The Vikings in Ireland

The Vikings in Ireland

Who were the Vikings?

They were a group of people who originated in modern-day Denmark and Norway.

In the 8^th Century, pressure on land and overpopulation in Scandinavia had forced many nobles and warriors to seek land elsewhere. Some of these were younger sons, who inherited nothing of their father's estate. Noblemen with little to lose began to gather together groups of warriors and go down the coast pillaging settlements. They sold their booty for money, much like the black markets of today, and this became the means of making their living.

The invention of the longboat made it possible for these warriors to sail across the North Sea to attack Britain, France and Ireland as well. In these areas they became known as the "Norsemen" (north-men) and later as the "Vikings".

The Vikings who first attacked Ireland were Norwegian. Vikings did not have any respect for Christian symbols and sites. 

The picture on the left shows the Oseberg Ship, a reconstructed Viking raiding boat. (Photo by Universitetets Oldsaksamling, Oslo).

The Vikings were after two types of booty: riches and slaves which they carried off to sell. They soon found that the monasteries were the richest sources of both goods and this is why monasteries suffered so much. 

Vikings engaged in hit-and-run raids in which they landed a small number of ships at a settlement, spent a few days pillaging and burning it before heading back to Scandinavia to sell their booty.

In Ireland, Rathlin Island monastery was burned by the Vikings in 795. Other prominent monasteries that were attacked included Holmpatrick, Inishmurray, Inishbofin and Sceilg Mh icil. St Colum Cille's great monastery at Iona was burned in 802. 

The Raids Intensify

Vikings soon improved their methods of pillaging. Instead of landing 3 or 4 boats, they brought between 50 and 100 boats of Viking warriors, landed, and set up a camp. 

They pillaged monasteries, churches, the fortresses of Irish Lords, and farms. 

In 840 the Vikings spent a year on Lough Neagh pillaging, amongst others, the monastery of Armagh. Many of the scholars and monks of Louth monastery were captured and sold into slavery. In 841 they set up fortified camps at Annagassan (county Louth) and Dubhlinn (present day Dublin). Clonmacnoise, Birr and Clonfert were pillaged and the primate of Armagh was captured and carried off in 845.

This was the most intense period of Viking activity, and the Irish Kings seemed to be able to do little to prevent the destruction of their provinces.

By the end, many of the monks themselves fought the Vikings. However, just as it looked as if Ireland was about to be conquered by the Vikings, the Irish began to develop tactics to attack them, the raids died away. .

Meanwhile, many of the Viking settlements developed and grew into towns. Their town of Dubhlinn by the second half of the 9^th Century had become the principal supplier of slaves in the British Isles. In time it became a great merchant town, until it was defeated by an Irish attack in 902. Other Viking towns had also been defeated, for example Cork in 848, Vadrefjord (Waterford) in 864 and Youghal in 866.

The Second Period of Raids

A second phase of raiding began in 914, with the arrival of a large fleet of Viking ships in Waterford harbour. They re-captured their settlement of Vadrefjord (Waterford) from which the Irish had expelled the first Vikings half century earlier. Reinforced by a second fleet which arrived the following year, the Vikings launched a series of offensives deep into the province of Munster, and later Leinster.

In 917, the Vikings re-captured the settlement of Dubhlinn (Dublin) which the Irish had captured in 902.

The king of the Uí Néill, Niall Glúndub, who was the most powerful king in Ireland, decided that the Vikings had to be stopped. He brought together a force from the Uí Néill and enlisted the help of the forces of Leinster. They marched against the Vikings in Munster in 917. However, the Vikings routed the Leinster men, while the forces of the Uí Néill retreated from Munster with no decisive success.

Two years later, in 919, Niall Glúndub tried again and attacked Dubhlinn. However, his forces were again routed by the Vikings and Niall Glúndub himself was killed and "the cream of the Uí Néill fell with him".

As the time went by, the influence of the Vikings declined, they concentrated more on developing Dubhlinn as a trading city and promptly Dubhlinn became one of the most important cities in the Nordic world, as a trading and slaving centre.

The Vikings eventually settled down in the lands they had conquered. By 950, the Vikings had stopped raiding in Ireland and developed instead as traders and settled in the lands around their towns. The Vikings in England largely became farmers and fishermen. In France, the Vikings formed the Kingdom of Normandy on the north coast.

The Vikings left many place names in Ireland including: Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Wexford, Strangford, Leixlip, Carlingford, Youghal, Howth, Dalkey and Fingall (an area of modern-day Dublin). A few of their words were also adopted into the Irish language.

