Houston, we have a problem...Life on Mars looks eerily familiar.

SO, it has taken me a little longer than I at first anticipated to gather the necessary information for the first Irish history post. The reasons for this being infinite; for instance, although I officially have but a handful of weeks left, professors insist I continue to do the work. This seems a bit puerile and petulant, in my opinion. Really, am I being so unreasonable? I didn't think so either. Anyway, I began my research with a biography but soon realized that I would have to do some general background reading before I could fully understand the motives, actions, and ideals of the subjects of the biographies I had gathered. (To add to the previous list of facts I've learned so far about Irish history is this: D. It can be confusing enough to give you a brain aneurysm trying to follow it.) So, I proceeded to empty the shelves at the library of anything that might prove remotely useful. (I have to admit, when I checked out a two-foot stack of books on Ireland, and everyone queried if I was writing a paper on Ireland, I felt rather foolish and didn't want to admit that it was all for a blog post. So, I just shrugged and mumbled something incoherent and noncommittal....) I got home, threw the Library of Congress sized load on the desk, picked up the first one and began to read......And realized I had set myself up for failure. (As Thelma said, "You know Louise, I seem to have a knack for this.")

Irish history, especially the political end, reminds me of that cartoon I saw once as a kid, with Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, and Bugs Bunny. Each of the prey is trying to convince Elmer Fudd it isn't their season; there is this one snippet (the only part I can remember) in which they get into a heated argument which culminates in "Duck season!" "Wabbit season!" "Duck season!" "Wabbit season!" That, my friends, is essentially my impression of Irish history. I am going to have to condense considerably in my post, and even with those measures I will have to divide much of the information into multiple posts.

The troubles between Ireland and England reach far back into the depths of time. In 1171, King Henry II of England invaded Ireland; upon subduing the peoples there, he proceeded to divide the land among himself and the Welsh lords who supported and aided him in his conquest. In 295 the Norse arrived, and began to assert their influence over the island. In 432 St. Patrick arrived and converted the pagan Celts and Gaels to Catholicism. By 1300, the English were beginning to resent the Norse presence, as the ties between the Irish and the Normans were being reinforced by intermarriage. (Incidentally, by the Statutes of Kilkenny, passed in 1366, the English outlawed this in an attempt to curb these reinforcements, but the marriages continued.) The English gave the Irish their own parliament, but it was a parliament constructed of those whose allegiance lay with England. The next truly great upset came with the introduction of the Protestant Reformation to England and Henry VIII's severing of papal ties. (This severance didn't cause the Reformation in England, I have to add, but I won't go into those details, to spare you all....) Although England was forced, in some instances, to accept the Reformation, Ireland refused to relinquish Catholicism. After the death of Henry VIII, his Catholic daughter, Mary I (by his first wife, Katherine of Aragon), ascended the throne and restored Catholicism to England. However, her rule was short, and her protestant half-sister, Elizabeth (daughter of Anne Boleyn) became England's monarch. The country reverted back to protestantism, with efforts to impose protestant ideals on Ireland. Needless to say, this didn't take well at all. A rebellion which lasted from 1529-1533 was brutally put down by the queen's forces and 200,000 acres of Irish land were taken from the upper classes and given to loyal English subjects.

Over a number of years and through a long series of events in England, the English crown eventually landed in the hands of William of Orange and his English wife, Mary, who were Protestant. This is commonly called the Glorious Revolution and occurred in 1688. During this event, the Irish sided with William and Mary. Their reward was the restoration of some Catholic lands and a promise of religious toleration. The Irish made a fatal mistake by putting their faith in these empty promises; instead of lightening the Irish yoke of suffering, the ascension of William and Mary resulted in a set of laws termed the Penal Laws, passed in the 1690's. Under this set of humiliating laws, Catholics could not vote, hold office, serve in the military or civil service, practice law, teach, marry a Protestant, or even own a horse worth more than five pounds. These restrictions resulted in a terrible economic crisis for the already beleaguered Irish. In desperation, many of the Scotch-Irish made the harrowing journey to America. (Interestingly, I learned that the son of one of these emigrants being none other than our seventh president, Andrew Jackson. I never realized he was a first generation American.) The English solution to Ireland's desire for more autonomy was called "Home Rule." This in itself became a bone of contention, and by 1914, with the commencement of the First World War, the issue of Home Rule was temporarily put on hold. All of this led up to the volatile (although it seems as if all Irish history has just been one massive metaphorical mine field to be traversed) years 1916-1921; which for the sake of general sanity, will be addressed in the next post. For those who are still there, thanks for hanging in there with me! More to follow......