My name is Audrey Hiller and I am going into my junior year as a Plant Science major with a focus in Horticulture. Earlier this May, I traveled to Ireland with eighteen of my fellow Penn State students and three professors as a part of our HORT 499: Spring Travel to Ireland course. While over there, we spent seven days touring the country and exploring culture, cuisine, history, and landmarks. We visited agricultural areas like the National Botanical Gardens, the Victorian Kitchen Garden, and the Powerscourt House and Gardens, where we walked through and learned about Ireland’s expansive and beautiful flora, both native and exotic. We learned about the cuisine and beverages iconic to Ireland, including tours of the Guinness Storehouse and Kilbeggan Whiskey Distillery. We also spent our free time in the evenings exploring the various towns and cities we stayed in, speaking to locals, shopping in the Dingle shopping districts, and visiting the various historical bars, restaurants, and pubs that line the Irish streets. We also visited many stops along the beautiful Irish landscape, including the Dingle Peninsula, the Cliffs of Moher, and the Burren, a beautiful rocky expanse of limestone overlooking the sea. My favorite part of the trip was the several historical stops and institutions that we explored. I have always been interested in history, especially political and cultural history, and Ireland’s relationship with Britain and the social, religious, and cultural fallout has fascinated me. As I walked through the ruins of castles and monasteries and cathedrals, as I visited the National Museum and Kilkenny, Blarney, and Bunratty Castles, I learned and absorbed as much Irish history, art, and culture as I could. Our tour guide, Sean, would tell us stories and tales of the history of the British occupation of Ireland as we drove through the beautiful countryside and bustling towns. Being immersed in that level of history and culture was a dream come true, and I am so happy to have experienced it all. 

If I had to explain this experience to a potential employer, I would have to describe it as an eye-opening absorption of culture. By attending this trip, I learned how to navigate foreign situations and customs and I embraced new situations, foods, and activities. This trip allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and experiment with new experiences. I hope to carry these new skills with me as I grow and learn through my adult life, and I look forward to applying these skills to situations and milestones as they arise in my life.

Left: Me standing at the shoreline near the Burren

Center: Armeria maritima at the Burren

Right: A castle at the Cliffs of Moher

Irish agriculture has been a staple of the country’s culture, economy, and identity. From the birth of farming to the crop expansion, the Great Famine to the Celtic Tiger, and the rise of modern agriculture, there have been many ups and downs in Ireland’s agricultural industry throughout its centuries of existence. However, the future of Irish agriculture looks to be bright and filled with technological advancements and updated methods. Research and equipment advancements are lending themself to modernizing and preparing to become more environmentally friendly as the world moves towards more sustainable practices, and new equipment will cut costs for working families across Ireland.

Cultipacker Source: Google Images

Ireland’s current agricultural sector has been bustling in recent years. According to Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the agricultural work sector employs roughly 173,000 people in Ireland, making up 7.7% of the total national employment, and contributed about €13.7 billion to the national export economy in 2018. A large factor in these increases in profit and employment was the introduction of state of the art equipment. Four and two-wheeled tractors are the most commonly used farm equipment in Ireland, and backhoes, loaders, cultivators, cultipackers, threshers, and rollers have also been introduced en mass within the past 15 years.

Source: AllTech

The main goal of farms and agricultural companies moving into the future will be sustainability. For example, one feed and nutrition company, Alltech Ireland, is working with local animal crop farmers wanting to help reduce their farm’s personal carbon footprint by checking on several focal points in order to increase and improve the efficiency of each individual farm. These focal points include assessing the farm, assessing rumen health, feed values, and forage quality. Since the majority of CO2 emissions come from the methane from a cow’s rumen, assessing the rumen’s health and the nutritional value of the cows’ feed is essential to beef and dairy farms across Ireland. This is a sentiment shared by a majority of the country’s agricultural workers. According to the World Wildlife Fund, Ireland became the first country to commit to third party-verified, 100% sustainable food exports in 2012. Since then, Irish farms have managed to reduce biodiversity loss, improve animal welfare, and increase the amount of land farmed organically.