References / Sources:

- Various authors, "The Oxford Companion to Irish History", Oxford University Press,1998.
- RF Foster: "The Oxford History of Ireland", Oxford University Press, 1989
- Simon Schama, "A History of Britain: At the Edge of the World? 3000BC-AD1603",BBC,2000
- Seán Duffy, "Atlas of Irish History", Gill and Macmillan, 2000
- G. Stout and M. Stout, writing in the "Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape", Cork University Press, 1997, pp31-63

Other information:

Summary The Vikings in Ireland video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlvipYPwtmM  

ARTURO ARIAS

GCI ADVANCED 1

Elizabeth I and Ireland

Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until 24 March 1603.

One of her first moves as queen was to establish an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. Elizabeth became famous for her virginity, and a cult grew up around her which can be seen in the portraits, pageants, and literature of the time.

According to the English monarchs and noblemen of the time the Irish people were considered uncivil, rude and barbarous. They had been trying to control the Irish in the hope of imposing new obedience to the English law. Elisabeth was determined by a sense of missionary license to civilize the Irish, whom she felt were getting out of control. During this time Elisabeth’s armies used all their force, strength and might in trying to control the Irish and enforce her laws. The aggressive acts of the English administrators and soldiers and the incompatibility of Gaelic Irish society with English law and government were the reason for the rebel’s violence.

During a revolt in Munster led by Gerald FitzGerald, Earl of Desmond, in 1582, an estimated 30,000 Irish people starved to death. Elizabeth advised her commanders that the Irish be well treated; but she showed no remorse when force and bloodshed were deemed necessary. Between 1594 and 1603, Elizabeth faced her most severe test in Ireland during the Nine Years War, a revolt that took place at the height of hostilities with Spain, who backed the rebel leader, Hugh O'Neill, who was the most powerful Irish Lord in Ireland. O’Neil surrendered in 1603, a few days after Elizabeth's death.  As a result after this period, by the end of Elisabeth’s reign, the English had for the first time the control of the government. The Irish culture, law and language were replaced.

 Elizabeth I and Irish legend.

There is a Stone called the ’Blarney Stone’ and it’s based in Blarney Castle near Cork city in the County of Muster.  http://www.blarneycastle.ie/

It said that whoever kisses this stone receives the ‘Gift of the gab’, It means, you became able to talk for a long time, tell stories and convince people to do what you want using this new skill.

The legend that involves Elizabeth I is that while she was requesting an oath of loyalty to retain occupancy of land, The Lord of Blarney (Cormac Teige McCarthy) was promising her loyalty without surrendering to her. When she received this answer she said: “This is all Blarney, what he says he never means”.

So she created this new word, ‘Blarney’, which reportedly means: influence by a gentle urge.

Analice Amaral.

Norsemen in Ireland

When the Scandinavian countries became more and more overpopulated, the Vikings / Norsemen decided to explore new lands to see what was beyond the horizon. So they started to travel.

In 795 they came with their beautifully crafted ships to the shores of Ireland. Their intentions were to slaughter the population and to burn down the churches, as they had no attachments to any of the gods worshiped upon this small island.

In Irish history these invaders were known as the “Danes”, meaning the dark foreigners.

The Norsemen arrived on the coast of Dublin, which is where the Norsemen’s invasion of Ireland began. Records show that there was at least one major battle a year for as long as 30 – 40 years in cities and villages around Ireland.

Around 1836 the Norsemen started to get deeper in the country. They were no longer satisfied with the towns which they had plundered along the East coast and started to dig deeper inland.

In the year 841 Dublin was raised as a colony for the Vikings but they didn’t want settle down there permanently. In 851 and 856 they created new settlements at Waterford and close to Cork.

The monasteries were one of the first things that the Vikings attacked. As a defence mechanism, the Christian monks built large and tall round towers, which came equipped with a high entrance which was reached by means of a ladder to reach the door that was placed several meters above the ground. With these round towers, the people in the monastery were able to secure themselves out of reach of the the Vikings who couldn’t get up to the doorways.  They also couldn’t burn them down because it was build of stones. These constructions are an example of how the early Christian monks had to adapt to survive the brutal nature Ireland at the time.

In 902 the Irish tribes got tired of the Vikings and managed to drive them away to Wales, this was to spell the end of the Scandinavian invasion of Ireland.

Some Norsemen, however, became part of the Irish population as they stayed and also started a new life in this “new” country. That means that even today, some of the Irish population can claim that they have roots planted in Scandinavian soil from many generations ago.

Below you can see the different paths the Vikings traveled.

