Maynooth University

The history of Ireland is marked by early settlements, Celtic culture, Christianisation, Viking raids, Norman invasion, centuries of English and later British rule, famine, struggles for independence, and partition.

Rising Irish nationalism and calls for self-governance gained momentum in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Easter Rising in 1916, though militarily unsuccessful, galvanized support for independence. This was followed by the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921), which led to the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The treaty resulted in the creation of the Irish Free State, a dominion within the British Empire encompassing 26 southern counties, while the six counties of Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom. The treaty sparked a civil war in the south (1922-1923). The Irish Free State gradually asserted more independence, adopting a new constitution in 1937 that declared the state of "Éire" (Ireland). In 1949, the Republic of Ireland was formally declared, severing its last ties with the British monarchy. The division of the island led to decades of conflict in Northern Ireland, known as 'The Troubles', which largely ended with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The Republic of Ireland has since developed into a prosperous modern nation and an active member of the European Union.