The Cill Colman
ogham-inscribed cross stone
THE
PALEOLITHIC
about 730,000 years, or 24,000 generations
The Paleolithic period in Europe extends from about
750,000 years ago to about 17,000 years ago. The
so-called "Old Stone Age" is approximately concurrent
with the Pleistocene geologic period. Human beings at
this time were nomadic hunter-gatherers: the cave-men
of popular imagination. There is no evidence of human
presence in what would later become Ireland during this
period.
THE MESOLITHIC
about 12,000 years, or 400 generations
The Mesolithic period extends from about 15,000 BC to
about 3500 BC. This is the period that in its later
stages sees the first humans in Ireland. These "first
Irishmen" were primarily fishers, hunters, and
gatherers, and seem to have preferred the lake-strewn
northeast of the island for their settlements. The end
of this period marks the last glaciation.
THE NEOLITHIC
about 1500 years, or 50 generations
The "New Stone Age" dates from between 3500 and about
2000 BC. This is the period of human history that sees
the development of pottery, weaving, and carpentry, and
is characterized by well-crafted, polished stone tools.
Agriculture and animal husbandry begin to dominate
human subsistence as people settle into permanent and
semi-permament communities and put their nomadic
hunter-gatherer lives behind them. Some of the oldest
of the Irish megaliths may date back this far.
THE BRONZE AGE
about 1300 years, or 40 generations
The Bronze Age extends from about 2000BC to about
750BC. This period sees the rise of the Celts in
Europe. A rural pre-Celtic society flourishes in
Ireland in this period.
THE IRON AGE
about 850 years, or 20 generations
The Iron Age in Ireland dates from about 750BC to about
100AD. This dating is about 500 years later than the
Iron Age in what would become Syria and Palestine. The
so-called Celtic Iron Age is divided into two periods.
The later of these, La Tène Culture, dates from about
450BC and represents the final great westward surge of
the Celtic peoples that had begun about 1000BC. Many
scholars believe that the first Celts arrived in
Ireland about this time. The earlier Halstatt culture
dates from between 750 and 450BC. Both of these Celtic
cultural periods are coextensive with classical Greece—
the Homeric poems dating from about 900BC. The end of
the period sees the rise of the Roman Empire.
EARLY CHRISTIAN IRELAND
about 500 years, or 16 generations
This period sees the establishment of the Roman church
in Ireland. There is no doubt that there was a
substantial Christian establishment in Ireland before
the arrival of Patrick in 432. There is good historical
justification to give much credit to the monks of
Ireland, particularly those of the the far west, for
the preservation of of western civilization during the
Dark Ages of continental Europe. During this period,
about 560, Brendan is said to have made his epic voyage
to the New World. In 795 the Vikings began their
depredations (see here), striking at
monastic settlements with particular ferocity. In
911 the Vikings are granted the Duchy of Normandy
and a scant 155 years later they will invade
Britain.
NORMAN IRELAND
about 400 years, or 13 generations
The Normans under Henry II (1154-1189) invade Ireland
in 1169, 103 years after their conquest of England in
1066. The Normans were never able to subdue the entire
island and, in fact, became virtually absorbed into
Irish culture themselves. Although something of a
simplification, this period of Irish history may be
considered to extend up to the Tudor period of English
repression.
THE PROTESTANT CONQUEST
about 400 years, or 13 generations
The fiercely bloody Elizabethan wars of the late 16th
century set a pattern of ruthlessness that saw its
nadir in the brutality of Oliver Cromwell's sack of
Ireland in the mid 17th century. From this time until
the early decades of the 20th century Ireland was seen
by England as a wholly-earned but recalcitrant piece of
property and treated accordingly.