References

Books

• Ireland A History – Robert Kee, page 27

Websites

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ireland_(800%E2%80%931169)
• http://www.ncte.ie/viking/listt.htm
• http://www.yourirish.com/history/medieval/vikings/

By: Cathrine

The Norman Invasion of Ireland

By the 12th century, Ireland was invaded two times. Although a brutal piece of Irish history, two important invasions by Norman brought lots of new things to Ireland such as Architecture, languages (English and French) and farming ideas.

The first Norman knight to land in Ireland was Richard fitz Godbert de Roche in 1167, but it was not until 1169 that the main body of Norman, In 1169, The Norman military invasion of Ireland headed by Diarmait Mac Murchada. He sent word to Wales and pleaded with Strongbow to come to Ireland as soon as possible. Strongbow's small force landed in Wexford. Waterford and Dublin were under Diarmait's control. Without long he had regained the King of Leinster seat and moved onto remove the High King of Ireland, Ruaidri Ua Conchobair. In this battle MacMurrough failed to remove O’Connor from the throne and requested that Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke come to Ireland and assist with his quest.

Robert fitzStephen was quite right when he told his followers that Diarmait 'loves our race; he is encouraging our race to come here and has decided to settle them in this island and give them permanent roots...'. And Diarmait even went to the trouble of marrying his daughter to Strongbow to make sure that the alliance had staying power.


Their agreement spelled out that if none of Diarmait's sons survived (and one had been blinded, another been taken hostage, another was illegitimate), then Strongbow could even inherit the throne of Leinster himself. At which point Henry II suddenly sat up and took notice of what was going on in the west. He had meant to use Diarmait's appeal to get a foothold in Ireland.

So in the winter of 1171, Henry landed with a large fleet at Waterford, becoming the first King of England to set foot on Irish soil. In November Henry accepted the submission of the Irish kings in Dublin. In 1172 Henry arranged for the Irish bishops to attend the Synod of Cashel and to run the Irish Church in the same manner as the Church in England. Adrian's successor, Pope Alexander III, then ratified the grant of Ireland to Henry, ".. following in the footsteps of the late venerable Pope Adrian, and in expectation also of seeing the fruits of our own earnest wishes on this head, ratify and confirm the permission of the said Pope granted you in reference to the dominion of the kingdom of Ireland."

And though everything that happened afterwards in the sad history of England and Ireland wants to say this was the moment when Ireland lost her freedom, no one at the time saw it that way at all.

The Irish kings did homage to Henry as they would to any High King, building the ritual hall through which they entered as his men, promising him one of every ten of their cattle hides in tribute.

And they saw him not as imperial conqueror at all, but as their protector against the Strongbows and the Anglo-Norman barons.

By Yongjin Kim

The Spanish Arch & Spanish Parade

 

When someone comes to Galway and wants to find out some things about the city, a great place to start is The Spanish Arch, which is also one of the most popular social gathering spots in the city.

The name comes as somewhat of a surprise when we consider that we are in Ireland, not in Spain, and makes a visitor (especially one of Latin origin) wonder about the history of this area, which was built over five centuries ago. Why is it called the Spanish Arch? What was the connection with Spain, if any? I wanted to find out and so I began to do some research; this is what I discovered. 

There was a time, between the XV and XVI centuries, in which Galway became a famous and an important harbour because of its productive (and lucrative) trade with Spain. Ireland exported goods and materials to Spain such as thread, cloth, leather, fish and wood (all of which were available in abundance in the local area at the time), and they would occasionally send some luxury goods which were very well received by the Spanish crown, gifts like hawks and hunting dogs would be sent over to secure good relations and win favour. On the other hand, Spain imported above all iron, olive oil and wine.

This trade and the relationships which built up around it are the primary reason for the naming of Spanish Arch. This was the main docking area for ships and boats and is in a different location to Galway’s modern harbour. If we look at the Swift map of Galway from the XVII Century, we can see that there are large ships docked in the area and the arch seems to be very busy with markets and traders. The arch is also the only gate that still remains of the historical walls which once surrounded the city.

 

 

The Spanish Arch was built in 1584 as an extension to the old city wall, in the mouth of the River Corrib, in order to protect the docks which were located in the harbour, therefore was called “head of the wall” as well. Important people of History such as Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan are reported to have stopped there while embarking upon their exploratory missions.

