A Very Brief Look at Ireland

The book, “The Irish Way” by James R. Barrett is a masterpiece written to describe the life of Irish immigrants who went to start new lives in America after conditions at home became un-accommodative. Widespread insecurity, callous English colonizers and the ghost of great famine still lingering on and on in their lives, made this ethnic group be convinced that home was longer a home anymore. They descended in United States of America in large numbers. James R. Barrett in his book notes that these people were the first group of immigrants to settle in America. According to him, there were a number of several ethnic groups that have arrived in America. It was, however, the mass exodus of Irish people during and after the great

The Irish began immigrating to North America in the 1820s, when the lack of jobs and poverty forced them to seek better opportunities elsewhere after the end of the major European wars. When the Europeans could finally stop depending on the Irish for food during war, the investment in Irish agricultural products reduced and the boom was over. After an economic boom, there comes a bust and unemployment was the result. Two-thirds of the people of Ireland depended on potato harvests as a main source of income and, more importantly, food. Then between the years of 1845 and 1847, a terrible disease struck the potato crops. The plague left acre after acre of Irish farmland covered with black rot. The failure of the

“Beginning in 1845 and lasting for six years, the potato famine killed over a million men, women and children in Ireland and caused another million to flee the country” (The History Place-Introduction). During the 1840s many Irish citizens lived in poverty. For food, the Irish relied almost entirely on potatoes because of their low cost and nutritional value. Then a devastating potato blight began in Europe in 1845 and destroyed the crops every year until 1851. Due to Ireland’s poor government the citizens we not able to recover from the famine quickly.

Violence, terror, suffering and death. The conflict that has been burning in Northern Ireland seems to be an unstoppable battle and it has flooded over the land of Northern Ireland. The struggle for power and the persistence of greed have fueled the raging fires of the opposing groups. The conflict in Northern Ireland has been discussed continually over the past few decades. Ever since the beginning of the “Troubles,” organizations have been scavenging to find a plan that will cease the violence. Throughout my research for this project, the questions of what are the main sources of conflict in Northern Ireland and why have they continued today guided me to many fascinating pieces of evidence that

However, The British government itself was going through a hard time in trying to keep the people of England healthy. It wasn’t until 1916 when a call for reform was widely spread and would create the Irish Republican Army (IRA) that would begin to fight the British army in order to gain independence. The IRA use guerrilla warfare by organizing small attacks that would be widely spread out. Although, the British would see these attacks as terrorist attacks which continued for five years. With no end in sight the British offered on December 6, 1921 the Anglo-Irish treaty which would divide Ireland into two.

The Irish people left their homeland with a set purpose in mind. They left for something better. They left to see a better day without their crops failing to see the next day. Life was too miserable to bear for the Irish natives. This was due to a great famine that later that became known as the Great Hunger of 1847. Famines were very common during 19th century rural Ireland, but none like the one at this time. Potatoes were a staple crop, especially in Ireland, but were very vulnerable to disease. Parts of North America and France were faced with blight with the potatoes in 1844. This blight was an airborne fungus entitled Phytophthora Infestans. People had very high expectations for Ireland’s crop in 1845 despite this news heard recently around

Instead, they turn inward to exert their power on weaker members who share daily living space with them, trying compensate their disappointment in society by controlling their youngsters and avoiding their parental responsibility of devoting affection and regard this as a morally acceptable solution. The cause of their dejection lay in the cause of immigration, known as the potato blight. During the eighteenth century, almost half of the Irish population was dependent on the potato, which had been brought to Europe from South America in the seventeenth century, as their main food. In 1845, a mysterious blight, caused by a fungus, struck potato crops across Ireland. The potato vines withered in the fields, and potatoes in storage became moldy and inedible. Half the crop was lost. The blight reoccurred in the following three years. To escape the famine, soon known as The Great Hunger, many of the Irish poor emigrated, and many of them fled to the United States (Turner 649) (Bulliet 586). Most of the Irish came to America don't master any valuable skills (Meagher 79), since their experience of working in the farms are no longer useful in the factories and cities. According to Gorge Potter, "Once the Irish immigrant entered into the mass life of a city, unless he was a man of great ambition, unusual talents or the beneficiary of fortunate circumstances,

