27 Facts About Gaelic Ireland

1.

Gaelic Ireland was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the late prehistoric era until the early 17th century.

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2.

For most of its history, Gaelic Ireland was a "patchwork" hierarchy of territories ruled by a hierarchy of kings or chiefs, who were elected through tanistry.

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3.

Gaelic Ireland was initially pagan and had an oral culture maintained by the seanchaidhthe.

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4.

However, the Gaelic Ireland system continued in areas outside Anglo-Norman control.

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5.

Gaelic Ireland had a rich oral culture and appreciation of deeper and intellectual pursuits.

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6.

Mythology of Gaelic Ireland was originally passed down orally, but much of it was eventually written down by Irish monks, who Christianized and modified it to an extent.

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7.

Gaelic Ireland was divided into a hierarchy of territories ruled by a hierarchy of kings of chiefs.

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8.

Gaelic Ireland society was structured hierarchically, with those further up the hierarchy generally having more privileges, wealth and power than those further down.

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9.

Gaelic Ireland would be responsible for unmarried women after the death of their fathers.

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10.

Under Gaelic Ireland law, married women could hold property independent of their husbands, a link was maintained between married women and their own families, couples could easily divorce or separate, and men could have concubines .

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11.

Gaelic Ireland families had begun to build their own tower houses by the 15th century.

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12.

Gaelic Ireland was involved in trade with Britain and mainland Europe from ancient times, and this trade increased over the centuries.

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13.

Tacitus, for example, wrote in the 1st century that most of Gaelic Ireland's harbours were known to the Romans through commerce.

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14.

Boats used in Gaelic Ireland include canoes, currachs, sailboats and Irish galleys.

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15.

The Gaelic Ireland Irish preferred hit-and-run raids, which involved catching the enemy unaware.

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16.

The ceithern wandered Gaelic Ireland offering their services for hire and usually wielded swords, skenes, short spears, bows and shields.

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17.

Artwork from Ireland's Gaelic period is found on pottery, jewellery, weapons, drinkware, tableware, stone carvings and illuminated manuscripts.

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18.

Examples of Insular art from Gaelic Ireland include the Book of Kells, Muiredach's High Cross, the Tara Brooch, the Ardagh Hoard the Derrynaflan Chalice, and the late Cross of Cong, which uses Viking styles.

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19.

Gaelic Ireland claimed that the two main instruments were the "harp" and "tabor", that their music was fast and lively, and that their songs always began and ended with B-flat.

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20.

Prehistory of Gaelic Ireland included a protohistorical period, when the literate cultures of Greece and Rome first began to take notice of the Irish, and a further proto-literate period of ogham epigraphy, before the early historical period began in the early 5th century.

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21.

Much of this period, the island of Gaelic Ireland was divided into numerous clan territories and kingdoms .

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22.

Early medieval history of Gaelic Ireland, often called Early Christian Gaelic Ireland, spans the 5th to 8th centuries, from a gradual emergence out of the protohistoric period to the beginning of the Viking Age.

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23.

The one who came closest to being de facto king over the whole of Gaelic Ireland was Brian Boruma, the first high king in this period not belonging to the Ui Neill.

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24.

The 1175 Treaty of Windsor between Henry and Ruaidhri maintained Ruaidhri as High King of Gaelic Ireland but codified Henry's control of Leinster, Meath and Waterford.

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25.

However, when John unexpectedly succeeded his brother as King of England in 1199, the Lordship of Gaelic Ireland fell back into personal union with the Kingdom of England, securing it's place within the greater Angevin Empire.

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26.

Gaelic Ireland set about colonising the land of the defeated rebel lords with English-speaking Protestant settlers from Britain, in what became known as the Plantation of Ulster.

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27.

Gaelic Ireland died in Spanish Service near Barcelona at the Battle of Montjuic in 1641, fighting against the Kingdom of France.

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