Leah's Prehistory of London:

The Irish Question

Although it is difficult to pinpoint the very beginning of the troubles between the English and the Irish, it is safe to say that they were a result of nearly 800 years of British occupation, and 400 years of intense colonization. As Ireland is the most Western point of the British Isles, it seems only natural that for as long as they have been able, the British have attempted to gain control of the Irish soil and people. Though today it is understood that the nature of these disputes was because of religious differences (Protestant England and Catholic Ireland), it is more important to note that the religious differences were only a portion of the problem. Instead we bring the struggle back even further, to a lengthy history of English takeover, and Irish resistance.
Beginning in the 12th century (approximately 1156), when Nicholas Breakspeare became the first, and only English Pope (Pope Adrian IV), a papal bull was granted to Henry II of England allowing him to take Ireland as his inheritance, thereby establishing somewhat of a legal basis for his occupation and conquest. Following his "inheritance" of Ireland, and the invasion of the Normans from Wales, Henry II was pronounced King of Ireland in 1171.
Although the Irish continued to struggle through relentless English (and some Scottish) invasion, and the integration of the Normans, a set of laws (called the Statutes of Kilkenny) were passed in 1366 that represented England’s first attempt at legislating its dictatorial control of the Irish(1). Among the many rules for the English in Ireland, were prohibitions against speaking the Irish language, intermarriage with the Irish, and the care of, or bearing of Irish children. The statutes were created in order to prove English control of Ireland, and to assure Irish suppression on the island.
Once Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, it was only a matter of time before he would seize dual-control of the Irish crown. During this time, the reformation was taking way in England, following the posting of Martin Luther’s 95 theses(2), and growing discontent with the Catholic Church. After many years of abuses in the Church (emphasis on money, and economic and intellectual oppressiveness), and the English people’s objections to the doctrines and practices that they were burdened with, the reformation swept across England causing many (later including the monarchy) to reject Catholicism. However, despite the growth of the reformation in England, Ireland still remained primarily Catholic, and rejected the change in the Church. Though, as the church had not formerly been a cause of tension between the two islands, the history of religious persecution was about to begin, and what was once a dispute of the English and the Irish became a dispute between the Protestant English, and the Catholic Irish.
In 1541, after being pronounced King of Ireland by the Irish Parliament (which of course was completely ruled by British, or Anglo-Irish Protestants), Henry VIII appointed himself as the head of Church, and immediately unified the many counties and towns of Ireland into one kingdom.
During Queen Mary I reign, Irish freedom was imposed on, yet again, due to the beginning of Irish colonization by English settlers. Although Mary was a Catholic, and wanted to restore Catholicism in England, the Irish were driven out of their land (then given to the English colonists). Once Elizabeth I came into power, the religious wars began, and all of Ireland was divided into counties. The wars were attended by rebellions of the Irish Catholics, and were brutal on all sides of the fighting. However, in order to get rid of Irish resistance, the English destroyed villages, crops and cattle, along with the slaughtering of many. The greater parts of Munster and Ulster counties resulted in desolation, and most of their inhabitants died from starvation.(3)
Under James I, the Anglican Church was extended throughout Ireland, and obtained all that belonged to the Church of Pale. While the Church of Pale had been affected by the reformation, the majority of the Celtic population (including the inhabitants of the Pale) remained Roman Catholic. English law was pronounced the only law of the land in 1607, and the land in six counties of northern Ulster was confiscated. James I also saw to it that the last bit of independence that Irish Parliament held was destroyed, and that a permanent majority to the English crown be secured.(4)
In 1649, Oliver Cromwell, accompanied by 10,000 men of his New Model Army, landed in Dublin following Charles I execution and Cromwell’s new title: Lord Protector of England. He had hopes of converting all Irishmen to Anglicanism, and sought vengeance for the atrocities committed against the Protestants during the Peasant Rising of 1641.(5) His army quickly took control of the East Coast of Ireland, and continued to fight against Irish opposition. By 1653, the English had won the war, and the Puritans (who had come over with Cromwell) continued with their plans for the destruction of all, Irish Catholic traditions and rituals. Cromwell’s genocide eventually led to famine and disease, and resulted in a severe population loss (dropping from 1.5 million in 1641, to 616,000 in 1652).(6)
Throughout the years between 1665 and 1725, Penal Laws were created with the hopes of deliberately crushing Irish commerce and industry, as well as Catholics and Catholicism. The Laws forbade the Irish exportation of dairy products (including the cattle themselves) to England, and crippled the woolen industry by the prohibition of exporting wool products to any other country. While gradual economic decline resulted from the Penal Laws, a large emigration from the country was also seen. Many of the Irish Roman Catholics fled to Spain and France, while the Protestants left for America. By the time of the relaxation of the Laws in 1782, thousands of Irish had already left the country (in 1727, three thousand left for America, and in 1769, forty-four thousand)(7). The Irish that remained at home were completely powerless against the English.
Though the struggle had been long and extremely difficult for the Irish in Ireland, it was only a part of the persecution that the Irish have been forced to endure in many other countries around the world (particularly in America), and in the years to come. However, while the English sought to destroy Catholicism and Irish pride, they instead provided the Irish with a greater faith in their religion and in God, and a spirit able to overcome it all, past, present, and future.

Endnotes:

(1) Michael Padden and Robert Sullivan, May the Road Rise to Meet You (New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1999), pp. 42-45
(2) The 95 Theses were a series of listed problems that Martin Luther had with the indulgences and excesses of the Roman Catholic Church. Following their posting, a papal bull was sent out for his excommunication, which Luther publicly burned and defied.
(3) "Ireland." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Vers. 99. CD-ROM. Microsoft Works Suite 99.
(4) The Church of Pale was one of the Irish churches, and existed mainly in and near to Dublin.
Ibid. "Ireland"
(5) During the Peasant Rising of 1641, it is important to note the atrocities committed on both sides of the fighting (i.e. both Catholic and the Protestant sides).
(6) Padden, May the Road Rise to Meet You, p. 51
(7) Ibid. pp.54-55

Bibliography

Harris, William H. and Judith S. Levy. The New Columbia Encyclopedia. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1975. pp.2291-2.

"Ireland." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia.Version 99. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corporation, 1999.

Padden, Michael and Robert Sullivan. May the Road Rise to Meet You. New York: Penguin
Putnam Inc., 1999.

Uris, Jill and Leon. Ireland: a Terrible Beauty. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., (no date found).