The trouble with Ireland . . . 3 "

When, in a moment of idleness as a child, I asked my mother what was for dinner, the intriguing reply was always: "roast duck and green peas." For a few seconds the peas would remain lodged in my consciousness, but mention of the duck, as we say, "went in one ear and out the other". For whatever a duck was, it was, and we definitely wouldn't be having it for dinner.

In those days a good meal was "Champ", so here's the recipe: To feed four you need 125g or 4oz of "scallions", 300ml or 10fz of milk, eight potatoes, salt and pepper, and 75g or 3oz of butter. And a great thing about this recipe is, that from start to finish it can be on the table in half an hour. Boil the potatoes in salted water and mash; and while that is happening, allow the scallions to simmer in the milk. Then when ready, mash the potatoes and mix in the scallions milk and butter. And don't forget to add the salt and pepper. A "feed" that will keep any child fuelled for an afternoon.

Now the trouble with Ireland is, that in the past, "too many cooks spoiled the broth"; though in ancient times and left to itself, the brew was coming on nicely.

In the Mesolithic period, about (9,000) BC, while the dense forests remained undisturbed, there were hunter gatherers living in the north and east of the island; extending from Coleraine in the north through Dundalk and the Shannon Basin to the Blackwater. By 7,000 BC, the first Irish settlements had appeared, again near Coleraine, at Mount Sandel. By 3,000 BC Mesolithic man had gone, replaced by the more advanced Neoliths, whose origins were in central Europe. More settled, they were turning to agriculture as a means of subsistence. By about 2,000 BC it was the turn of the Bronze Age people of Ireland, who, mixing copper and tin, were fashioning tools and weapons in bronze; an era that lasted until about 500 BC and the arrival of the Celts. An Iron Age people, they too had their roots in central Europe. And what is remarkable about the Celts is, that their language and culture became so dominant that there is little evidence left of the people who preceded them. But what tangible evidence there is, coupled with the myths and legends that surround it, was a potent mix.

A thousand years before Stonehenge was conceived, and 500 years before the Egyptian pyramids were built, (in the Neolithic period), a Megalithic passage grave was built at Newgrange in County Meath. It stands 11 m or 36 ft high and has a diameter of 85 m or 285 ft. And like Stonehenge, those who built it, (and the other burial chambers nearby), had an interest in astrology. We know this, because at dawn on the winter solstice, sunlight passes through an opening and along a 63 ft passage, to illumine the burial chamber at the heart of the mound. Yet another feature of the landscape are the Dolmens. At a casual glance they might be mistaken for crude picnic tables. But what they are, are the remnants of Bronze Age burial chambers. Today Ireland has the largest collection, (worldwide), of Bronze Age instruments: horns and bells; more than fifty percent.

Inseparable from these relics of the past, are the myths and legends that surrounded them, beliefs and practices, that in time, would become fused with Christian Ireland.

Look at a map of Ireland and you will see, so to speak, a hole in the ground. It is in the area highlighted as Northern Ireland. It has filled with water, and is known as Lough Neigh. Now look at this, a map of the Isle of Mann, an island that sits in the Irish Sea, half way between Ireland and England. Well legend has it, that the Irish Giant Finn McCool, (who is also credited with building the Giant's Causeway), was in dispute with a giant from Scotland. Pulling up a clod of earth he flung it at his adversary; and that clod of earth is the Isle of Mann. Then about 432 AD, along came St Patrick; who, apart from converting Ireland to Christianity, is credited with banishing snakes from the island. In truth, it is unlikely that there were ever snakes in Ireland, but the myth is significant, symbolising a new beginning. For the snake, besides being a pagan religions symbol, is believed to have been an object of pagan worship.

Now what is worth remembering, (in the context of the future tangled web of relationships that Ireland would have with England), is that St Patrick at the age of sixteen, first came to Ireland as a slave. He was taken captive along: "with many thousands of people", (1) during raids by the Irish on the coasts of Britain. But before this complex web of relationships with England could develop, many more ingredients would be added to the mix.

With the conversion of the Irish to Christianity, it was only a matter of time until missionaries began to make their way out into central Europe, among them, St Columbanus, who, having established monasteries in France, in 613, founded a monastery and library at Bobbio in northern Italy. Out of these new monastic foundations, there grew up a two-way traffic in manuscripts. While those from Europe were carried back to Ireland to be copied, important documents from Ireland, (that otherwise might have been lost), found their way into these new monastic libraries. But a more telling long term consequence, (of this raising of the profile of Ireland in Europe,) was, that it attracted the speculative interests, first of the Vikings, and centuries later, the Normans.

For some forty years before they established themselves in Ireland, the Vikings, in their longboats, had plundered the coasts of Ireland, Britain and France, with the monasteries in Ireland, prime targets for the accumulation of spoils. By 830 they had begun to settle, first at Annagassand, and Dublin. But later, (and in the face of opposition from Irish Kings), they were forced to consolidate, not just in Dublin, but at Wexford, Waterford and Youghal, after which, they became sorbed into the general mosaic of Irish life. But it was an interest in Ireland that was brutally reawakened, when, in 914, a huge Viking fleet arrived in Waterford. From there they attacked the southern provinces of Munster and Leinster, defeating the Ui Neills and their followers. But the Viking influence effectively came to an end, when, in 1114, and under the leadership of Brian Borou, they were defeated at the battle of Clontarf. In the interim, however, they were a dominant influence; they traded with Europe, introduced money, and had a wider influence on art, language, folklore and place-names.

Before their reappearance in Ireland, in 914, the Vikings had effectively sacked northern France, only to be followed there, in hot pursuit by the Danes. Under the leadership Hrolf, they compelled Charles king of the Franks to cede to them the territory that they were holding, the land bounded by the rivers Brestle, Epte, Avre and Dives. In 924 the districts of Bayeux, Exmes and Seesand were likewise ceded as were the Contenin and Avranchin in 933. But here there was a marked difference. Within several decades the Danes had adopted the Frank's language, religion, laws and customs, political organisation and methods of warfare, and they had become known as "Normans, men of Normandy - the land of the Nordmanni or northmen". They prospered, and by the eleventh century were powerful and needing to expand. They travelled to Spain to fight the Moors; to Byzantium to fight the Turks, and to Sicily in 1061, to fight the Saracens. Five years later, in 1066 they would conquer England. A monumental episode that would have lasting, and terrible consequences for Ireland.

/ To be continued next month.

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© Cormac McCloskey

In large measure the information in this blog is taken from "Irish History": From prehistoric times to the present day." by Seamas Mac Amaidh and published by Parragon Books. My edition 2005. A snapshot of Irish history, it is pocket size and full of colour and black and white illustrations. I was fortunate to buy it as a "bin end", that is at a reduced price. But it is NOT a bin end book. So if you have a bent for "History", and want easy but informative points of reference, this is the book.

(1) The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing
vol.1 p67: From the Confessions of St Patrick.

Note: This blog, "The trouble with Ireland is . . . 3" was first publishe on Windows Live Spaces, by me, on 10th May 2007