Timeline of Irish history

pre–500 BCE
Groups of Celts arrive in Ireland, bringing with them their culture and language, which become the dominant ones
5th Century CE
Missionaries (most famously, St. Patrick, though he was not the first or only one) convert the Irish to Christianity
795
Rathlin Island, off the north coast, is the victim of one of the first Viking raids on Ireland: the beginning of a four-hundred-year period of Viking influence on Ireland
841
The Vikings build their first settlements in Ireland (at Dublin and Annagassan, Co. Lough)
1002–14
High Kingship of Brian Boru
1014
Brian Boru is killed in the Battle of Clontarf, in which his army of Munstermen defeats a combined army of Leinstermen and Vikings
1155
Pope Adrian IV grants the lordship of Ireland to King Henry II of England
1169
Norman armies arrive in Ireland at the request of Diarmait Mac Murchada to aid him in a power struggle with the High King of Ireland
1171–72
King Henry II of England undertakes a military expedition to Ireland to subdue his rebellious subject, Richard de Clare (‘Strongbow’), who has amassed much land and power in Ireland.
1366
The Irish parliament enacts the Statute of Kilkenny, an ill-fated attempt to prevent the Gaelicization of the Anglo-Normans in Ireland
1494
Poynings’ Law makes the Irish parliament subordinate to the English parliament
1517
Martin Luther sparks off the Reformation by protesting against the Catholic Church’s practice of selling indulgences for the remission of sins
1534
The Act of Supremacy makes King Henry VIII the Supreme Head of the Church of England
1541
Henry VIII has himself declared King of Ireland by the Irish parliament
1601
A Spanish force lands at Kinsale to reinforce the armies of Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and his allies, who have been in rebellion against the English crown for nine years. However, the Irish are defeated in open battle and the Spanish are forced to withdraw
1603
Hugh O’Neill surrenders; English rule is effective throughout the whole of Ireland
1607
Flight of the Earls: Hugh O’Neill and several other Irish lords leave Ireland with their families, servants and followers
1609
The plantation of Ulster begins
1641
A rising by Old English settlers and native Irish begins, principally in Ulster, bringing sectarian massacres in its wake
1649
Oliver Cromwell arrives with his army in Ireland. He first lays siege to Drogheda. The city is captured and most of its defenders and inhabitants killed
1685
James II becomes King of Great Britain and Ireland after the death of his brother Charles II
1688
James II is deposed by the British parliament, which invites Prince William of Orange and his wife Mary to take the throne instead
1689
James II’s troops lay siege to Londonderry. The city holds out for three and a half months before the siege is lifted
1690
1 July (Julian calendar): James’ army is defeated by William’s at the Battle of the Boyne. (The anniversary of the battle is celebrated nowadays on 12 July.)
1691
The Treaty of Limerick ends the Jacobite war. James II goes into exile, along with many of his Irish supporters
1695
The first Penal Laws are passes to limit the power and influence of Catholics. More laws are enacted in the following decades
1774–93
The Catholic Relief Acts remove some of the Penal Laws’ restrictions on Catholics relating to property, education and political participation
1782
The Irish parliament gains legislative independence
1791
The Society of United Irishmen is founded in Belfast, dedicated to Enlightenment and revolutionary ideals
1798
The United Irishmen attempt an insurrection
1801
1 January: The Act of Union comes into effect, abolishing the Irish parliament
1803
A rebellion led by Robert Emmet and some other United Irishmen against British rule is swiftly put down; Emmet and the other leaders are executed
1823
The Catholic Association is founded to campaign for equal rights for Catholics
1829
Catholic emancipation is granted, allowing Catholics to hold any political office, including that of MP
1842
The first issue of the Irish nationalist newspaper The Nation is printed
1845–49
Potato blight affects the potato crop in Ireland with disastrous effects for the population (‘the Great Famine’)
1848
The ‘Young Ireland’ rebellion occurs, with little bloodshed and even less success
1858
Both the Irish Republican (or ‘Revolutionary’) Brotherhood and Fenian Brotherhood are founded
1867
The short-lived Fenian rebellion collapses due to the Fenians’ disorganization and the authorities’ effective countermeasures
1868
William Gladstone becomes Prime Minister at the head of a Liberal government
1869
The Church of Ireland is disestablished
1875
Charles Stewart Parnell is elected as MP for County Meath
1879
The Irish National Land League is founded to campaign for fairer conditions for tenant farmers
1879–82
A set of campaigns against high rents begins and develops into a more general crusade against the power of landlords (the ‘Land Wars’)
1884
The GAA (Gaelic Athletics Association) is founded to promote ‘indigenous’ sports
1886
The first Home Rule Bill is defeated in the House of Commons
1890
Charles Stewart Parnell is involved in a divorce case scandal which destroys his reputation and splits the Irish Party, of which he is the leader
1891
Death of Parnell
1893
In London, the Second Home Rule Bill is thrown out by the House of Lords.