Sources:
Donnellan, Trevor, et al. Future Scenarios for Irish Agriculture: Implications for Greenhouse Gas and Ammonia Emissions. 2018.
“Ireland and the Future of Sustainability | Magazine Articles | WWF.” World Wildlife Fund, 2015, www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/summer-2015/articles/ireland-and-the-future-of-sustainability.
“New Farming Equipment Has Arrived in Ireland.” Www.irishfarming.ie, www.irishfarming.ie/farm-machinery/#:~:text=New%20Farming%20Equipment%20in%20Ireland%201%20Tractor%20Tractors. Accessed 10 Apr. 2023.
Team, Agriland. “A Practical Approach to Sustainable Irish Farming.” Agriland.ie, 8 Dec. 2020, www.agriland.ie/farming-news/a-practical-approach-to-sustainable-irish-farming/#:~:text=A%20practical%20approach%20to%20sustainable%20Irish%20farming%201. Accessed 10 Apr. 2023.
The Future of Irish Farming: Ag Science Student on Why Agriculture Can Be Part of the Climate Change Solution – Extra.ie. 1 June 2020, extra.ie/2020/06/01/news/real-life/future-irish-farming-climate-chane#:~:text=Irish%20agriculture%20is%20developing%20to%20focus%20on%20what. Accessed 10 Apr. 2023.

Since the beginning of Irish civilization, agriculture has been a staple of the nation’s economy, culture, and history of the nation. While it has had its ups and downs, most recently with The Celtic Tiger and Brexit, Irish agriculture is on the up, and many changes and updates have been made to this staple Irish industry. As it has been for centuries, Ireland exports the majority of its products, with 175 countries around the world enjoying Irish food and drink exports. Right now, Ireland is thriving on the global stage and is now looking to turn their eye to sustainability. 

Irish Food and Drink Exports from 2005-2018 Source: www.sfsi.ie

As stated earlier, Irish agriculture is comprised mostly of family-owned farms, almost 140,000 of them.  Most of these farms are pasture-based, and the current market is dominated by dairy and livestock, particularly beef. Dairy and beef account for two-thirds of Ireland’s gross agricultural output and Ireland is currently one of the world’s fastest-growing dairy producers and exporters. According to Sustainable Food Systems in Ireland, in 2018 Ireland produced over 10% of Global Infant Formula, was the largest net exporter of Beef in the Northern Hemisphere Irish agri-food exports was valued at €13.6 billion, a 64% increase since 2010, and employed over 173,000 people, 7.6% of the total working population. In addition, cheese exports were worth €800 million, meat and livestock exports were €3.97 billion, and beverages exports were €1.5 billion, with Irish Whiskey accounting for 42% of beverages exports. However, as the Irish dairy industry grows, more and more farmers filter out of Irish wheat production. Tillage farming has declined significantly over the last 40 years, with the amount of tillage farmland falling by 15% in the last ten years and by 42% since 1980. Only about 8% of farmland remains under tillage. Even then, almost half of what is produced by tillage farms is feed cereals for livestock. The rest is largely made up of oats, rapeseed, potatoes, malting barley, and straw.

Origen Green Logo Source: www.sfsi.ie

Ireland is also focusing on sustainability. Ireland is the first country in the world to implement a national sustainability program for agriculture and food called “Origin Green”. “Origin Green” is meant to unite the Irish government, producers, and the private sector in order to make Ireland’s food and drink sector more sustainable. Another strategy, dubbed “Farm to Fork”, was announced in May 2020 and outlines how agriculture across Europe will help to become more sustainable by 2030. The Farm to Fork strategy aims to reduce the usage of pesticides and antimicrobials, reduce biodiversity loss, improve animal welfare, increase the land farmed organically in the EU agricultural land area, and reduce fertilizer usage by 20%. 