During the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time. Sea levels were lower and Ireland, like Great Britain, formed part of continental Europe. By 12,000 BC, rising sea levels due to ice melting caused Ireland to become separated from Great Britain. Later, around 5600 BC, Great Britain itself became separated from continental

In 1845 Ireland was troubled with the devastating famine known as the Great Potato Famine, which ended up destroying 75 percent of all their potato crops and starving millions of people (Madding). In order to survive many were forced to move away in hopes of starting new. Many fled to Scotland, England, South America, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. The famine brought many changes to the Irish culture, people, and music as well as to the American culture, people and music.When the people of Ireland immigrated to America they brought with them the traditions, stories, and music with them, which later influenced many songs and musicians we hear today.

The Irish Republican Army started in Northern Ireland to protect and fight for the rights of the catholic citizens there. Ireland was conquered in 1607 by England, this brought protestant immigrants from England and Scotland. The Protestants quickly came to be the majority of the population. In the 1920s the island was partitioned and Catholics in the north felt that they had been removed from their political heritage. The Protestants felt like they were losing out on resources and wanted to keep control of the north. Neither side was satisfied and problems continued.

The early Normans entered Ireland with the solicitation of Diarmad MacMurrough, Leinster 's king. People in distinction to a province in northern France, known as the Normans, colonized England, a portion of Wales, along with Italy in the eleventh century. ("Northern Ireland: The Omagh Bomb, Nationalism, and Religion") From an initial point, politics and religion stood as reminders of contrasting sides of the strife. The religious and political association determined that both sides possessed a solid sense of belief in their own cause. ("Northern Ireland: The Omagh Bomb, Nationalism, and Religion") From an early stage, there were instigators such as religion and politics that pinpointed the very reason so many lives were lost. The segmentation of the island into two political bodies is the result of a lengthy course of British rule, going back to 1171, when King Henry II announced himself Ireland 's king. (“Irish”.) Finally, the English composed the majority of the island. The power was held in the hands of a British king, therefore resulting in Britain having the first, last and every word in between as far as religion and politics were concerned, but this was not being taken lightly with Irish natives now under British rule. “Northern discrimination did not amount to true tyranny to anyone with a knowledge of history, and was softened in its impact by

In the mid 1800s the course of Irish history was changed forever. The Irish were devastated by The Great Potato Famine of the mid to late 1800s. Population declined from over eight million people in 1840 to under 4.5 million in 1900 due to death and immigration (O’Rourke 2). The poorer Irish people, unlike many British citizens, relied almost entirely on agriculture. The Irish immigration not only affected Ireland and Britain, but its affects were felt over much of the world, including the United States. The famine had a significant effect on the future of Irish history including Home Rule legislation, The Easter Uprising of 1916, and the eventual creation of an Irish free state in the early twentieth

"Throughout history the island of Ireland has been regarded as a single national unit. Prior to the Norman invasion from England in 1169, the Irish people had their own system of law, culture and language and their own political and social structures. Following this invasion, the island continued to be governed as a single political unit, as a colony of Britain, until 1921" (//inac.org/history/). Ireland was a colony of the English. It was a kingdom under

At the end of the rainbow, there lies a pot of gold called Ireland. Ireland is a European country thought to be full of luck, but instead it is a country rebuilding its economic identity from a devastating tragedy. This country is a land of kindness, tradition, tenacity, and ineffable beauty. Ireland is the pot of gold in this world with a royal history, a firm government, a reviving economy, a verdurous geography, ancient landmarks, and a wide variety of culture with competitive sports, extraordinary art, many leisure activities, and undying traditions that introduced many well known foods.

The country of Ireland’s national symbol is the harp; this can be seen on flags throughout the country as well as on the presidential seal. The national flag is green, orange and white, each color has a different meaning, the green is for the older Gaelic tradition or Roman Catholic, the orange is for the Protestant majority and the white is a symbol to show how the two different religions co-exist in peace. The National Anthem of the country is the “Soldiers Song” and consists of three verses and a chorus, generally you will only hear the chorus being sung, this is not the song that is heard at International events that is