Invasion

The invasions of Ireland begin in a similar strand with many other Northern European countries. It is the strand of Viking raids followed by Viking invasions.

The feudal societies of lands like England, France, and Ireland created weak borders which offered up easy raiding targets for the Vikings. The other cause of the raids was the very society of the Vikings, Norsemen. They were a society of tribal kings who ruled strips of land with a loyal war-band. These war-band's were kept loyal primarily by loot of war and the gifts of their kings. By raiding the shores of France, England, and Ireland, striking the rich monasteries, the kings satisfied the lust for war and loot in their war-bands as well as obtaining gifts to give out at their many feasts.

The invasions were caused by the overpopulation of Norway and Sweden. The Vikings, who knew intimately the rich lands they were raiding and how to get there, saw in those places an opportunity for new and more prosperous lives.

Since they were newcomers in Ireland, the Vikings built close to the sea for supply and in tight communities for safety. This is understood through the establishment of cities like Dublin in a largely rural country. The Vikings also began to take Irish wives, therefore integrating themselves with the community and eventually losing their own language and distinctive culture to that of Celtic Ireland, though some aspects of their culture did survive.

Here's a picture of Nicole dressed as a Viking woman to illustrate what the wives of the Vikings might have looked like, minus the flowery boots of course.

The next set of invaders of Ireland were the Normans. One man named Strongbow started the flood. He was a Norman lord brought over from Wales after the Norman conquest of England. A local Irish chieftain brought Strongbow over as an ally in an effort to regain lands he had lost. Strongbow was given the Irish chieftain's daughter in exchange for his help and so, when the chieftain died, Strongbow inherited the lands.

Other Norman lords came over shortly after Strongbow. Norman architecture is clearly seen in places like Aughnanure Castle and other castles all over Ireland. You can drive down the most obscure country roads and see a looming Norman tower house just glaring down on the road and surrounding countryside from the top of a hillock or even just the center of a field.

Here is a picture of Aughnanure, a Norman style tower house with surrounding fortifications.

These Norman lords grew powerful in their holdings on Ireland. And so their king in England (probably a descendant of William the Conqueror or William himself) decided to enforce his lordship over them. And thus came the presence of a foreign crown in Ireland and the stepping stone for the English claim of dominance.

For the English, Ireland as well as Scotland became their first provinces, their first subject kingdoms. Evidence for the influence of English colonialism is seen in the Protestant Ascendancy. The English sent to Ireland protestants from Scotland, troublesome as they were to the Church of England. The king also rewarded large grants of land to Protestant English lords.

Here is a small section written by Nicole Walker about her experience regarding Christ Church cathedral and St. Patrick's cathedral.

"Christ Church and St. Patrick’s are two churches close in proximity in the Dublin area.  Both churches are medieval, Gothic style cathedrals with rich history.  Christ Church has been Church of Ireland in practice since the English Reformation and contains the body of Strongbow who is heavily connected with the cathedral. St. Patrick’s Cathedral is today the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland and also serves as a popular tourist attraction in Ireland.  Both churches have choirs that have come together to put on concerts, one of them being the first performance of Handel’s Messiah in Dublin"

Famine on the Faithful

This blog post will be a bit more experimental. The purpose of this is to see the individual perspectives on the great famine. In the last blog post, I wrote by myself and, though the input of this group was invaluable, their wording was sadly lost.
That said, there will be obvious differences between this blog and the last.  One such difference being the greater use of pictures and another being the rich voices of the brilliant individuals in this group. The hope is that through these varying sections written by these different members you will be able to see a broad picture of life in the great famine years.

We will begin with a poem from Sam. It is reflective of the great famine and the things that were endured by the Irish Catholics during that time.

"Hunger and depression

Disease and recession 

Filled this land 

with utmost oppression 

Ships were filled 

Houses were emptied 

Naked and chilled

Plague was plenty

The ghost of the past 

Looms in this place

The memories will last 

Of the potato disgrace."

Here is also a photo taken by our group photographer, Amanda. Those tiny squares of stone walls stretching off into the distance are the lawns of Catholic families that numbered sometimes up to twelve people. Their tiny huts would sit in one of these squares and they would have to grow food to feed their family with that little piece of land. Beneath all that green, only down a few inches in some places, is solid rock.

During this period, millions of the Irish immigrated from the country.  And now to talk more on that is the charming Miss Nicole Walker.

"Our first stop on our travels to Cork and Killarney brought us to the Queenstown museum.  This exhibit was full of information about the famine ships and villages in Ireland in the nineteenth century.

In the late 1700s the population of Ireland increased over 60%.  This population increase made the country even more dependent on the potato crop.  When the potato crop failed there was mass chaos.  Total dependence on the potato and the lack of a structured landholding system led to starvation and death.  Many native Irish felt that they only way to escape death was to emigrate.

Between the years 1845 and 1851 around 1,500,000 people immigrated to countries including America, Australia, and Britain.  The 4-6 week voyage was filled with storms and sickness.  Many people leaving the country would never return or see their families again."

The conditions on the immigration ships were often deplorable. Talking about the replica ship, Dunbrody, and conditions there and on other ships, is the talented writer Kaitlyn Jameson.

"The Dunbrody is a recreated famine ship, used in the mid 1800’s to transport immigrants out of Ireland. Only one of hundreds, these ships were often called ‘coffin ships’ because of their tendency to sink and the huge number of people who died aboard due to disease and hunger. The famine ships were usually ships that were secondhand and generally in bad condition. People were crowded on, as many as two hundred in the small ship. Food rations were minimal, and whatever people could bring on board with them quickly ran out. The steerage, or lower class, passengers were only allowed on deck for half an hour, when they were allowed to cook over small fires and have fresh air. In such close quarters, and in such disgusting conditions, disease ran unchecked. The upper class passengers had it only slightly better. By paying more, they secured their own room for a family and had slightly better food. Still, it was a dangerous journey with only the slightest promise of a better life. The decision to stay or leave was a difficult one."

And here is a picture taken by Kaitlyn of the Dunbrody replica ship:

But not everybody during the famine had to suffer a shortage of food and money. There were many wealthy families and one such family even undertook the building of a mansion near Killarney called Muckross House.  Katie Marvel will be elaborating on this.

"The Muckross house provides quite a contrast to everything we have been learning about the famine. While most people were struggling to get by, there were some who lived in luxury. The Muckross house was built in 1843 with sixty-five rooms. A lot of the furniture used is still there today. The beds they made back then were shorter than ours today because they slept sitting up. They believed that it was better for their respiratory systems to be in an upright position. We also learned that in the 1850’s the house went through extensive preparation for a visit from Queen Victoria in 1861. They spent six years getting ready for her two day visit. It was interesting to see the comfort that the families lived in while they were there and the extravagance of the house and the property. It was very different from the families who were affected by the famine."

It is clearly evident that during the famine years there was immense hardship for the majority of Ireland and yet immense wealth for the minority. It seems that this is the way with all nations at some point in history, particularly nations under another nation's rule. Hopefully this blog has provided a broad picture of what it was like during the great famine.