Sources:

Agriculture & Food in Ireland –. www.sfsi.ie/agriculture-food-ireland/#:~:text=Irish%20agriculture%20is%20dominated%20by%20family-owned%20farms.%20There.

Dowling, Conor. “2020 – Sustainability in Irish Agriculture – Teagasc | Agriculture and Food Development Authority.” Www.teagasc.ie, 24 July 2020, www.teagasc.ie/publications/2020/sustainability-in-irish-agriculture.php.

Dunlop, Steven. “The Story of the Irish Grain Farming Industry and the Need for Change.” Good Food Ireland, 25 Aug. 2021, goodfoodireland.ie/magazine/the-road-less-travelled-grain-farming/. Accessed 3 Apr. 2023.

Magan, Manchán. “Our Daily Bread: Ireland’s Grain Growers and Millers.” The Irish Times, www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/our-daily-bread-ireland-s-grain-growers-and-millers-1.3612824.

One of the latest blows to Irish agriculture has been the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union in 2020. This decision, known as Brexit, led to political, social, and economic change felt all across Europe and the rest of the world, changes that still have effects and consequences today.

The idea of Britain leaving the European Union has been floating around parliament since 2013 when Prime Minister David Cameron proposed the options of “remain” or “leave”. The side of “remain” held the majority until 2016, when a refugee crisis started to sway voters towards the “leave” side. A decision was made on February 1st, 2020, and was followed by a transition period that allowed for an orderly exit for the UK. That transition period ended on December 31st, 2020. The UK has since lost the rights and benefits it had as a European Union Member, meaning it is no longer a part of the European Union’s Single Market and Customs Union nor is it covered by the European Union’s international agreements. The decision to leave has affected trade and labor, ending the free movement of labor.

The break has affected many aspects of English and European agriculture. Now that the split has delayed the transportation of goods and the amount of available labor, resulting in blows to an already globally struggling industry. The UK pig sector, for example, had been hit particularly hard in the first months since the transition period ended. Difficulties exporting goods to the European continent and Northern Ireland led to major economic loss due to the loss of products during waiting periods. Due to the split, feed, and straw prices were skyrocketing, furthering the loss of income to these farms. Grain importation went a little smoother initially, but potential issues arose with exporting processed products. Another issue, as previously mentioned, was labor. With the free movement of labor ended the food and farming sectors were facing a serious challenge in sourcing labor. This led to overworked people being severely underpaid.

This led to a blow to agriculture all over the EU, including Ireland. Brexit has made frictionless trade between the European Union and the UK impossible due to the UK’s withdrawal from the Single Market system. While much has been done to minimize the impact of Brexit on Irish businesses and citizens through the Protocol, especially the relationship between Ireland and Northern Ireland, some consequences can’t be avoided. European Union consumer protection legislation may no longer apply when buying products from the UK. Instead, consumer rights are set down in UK law. Businesses importing or exporting goods to the UK now need to register for Customs. However, people born in Northern Ireland who retain their right to be Irish citizens will also retain their European Union citizenship so they still have the right to live, work and study in a European Union country without a visa or a time limit. There are no passport controls in operation for Irish and UK citizens traveling into either country. Goods moving between Ireland and Northern Ireland will not have any customs, tariffs, or other restrictions placed on them, and goods moving from Northern Ireland to another part of the UK and vice versa now require additional paperwork and checks.

Sources:

European Commission. “The Impact of Brexit on Ireland.” Ireland.representation.ec.europa.eu, ireland.representation.ec.europa.eu/strategy-and-priorities/key-eu-policies-ireland/impact-brexit-ireland_en.
Farmers Guide. “Brexit Deal: How Are Farmers Affected?” Farmers Guide, 27 Jan. 2021, www.farmersguide.co.uk/brexit-deal-how-are-farmers-affected/.
Mueller, Benjamin, and Peter Robins. “What Is Brexit? And What Happens Next?” The New York Times, 12 Feb. 2021, www.nytimes.com/article/brexit-uk-eu-explained.html.

