Effects of the Viking Invasion

The Irish assimilated many aspects of Norse culture into their lifestyle. They took note of the superior weaponry used by the Vikings and, by the time of the battle of Clontarf, both Irish and Norse were fighting with identical weapons.

Many of the pagan Vikings who settled in Ireland converted to Christianity and intermarried with the Irish. Their craftsmen made ornaments which incorporated Irish patterns with their own design. Examples of this can be seen in stone carvings such as the Cross of the Scriptures at Clonmacnoise and Muiredach's cross at Monasterboice. Norse words were incorporated into the Irish language and many Irish placenames, such as Waterford and Wexford, have their origins from this period. The Vikings also managed to shift the political centre from Tara, in the midlands, to the east coast where it has since remained.

The Vikings were the founders of the first Irish cities. These were trading ports with markets at home and abroad. This had a major impact on the Irish economy. Previously an agricultural, non-rural society, the establishment of trading settlements meant a move towards the new world of commerce. This move is evident in the introduction of money to Ireland. Silver coins were minted in Dublin even before the battle of Clontarf. Dublin was the richest of the Viking cities and an important commercial centre.

Norman Ireland

The Normans introduced centralised secular administration to Ireland. King John (1199-1216), the son of Henry II, was instrumental in building Dublin Castle, organising an active government, a jury system and coinage. At that time Ireland was divided into eight counties - Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Kerry, Louth, Waterford and Connacht - and six liberties - Kildare, Kilkenny, Wexford, Meath, Carlow and Ulster. All these counties and liberties elected representatives which were present at the Irish Parliament.

The Normans brought some degree of peace to Ireland in place of the continuous warfare between the Gaelic families. While there were some clashes between the Normans and the Irish in border areas it was less than it had been. The Normans encouraged the native Irish to remain on the land and work it as they had done under their Irish rulers.

The ordinary people were not displaced by the Normans but the Irish aristocracy were pushed sideways by the Norman nobility. There was intermarriage between the two groups - Strongbow married Aoífe MacMurrough and Hugh de Lacy married Rose, the daughter of Rory O'Connor.

The Normans were responsible for the development of Irish towns and cities. Before their conquest the only cities that had developed in Ireland were the Viking cities - Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Wexford - and some large monastic communities in Armagh and Clonmacnoise. The Normans built castles, motes and manors wherever they settled and towns grew up around these. Although town dwellers were made up of a variety of nationalities including Viking, English, Welsh, Flemish and French, the Gaelic Irish often preferred to live outside these settlements. The growth of towns and cities led to the growth of trade and commerce. Wool, livestock, hides, cloth, wine and food were all traded between towns, and wool, hides and grain were exported. The Normans were also responsible for minting silver coins, which were the first coins in general use in Ireland.

The Nine Years Rebellion: 1594-1603

Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, had been gradually strengthening his position in Ulster. Some of his neighbours had been fighting against the English presence in the north since 1593. O'Neill openly joined them in 1595. A farsighted leader, he realised the necessity of involving the rest of Ireland in the war against the English. He also turned to Spain, England's national enemy, for aid. While the Ulstermen were on the defensive it was difficult for the English to subdue them. After O'Neill's 1598 victory at the battle of the Yellow Ford, (situated north of Armagh), the English tried to subdue them by simultaneously attacking different areas, burning houses and destroying crops. The Ulstermen stood fast and, in 1602, marched south to meet their Spanish allies who had landed in Kinsale. They were unused to being on the offensive and, while trying to relieve the besieged Spanish, were defeated by the queen's men. The Spanish surrendered soon after the battle of Kinsale and Hugh O'Neill submitted to the queen the following year when he signed the Treaty of Mellifont on 30 March 1603.

The failure of this rebellion meant an end to the last of the old Gaelic lordships and traditions.