. The Easter Rising was the rebellion to overthrow British rule in Ireland in 1916 to set up an Irish republic. The Irish acted on opportunity as Britain was caught completely unaware as it was completely focused on World War One. The Rebels surrendered on 29th April after an onslaught by British forces in Dublin, over 450 people were killed and 2,500 wounded.
The threat of Home Rule led unionists in Ulster to establish the military organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force, this prompted the formation of the Irish Volunteers. The emergence of these forces threatened British rule in Ireland. However, the possibility of violence in Ulster was averted by the outbreak of World War One.
Three groups were involved in the rising but the most important was the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) which was formed in the mid-19th century. Thomas Clarke and Seán Mac Diarmada were the key figures in the IRB. The Irish Volunteers were a military group formed in 1913, its members accounted for the largest number of men who were called out on Easter Monday. Along with them was the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), they were a socialist militia led by James Connelly who also played an important role. However, the key group was a 7 man IRB council, they had people from all 3 rebel organisations, theses 7 men planned the Easter Rising with absolute secrecy.
Rebel Forces:
Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB): Formed in 1858, This organisation were the main strategists behind the Easter Rising, Additionally My Great, Great, Great, Great Uncle was a member of the IRB along with his 5 sons who later joined the IRA (Irish Republican Army)
Irish Volunteers: Formed in 1913, they were used as the main force behind Rising by IRB.
Irish Citizen Army (ICA): Formed in 1913, their main aim was to defend workers’ strikes
The military council had a fear that Irish nationalism was in a decline it was a concern which was further reinforced by popular Irish nationalist support for the aims of the Irish parliamentary party and the war effort. On the 23rd April 1916 they decided they would proceed with the rising the next day which was Easter Monday.
It was agreed that Pádraig Pearse should act as president. On Easter Monday, Padraig Pearse accompanied by an armed guard, stood on the steps of the GPO (General Post Office, Which was used as the base for the Rebellion) and read the proclamation, signifying the beginning of the Easter Rising. It asserted Ireland's 'national right to freedom and sovereignty'. The conflict that followed was mostly confined to Dublin. The British military onslaught which the rebels had anticipated, did not at first materialise. When the rising began the authorities had only 400 troops to confront around 1,000 rebels.
As the week progressed, the fighting in some areas became more intense, leading to several prolonged, fiercely contested street battles. Military casualties were highest at Mount Street Bridge. By Friday 28 April, about 18-20 thousand soldiers had accumulated in the capital against about 1,600 rebels while most of Dublins centre had been destroyed by British artillery fire. The next day, Pearse surrendered on behalf of the Volunteers and issued orders to this effect. A total of 450 people were killed during the rebellion, among them 64 rebels. 2,614 were injured, and nine others were reported missing, nearly all in Dublin.