Graph of Irish GDP Source: Google Images

Shortly after Ireland achieved annexation from England, it entered a period of significant economic growth and prosperity. Dubbed the “Celtic Tiger”, this period of wealth lasted from 1995 to about 2007 and was the result of foreign investments, primarily within the United States and the European Union. The Irish economy grew at an annual rate of 9.4% between 1995 to 2000, and between 1987 and 2007, Ireland’s gross domestic product grew by 229%. The name “Celtic Tiger”, coined by Kevin Gardiner in 1994, is a reference to the Four Asian Tigers, a nickname for four Asian nations, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea, that had had economic booms as well, theirs taking place in the 1950s and 1960s. This was a way to solidify the financial success of Ireland as legitimate on a global scale, especially since Ireland was previously one of Europe’s poorest countries for over 200 years before. 

While many experts cannot pick one thing that provided a reason for this economic boom, there are many more minor causes that built upon each other to give rise to the Celtic Tiger. These causes include low corporate taxes and wages, foreign investment, a more stable national economy, adequate budget policies, European Union membership and subsidies, and investment in American companies, leading to Ireland collecting ‘runoff’ from the U.S. economic boom. The Irish Development Authority, or IDA, used its status as an EU member to convince many American tech companies, including Dell, Intel, and Gateway, to move some of their operations to Ireland. To this day, the U.S. and Ireland remain close trade partners and many American companies base their operations in Ireland. 

This incredible boom in the Irish economy also had an effect on Irish agriculture. Following World War Two, many Irish agricultural jobs were on the decline, especially in the farming and production sectors. In addition, the subsequent growth of agricultural output was slower than that in the industrial and service sectors. However, with the republic’s entrance into the European Economic Community in 1973, things began to look up for Irish agricultural exports, and with the start of the Celtic Tiger in the 1990s, farm incomes began to rise again after a two-decade decline. With the beginning of renewed trade within the European Union, Irish crop export and import began to rise, and the agricultural sectors were back on track.

 Economists are still studying how much each of these factors contributed to Ireland’s exceptional economic performance. The Celtic Tiger provided an abundance of well paying jobs, decreased emigration, and solidified Ireland as one of the European Union’s top national economies. 

Works Cited

Chen, James. “Celtic Tiger Definition.” Investopedia, 13 Oct. 2021, www.investopedia.com/terms/c/celtictiger.asp.

“Ireland – Independent Ireland to 1959.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/place/Ireland/Independent-Ireland-to-1959.

“Irish Agriculture Has Changed beyond Recognition since 1970s.” The Irish Times, www.irishtimes.com/special-reports/2023/01/27/irish-agriculture-has-changed-beyond-recognition-since-1970s/.

“Social Effects of the Celtic Tiger.” The Irish Times, www.irishtimes.com/opinion/social-effects-of-the-celtic-tiger-1.1212643#:~:text=The%20effects%20of%20the%20Celtic%20Tiger%20have%20transformed. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

The Irish Potato Famine, also known as The Great Famine, was a tragedy that shook the Irish population to its core. Ireland lost twenty percent of its population, from both death and emigration, and the loss of population was felt throughout the nation. It took decades for Ireland to bounce back from this disaster, but it wasn’t done without the intense help and support of many foreign nations. When Ireland was able to return to its former glory, it experienced a period of environmental rejuvenation that lead to an agricultural boom. This in turn led to social and economic changes still felt today. 

