History of Ireland

Much of the history of Ireland is defined by the basic facts of its location as an island perched on the very western edge of Europe. Events that had a profound impact on other parts of Europe—the rise of the Roman Empire, the diaspora of Celtic people, and the settlement of Anglo-Saxons in Britain—either had relatively little impact in Ireland or happened much later than in other parts of Europe.

Ireland's geography also meant that it was just across the Irish Sea from a larger and more powerful nation: England. Over the last 500 years, the relationship between Ireland and England has had a profound impact on cultural, social, and economic life in Ireland. Sometimes, that relationship was positive for both, but often, it was not, and many Irish people suffered as a direct consequence. Ireland finally became an independent republic in 1949, but the northeastern part of the island became Northern Ireland, still a part of the United Kingdom and ruled from London, which led to growing tensions in the north. Those tensions would become a defining factor in the twentieth-century history of Ireland. This is the story of Ireland.