The area in front of the actual arch is called ‘The Spanish Parade’. This was a venue where the women of the Claddagh village (a neighbouring town which has since become part of Galway city) sold their fish which their husbands caught in the XIX Century. Although it can be thought of as a colourful market plenty of activity, the truth is that it was a harsh environment, were poverty and the weather made a tough existence for these brave women. Nowadays is a meeting place for many different kinds of visitors like tourists, students or local people who take advantage of the good weather to enjoy the nice atmosphere. I look forward to spending a sunny afternoon there, thinking about the ghosts that walk the stones of the arch. 

REFERENCES:

http://www.hispano-irish.es/es/Historia-en-Comun-8/1/IRLANDESES-EN-LA-MONARQUIA-ESPANHOLA-7

http://www.elmundo.es/motor/2000/MV161/MV161galway.html

History Series, Galway Cultural Institute.

Beatriz MUÑOZ MARTÍNEZ

Climate Change : An International Issue

As climate change is a global problem it must be addressed at a global level.

If we do not make significant changes now in our attitude towards climate change, the consequences will be devastating.

The purpose of this article is to make everybody aware of what has happened in Ireland and other countries in recent years because of Climate Change and how it affects our environment and how we can protect it and reduce the damage.

 What is Climate Change?

Climate change is a significant change in the average weather that a region experiences. Climate change can be caused by natural factors such as variations in solar intensity or volcanic eruptions. However, the term climate change is now generally used to refer to changes in our climate due to the build up of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. This build up of GHGs is caused by excess emissions due to certain human activities, like burning fossil fuels for energy, transport and heating.

The climate has always varied in the past. How is this any different?

Throughout Earth’s history the climate has varied, sometimes considerably. Past warming does not automatically mean that today’s warming is therefore also natural. Recent warming has been shown to be due to human industrialization processes.

This graph, based on the comparison of atmospheric samples contained in ice cores and more recent direct measurements, provides evidence that atmospheric CO₂ has increased since the Industrial Revolution.  

How does climate change affect Ireland?

The Irish weather conditions have suffered significant changes in recent years. The average temperature has increased by 0.7 ºC during the period 1890-2004. It continues to rise.

There is also a general trend of significant increase of rainfall in Ireland along the north and west coasts, and only slight increases along the east and south coasts. 

Rising sea levels are also of concern for Ireland, as waters have been rising by 2 - 4mm each year.

These changes bring milder winters and warmer summers which Ireland has been experiencing in recent years.

If climate change continues at such a high rate, Ireland is likely to be affected by the following.

• Air temperature will rise by 1.5-2 degrees by 2080
• Rainfall will increase in winter and decrease in summer
• Sea temperatures may rise by 2 degrees by the end of the century, causing intense, aggressive storms
• Flooding and erosion from extreme weather conditions
• Altered agricultural practices, especially crop growing, to cope with weather changes

Effects of climate change at a global level

1-     Rising Seas, Higher Sea Levels

As the Earth heats up, sea levels rise because warmer water takes up more room than 
colder water, a process known as thermal expansion. Melting glaciers compound the
problem by dumping even more fresh water into the oceans.

Rising seas threaten to inundate low-lying areas and islands, threaten dense coastal
populations, shorelines, damage property and destroy ecosystems such as mangroves and
wetlands that protect coasts against storms.

 2- Stronger Storms and Hurricanes

 

Scientific research indicates that climate change will cause hurricanes and tropical storms to become more intense, lasting longer, unleashing stronger winds, and causing more damage to coastal ecosystems and communities.

Scientists point to higher ocean temperatures as the main culprit, since hurricanes and tropical storms get their energy from warm water.

  3- Increased Risk of Drought, Fire, etc.

Higher temperatures increase the amount of moisture that evaporates from land and water, leading to drought in many areas. Lands affected by drought are more vulnerable to flooding once rain falls.

4- Higher Temperatures

Heat-trapping gases emitted by power plants, automobiles, deforestation and other sources are warming up the planet.

High temperatures are to blame for an increase in heat-related deaths and illness,rising seas, increased storm intensity, and many of the other dangerous consequences of climate change.

5.- Wildlife at risk

  Rising temperatures are changing weather and vegetation patterns across the globe, forcing animal species to migrate to new, areas in order to survive. (cooler areas in particular).

Eight basic tips to help stop climate change

Here are eight, simple, everyday things that each of us can do to help stop climate change. 

Change a light. Replacing a regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent one saves 150 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

Drive less. Walk, bike, take mass transit. All of these things can help reduce gas consumption and one pound of carbon dioxide for each mile you do not drive.

Recycle more and buy recycled. You can save up to 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide each year just by recycling half of your household waste. By recycling and buying products with recycled content you also save energy, resources and landfill space.

Use less hot water. It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Reducing the amount used means big savings in not only your energy bills, but also in carbon dioxide emissions.