“Kindred Spirits” in Cork, Ireland Source: Google Images

After the devastating events of the Great Famine, many nations donated what they could to help the ailing nation. One of these was the Choctaw Tribe, a tribe of Indigenous American peoples native to Oklahoma. Even though the Choctaw Tribe was suffering the brutal forced migration known as The Trail of Tears”, they saw the plight of the Irish people. In 1847, the tribe took up a donation of a modern equivalent of over $5,000 in today’s money and sent it to the town of Midleton, a small town south of Dublin in County Cork. This sparked a friendship between the two nations that has lasted to this day. In 2017, a monument entitled “Kindred Spirits” was dedicated in a Midleton park, commemorating the Choctaw tribe and the gift they gave. In addition to the Choctaw, American Irish immigrants founded the Boston Repeal Association in Massachusetts. The Repeal Association was the first foreign campaign to be established for aid and relief to Ireland and raised almost $430,000 in relief and supplies. Pennsylvania was the second most crucial state in raising aid for Ireland, in addition to being the second-largest shipping port to allow the resources to be shipped overseas.

Drinagh Co-op in West Cork Source: The Irish Times

This aid helped to kickstart an era of environmental, economic, and social rejuvenation. What brought about this era of hope was the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society. After the Famine left most of the rural areas of Ireland abandoned, the IAOS attempted to construct a new economy in the countryside. This “co-op’s” emergence radically transformed rural society in Ireland at the end of the 19th century. The at the time controversial idea behind the IAOS movement was that the farmers should have direct ownership of their businesses and the means of those businesses’ production. The co-op structure placed ownership of these businesses directly in the hands of the farmers and laborers who joined the Society as members. Each individual was then given an equal say in the decision-making processes of that business regardless of the member’s wealth or status. This helped relaunch the economy while revitalizing the environment and layed the groundwork to level out the socital playing field within rural Ireland. Another time of great economic prosperity for Ireland came almost a century later in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This was called the “Golden Tiger” of Ireland, and it changed the economical and global standing of Ireland for decades to come.

Sources:

“Choctaw and Irish History.” Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, www.choctawnation.com/about/history/irish-connection/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

Doyle, Patrick. “Ireland’s Co-Operative Revolution: ‘Building a Rural Civilisation.’” The Irish Times, 29 Jan. 2019, www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/ireland-s-co-operative-revolution-building-a-rural-civilisation-1.3773382.

“Ireland – the Debt Crisis and Beyond.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/place/Ireland/The-debt-crisis-and-beyond.

Poleon, Jade. “Top 5 Countries That HELPED Ireland during the Famine, RANKED.” Ireland before You Die, 11 Apr. 2022, www.irelandbeforeyoudie.com/top-5-countries-that-helped-ireland-during-the-famine/.

Probably the most infamous and heartbreaking event in Irish history, The Great Famine was a period of Irish history occurring from 1845 to 1852 in which nearly 75% of the Irish potato crop was destroyed by the mold Phytophthora infestans. It led to an estimated one million Irish casualties from starvation and related causes, with at least another million forced to flee the country as refugees, a substantial population ending up in America in what became known as The Great Migration. Several factors contributed to this disaster, both agricultural and societal, and the aftermath of the Famine has been felt for centuries since. 

Phytophthora infestans infestation of a potato. Source: Google Images

Agricultural causes of the Great Famine are much more straightforward than their socio-political counterparts. As previously stated, the death of the potato crop was that of the Phytophthora infestans, which is an oomycete or water mold that primarily attacks potatoes and tomatoes. It produces dark green spots that then turn brown and black on the surface of the leaves and stems of the potato plants. The potato itself has stunted growth and black rot around the edges and seeping into its core. Phytophthora originated in Central Mexico and spread to Ireland through imported potato seeds and tubers which infect fully grown plants. Since the potato crop in Ireland was largely asexually reproduced, the potato crop were genetic clones of one another. Since there was very little genetic diversity, the mold was able to sweep its way across Ireland with very little internal pushback from the crop itself. As discussed in the Week Three post, the farmers and lower class of Ireland relied heavily on the potato crop for food since other, more desirable crops were shipped away to the weather British class. 