In Dublin, the Gaelic League is founded to encourage the use of the Irish language
1900
John Redmond becomes leader of Irish Parliamentary Party
1912
Over two hundred thousand men sign the Ulster Covenant, pledging themselves to resist the plans to set up a Home Rule government in Ireland
1913
January: the Ulster Volunteer Force is formed
November: Nationalists found the Irish Volunteers
1914
The third Home Rule Bill is passed and immediately suspended due to the international situation
1914–18
First World War
1916
24 April–30 April: The Easter Rising
1918
A general election is held across Britain and Ireland. Sinn Féin MPs gain an overwhelming majority of seats in Ireland and meet as the Dáil Éireann in Dublin
1919–21
The Anglo-Irish War/The War of Independence
1920
The Government of Ireland Act partitions Ireland
1921
Negotiators from Sinn Féin agree on the Anglo-Irish Treaty with the British government
1922
The Irish Free State is established
Deaths of Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins
1922–1923
A Civil War is fought in Ireland over the acceptance of the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty
1925
The Boundary Commission, which had been tasked with establishing a definitive border between Northern and Southern Ireland, is dissolved before it can publish its final recommendations; instead, a Tri-Partite Agreement between North, South and the British government is signed which confirms the existing border
1926
Éamon de Valera founds a new political party, Fianna Fáil, and announces his intention to contest elections in the Free State
1927
General election, Fianna Fáil representatives enter the Dáil
1931
The IRA is banned in the Free State
1932
Fianna Fáil are elected and form a government
1932
The 31st Eucharistic Congress is held in Dublin, a major public relations coup which draws the attention of the world’s Catholics to Ireland
1932–38
The Anglo-Irish Trade War, brought about by the Irish government refusing to pay land annuities due to Great Britain under the Anglo-Irish Treaty
1937
A new Irish Constitution is adopted after being approved by referendum
1939–45
‘The Emergency’: Ireland remains neutral during the Second World War
1949
An Irish Republic is declared
1955
The Republic of Ireland joins the United Nations
Bord Fáilte set up to promote Ireland as a tourist destination
1958
A programme for economic growth, based on Keynesian theories of a managed economy, is launched by the government
1959
De Valera resigns as Taoiseach and is elected President
1961
Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE, the Irish public television broadcaster) is launched
Ireland’s population falls to 2.8 million, the bottom point of decline that started with the Famine in the 1840s
1962–1965
The Second Vatican Council, meeting in Rome at the behest of Pope John XXIII, introduces wide-ranging reforms to Catholic teaching and worship
1964
Taoiseach Seán Lemass meets Northern Irish Prime Minister Terence O’Neill
1965
The Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement is signed
1969
The ‘Troubles’ break out in Northern Ireland
1973
Ireland is admitted into the EEC. Britain joins in the same year
1974
Car bombs planted in Dublin city centre and Monaghan by Northern Irish loyalists kill 33
1979
The ban on the sale and distribution of contraception is relaxed
Ireland joins the European Exchange Rate Mechanism
Pope John Paul II visits Ireland
1983
A referendum inserts a ban on abortion into the Irish constitution
1985
The Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed by the British and Irish governments, over the heads of the Ulster Unionists, who object to its granting to the Dublin government a consultative role on Northern Irish affairs
1986
A move to permit divorce is defeated in a referendum
1990
Mary Robinson becomes the first female president of Ireland
1992
After a referendum, the law is loosened to allow people access to information on abortion and also to travel abroad for the purposes of having an abortion
1994
The major terrorist groups in Northern Ireland declare ceasefires
1996
A referendum legalizes divorce
A car bomb in London kills two and signals the end of the IRA ceasefire
1997
New ceasefires are declared in Northern Ireland; talks resume
1998
The parties in Northern Ireland agree a deal to end decades of violence; voters in referenda on both sides of the border approve the constitutional changes necessary to implement the agreement
2001
The EU Nice Treaty is unexpectedly rejected by voters in a referendum
2002
The Punt (Irish pound) is replaced by the Euro. A second referendum on the Nice Treaty records a ‘yes’ vote
2003
Ireland’s population reaches four million – the highest figure for 130 years
2008
Ireland falls into recession; unemployment grows to 11 per cent of the workforce
A referendum rejects the EU Lisbon Treaty
2009
The government is forced to underwrite the financial losses of Irish banks; the Anglo Irish Bank is nationalized; the economy continues to contract
The Treaty of Lisbon is approved in a second referendum
2010
The government is forced to appeal to the EU and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) for a bailout. Tax rises and spending cuts are implemented, to much anger among the general public
2011
Taoiseach Brian Cowen calls a general election. His party (Fianna Fáil) subsequently records its worst-ever results. Fine Gael’s Enda Kenny becomes leader of a coalition government

Excerpted from the Irish History Compressed e-book. Copyright Bruce Gaston 2012. No reproduction without permission.