Avoid products with a lot of packaging. When you purchase products with the least amount of packaging, not only do you save money, but you also help the environment! Reducing your garbage by 10% reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 1,200 pounds.

Plant a tree. A single tree can absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.

Turn off electronic devices when not in use. Simply turning off your TV, computer and other electronic devices can save each household thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

Stay informed. Use the Earth 911 Web site to help stay informed about environmental issues, and share your knowledge with others.

Boglands & Wetlands : Our Natural Protection

Introduction

We are writing this report to highlight how important of bogs and wetlands, and protecting them.

A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens.

Bogs occur where the water at the ground surface is acidic, either from acidic ground water, or where water is derived entirely from precipitation, when they are termed ombrotrophic (rain-fed). Water flowing out of bogs has a characteristic brown colour, which comes from dissolved peat tannins. Bogs are very sensitive habitats and are of high importance for biodiversity.

 

The problem in Ireland

 

Ireland only has about 10% of our original bogs left, and they are still being actively destroyed.
We have heard from many things that are getting affected by (or affecting) climate change, but I have not yet heard one of the wetlands. We want to put our attention to something we didn’t know we were losing. “Peatlands are being destroyed at a rapid pace. Although drainage and fires lead to huge CO^₂ emissions, the problem is still largely ignored in climate mitigation strategies.”

 

Brazil: The Pantanal: World's Largest Wetlands

The Pantanal is a tropical wetland. It is one of the world's largest wetlands of any kind. Most of it lies within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay, sprawling over an area estimated at between 140,000 square kilometres (54,000 sq mi) and 195,000 square kilometres (75,000 sq mi).  The Pantanal region includes essential sanctuaries for migratory birds, critical nursery grounds for aquatic life, and refuges for such creatures as the yacare caiman, deer, and jaguar. 

Flood control is major value of the Pantanal. The Pantanal has a regulatory effect on the Rio Paraguay, extensively reducing and delaying the height of the flood peak and thus reducing the flood risk downstream.
About 80% of the Pantanal floodplains are submerged during the rainy seasons, nurturing an astonishing biologically diverse collection of aquatic plants and helping support a dense array of animal species.

Pantanal preservation

Although large areas of the Pantanal remain untouched, it is threatened by expanding human settlement, unsustainable farming practices, illegal mining, hydroelectric power plant construction and unregulated tourism.

When compared to other wetlands in the world, the Pantanal is regarded as the most preserved, but still less than 2% are under government protection.

How are Bogs and Wetlands Protected?

The Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC), a non governmental organisation formed in 1982 aims to ensure the conservation of a representative sample of peatland types in Ireland. They work with Dúchas, the state agency responsible for nature conservation, to ensure that all blanket bogs of nature conservation importance are protected. This is the long-term goal of IPCC's peatland conservation strategy.

Dúchas protect blanket bogs in three different ways. Buying blanket bogs ensures full protection and Dúchas currently own 37,000ha of blanket bog. They survey blanket bogs and designate important conservation worthy sites as Natural Heritage Areas, which are protected under the Wildlife Act. Surveys have been underway since the 1980's and today most of the atlantic blanket bogs have been discovered and made into NHAs. Mountain blanket bogs have not been completely surveyed especially in the southern half of the country. This is something that needs to be done as a priority and IPCC are campaigning on this issue. 

Lastly, in meeting our European obligations under the Habitats Directive, Dúchas designate a representative sample of our blanket bogs as Special Areas of Conservation. To date Dúchas have designated 135,000ha of blanket bog habitat as SACs. With incomplete information on mountain blanket bogs, the number of sites being included by Dúchas in the SAC network is not representative. IPCC have undertaken independent research on blanket bogs and have shown Dúchas and EU officials in our Bogs and Fens of Ireland Conservation Plan that it would be possible for Ireland to designate another 12,500ha of blanket bog to include the full range of variation in the habitat in Ireland. This is a very important issue and it is one that must be resolved between Dúchas, IPCC and the EU.

Blanket Bogs to Visit in Ireland

• Connemara National Park, Co. Galway
• Glenveagh National Park, Co. Donegal
• Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry
• Mayo National Park, Co. Mayo
• Wicklow National Park, Co. Wicklow

Sources of Information

Dúchas - The Heritage Service, 7 Ely Place, Dublin 2. Telephone (01) 6472360 Web Site: www.heritagedata.ie
Irish Peatland Conservation Council, 119 Capel Street, Dublin 1. Telephone (01) 872 2397. Web Site: www.ipcc.ie