A less considered component of the Great Famine was the role the British Government played in the leadup to and devastation during the Famine itself. In addition to keeping the lower class almost entirely reliant on the potato crop, British lawmakers had decreed that it was illegal for people of the Catholic faith to own their land. Since Catholicism was the dominant religion of Ireland, this meant most of the population had to give up large portions of their crop yield, including the potato crop, to the British landowners. Thus, when The Famine occurred, all “good crops” were sent away from Ireland, further depleting the food sources of the Irish. In cases of other commodities such as livestock and dairy experts believe that agricultural exports from Ireland may have increased during the Potato Famine, further bleeding out the crop supply of the Irish people. While the country of England did repeal such laws as the “Corn Laws” and grain tariffs, the damage they had been afflicting for centuries had taken its heavy toll, many families had no choice by to flee. 

Illustration of Irish Peasants life during the famine. Source: Google Images

The lack of food and aid set many Irish families to flee their beloved homeland, and The Great Migration saw 1-2 million Irish people emigrate to North America and Great Britain. Even in the Great American Melting Pot, however, the Irish were treated harshly and isolated by the other dozens of ethnic groups that came to America in the 19th century. The Irish formed close-knit communities and soon became the largest European ethnic group to emigrate in the world, establishing close connections and aid networks for their homeland.

Sources:

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Britain used many different techniques to keep the Irish population underhand, one of which was the practice of forced indentured servitude. As touched on in last week’s post, Irish prisoners were often sent away to work on plantations set up in British colonies, the most famous of these colonies being Barbados and Jamacia. While on these plantations, they worked as indentured servants. Indentured servitude refers to a form of labor where a person contractually works without pay for a certain amount of time in exchange for an indenture, loan, or to serve out a sentence for a crime. It is very important to remember, however, that at no point in history were the Irish considered “slaves”. This is a very popular misconception spread for various reasons spanning from simple unawareness to a malicious attempt to dismiss the treatment of African chattel slaves in discussions surrounding racism. There are several key differences between the two practices. Indentured servants were freed after five to ten years of work, and afterward, they could own land, travel, work, and move up in society. Irish indentured servants were free to marry whomever they chose, and their children were born free. African slaves were owned for life and had little to no prospects or rights even if they were to be free. The one thing that the two practices shared, however, is the dehumanizing, abusive, and horrific treatment afforded to both groups.

The majority of Irish prisoners forcefully sent to British plantations in the West Indies were “undesirables” such as political prisoners, the homeless, convicts, or prostitutes, the most popular of the crimes being vagrancy or theft. There, they labored on cash crop plantations. Originally, they labored alongside imported African slaves, but as the crops shifted from tobacco and cotton to sugar, resulting in the “sugar boom”, Irish indentures were separated from African slaves and saved for the more ‘skilled’ positions of labor. Some historians believed that the two groups were separated to prevent a dual uprising, while others speculate that it was just another way to keep the two groups underhand.

A sketch depicting cruelty to an Irish worker on a plantation Source: Google Images

Conditions in the West Indies were harsh and unforgiving. Many indentured servants had trouble acclimating to the overbearing tropical heat and were subjected to regular beatings and public floggings for even the most minor of offenses. Half of all Irish indentured servants in Barbados died before their term of service was finished, earning the Caribbean the distinction of a “white graveyard”.  To this day, the poor white descendants of the Irish that chose to stay in the Caribbean face ostracization from both the Caribbean natives and the European nations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8yEqco39T8

The above link is to the song and lyrics for “Tobacco Island”, a Flogging Molly song about the bloody history of the Barbados tobacco plantations.

Irish agriculture in the 16th and 17th centuries was primarily made up of lower-class family farms scattered across the country. While its economy was primarily agrarian, Irish farms were not as large nor technologically advanced as farms in England, which had recently gone through an agricultural revolution. Due to this, Irish farmers lived farm to mouth and were stereotyped as poverty-stricken, backward peasants. Many of their exploits were taken and given to wealthy English families, leaving only the scraps of food and labor for the families to have.

Farmers of this era were lower-class families that farmed primarily grain crops. Wheat and barley were grown as cash crops, and cattle were bred for meat and dairy, although beef and other meats often were sent for the upper class’s consumption. In addition, sheep farmers felt every tightening squeeze of British market control. The wool industry was taxed nearly out of existence by the early 1800s, and the Irish linen industry’s development and capital were controlled by London. The upper class’s control over the vegetable and meat industry in Ireland left “lesser” crops behind for the lower-class Irish farmers to eat themselves. Chief among these were potatoes.

A map of English planation of Ireland in the 16th and 17th centuries. Source: Brittanica.com

Irish Potato Farmers in the 17th Century Source: Docharta.com

Potatoes were initially introduced to Ireland from South America in the 1570s and were at first considered “dirty” by wealthy Irish and British classes. However, they became a staple among the farmers that grew them. Potatoes were easy to grow, easy to store, and had large, bountiful harvests. With the increase in potato crops came a large boom in the Irish population and by 1840 the population had expanded to over 8 million, with the majority of them in the lower classes. While the potato provided enough food for farmers to expand their families and stay well-fed, it also severely narrowed their diet too, in many cases, just potatoes and milk. This was a far cry from their earlier diets, which were much more varied. Eventually, potatoes found their way into the cuisines of the upper class, where they were featured more as side dishes to the heartier meat and vegetable main courses.

The British would also outsource a lot of Irish labor. Irish prisoners and laborers were often turned into indentured servants on British owned plantations in the Caribbean, most infamously in Jamaica and Barbados. Contrary to popular belief, the Irish were never enslaved in a manner similar to Africans, although the working conditions that the Irish indentured servants faced were of a similar dehumanizing brutality.

The initial colonization of Ireland was slow and subtle, beginning in the 1160s which Angelo-Norman explorers were invited to the island by Leinster King Dermot MacMurrough, a local ruler who had recently been used as High King of Ireland. Among these adventurers was an earl named Richard de Clare, soon to be colloquially known as “Strongbow”. Strongbow and his band of explorers went on to conquer a large part of Eastern Ireland, including the kingdoms of Leister and Meath.

This political movement was noticed by King Henry II of England and to prevent Ireland from becoming a formidable rival Norman power he installed Strongbow as leader of Leister and gave a King’s army soldier, Hugh de Lacy, the kingdom of Meath. This area was known as “The Pale”. By splitting the kingdoms, King Henry II was able to keep the various larger towns, like Waterford, Wexford, and Dublin, under his control, and thus the seeds of English rule had been planted in Irish soil.

As the years passed, King Henry II, Strongbow, and de Lacy pushed Angelo-Norman control over more and more Irish land, and more and more Irish kings turned over their power to the British monarchy.T he British Monarchy in turn collected “tributes” from the people to the King, including money, crops, and livestock.  By 1175, the Treaty of Windsor had been signed by King Henry II and the current High King of Ireland, Rory O’Connor, and O’Connor agreed to acquire the majority of his power to King Henry II, while still exercising minor control over the other various Irish Kings. This power split ended poorly, and in 1185 Henry sent his son, King John, to establish an organized, civil government that was separate from the influence of the feudal lords. 

Administrative units of late medieval Ireland, Brittanica.com.

During the early 1200s, King John went on to begin the unification of the English counties while simultaneously phasing out the Angelo-Norman rule. In 1264 an Irish Parliament was introduced. composed of Angelo-Norman/Angelo-Irish County representatives, while Native Irish remained voiceless. This parliament mirrored the British Parliament at the time and served mostly to continue British and Irish land expansion.                                     

Portrait of Irish Parliament, Google Images