Hello Jean, I have the history of my Ancestors, the Fitzgeralds, who came over with the Normans and settled in Ireland. I have also heard that the Fitzgeralds were known for their fight to keep Catholicism in Ireland. Where can I find any history about this family please between the1700 and 1800's,as I am trying to find which member of this family is my line. I have gone back to 1784 for the birthdate of Timothy Fitzgerald whose father was Redmond Fitzgerald. If I knew the branch he came from, I could link him to the history that I have in my files. I think they were in Cork, Limerick and Kerry. Hope you can help. Kind regards, Mary ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> To: <IrelandGenWeb-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 10:31 AM Subject: [Irish Genealogy] Brief Overview of Irish History > BRIEF HISTORY: The first people who settled in Ireland were hunters, > probably from Scotland, who arrived in Co. Antrim c. 7000 BC. By 3000 BC > tribes from the Mediterranean were building megalithic tombs all over > Ireland which reveal a high degree of civilization. The most spectacular > are > the passage graves at Newgrange, Co. Meath, Carrowmore and Lough Crew, all > of which can be visited. The National Museum in Dublin has a collection of > masterpieces from this period: gold collars, torcs, dress fasteners and > hair > ornaments. The Celts arrived around 300 BC bringing their distinctive > culture, laws and customs. The Irish language derives from a dialect of > Celtic, and "The Tain" is an epic account of Celtic life at that time. In > the 5th century ST. PATRICK brought Christianity from Britain, > establishing > monasteries which became not only centres of learning but in effect small > towns. Places associated with Patrick include Slane, Co. Meath, where he > lit > a Paschal fire in defiance of the Druids, Tara where he used the shamrock > to > convince the high king about the Trinity and Downpatrick where a crude > slab > marks his grave. > > Irish monks produced a large number of beautifully illustrated > manuscripts, > among them the Books of Durrow, Armagh and Kells, which can be seen in > Trinity College Dublin. The monasteries of Clonmacnoise, Glendalough and > Kildare drew scholars from all over Europe. In turn Irish missionaries > took > education and religion to every corner of Europe. At the same time > craftsmen > were producing exquisite reliquaries, brooches, belts and personal > adornments made of gold and studded with precious stones (see the Ardagh > Chalice and Cross of Cong in the National Museum). This period is rightly > known as the golden age. > > The wealth of the monasteries and their towns attracted the Vikings, who > swept in burning and killing. Distinctive round towers and bell towers > were > built as a refuge from them. Later the Vikings settled around the coast > and > founded towns such as Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Dublin . They were > finally defeated by BRIAN BORU at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. > > On his death, inter-kingdom rivalry led to a century of chaos until the > Normans arrived from England and brought order and prosperity. They were > so > well assimilated into Irish society that the English crown decided a > reconquest was needed. Ulster put up fierce resistance under Hugh O'NEILL > and Hugh O' DONNELL but they were finally defeated at the Battle of > Kinsale > in 1601. Their exile and that of the Gaelic aristocracy is known as the > "flight of the earls." The systematic dispossession of the natives and > settlement of migrants from England and Scotland followed. This division > of > Protestant settler and native Catholic has had repercussions ever since. > > The campaign of Oliver CROMWELL in Ireland is infamous and lives on in > folk > memory as the "curse of Cromwell." His approach to the Irish problem was > drastic: the remaining lands were taken from their owners; those who could > prove themselves loyal were exiled to Connacht, while others were put to > death. JAMES II was deposed from the English throne for trying to impose > Catholicism on the English by WILLIAM of ORANGE in 1688. William then > defeated him at the Battle of the Boyne on 12 July 1690. This battle is > celebrated each year as Orangeman's Day, a public holiday in Northern > Ireland. > > James was replaced by Patrick SARSFIELD, and the war dragged on until the > signing of the Treaty of Limerick, which was accompanied by the imposition > of harsh penal laws. This oppression, coupled with grinding poverty and > recurring food shortages, set the pattern for more than a century. A > series > of revolts at the end of the 18th century culminated with the French > invasion of Killala, Co. Mayo. Although initially successful it was > finally > suppressed with great slaughter. > > The Act of Union in 1800 abolished the Dublin parliament and removed power > to London. Daniel O' CONNELL's election to Westminster (which, as a > Catholic, he was forbidden to enter) led to the repeat of the more > oppressive laws and to Catholic emancipation. A firm believer in > non-violence, he came near to the repeal of the union but his final years > were clouded by the Great Famine when nearly a million died and two > million > emigrated. > > PARNELL became leader of the Home Rule Party in 1877, and, with > GLADSTONE's > support, a home rule bill nearly succeeded. Other leaders followed: Arthur > GRIFFITH founded Sinn Fein as a non-violent movement and James LARKIN and > James CONNOLLY became key people in the labour movement. In 1912 the > Commons > passed the home rule bill. Ireland was to have self-government after WWI. > > There was no rejoicing among the Protestants in Ulster. They quickly armed > themselves to fight to maintain the link with Britain. In Dublin a group > of > volunteers decided they could not wait for the end of the war, and began > the > Easter Rising of 1916. Although unsuccessful and condemned by most Irish > people, the executing of its leaders changed public opinion. The > Anglo-Irish > war lasted from 1919 to 1921. > > The Treaty of 1921 gave independence to 26 of the 32 counties: six of the > Ulster counties remained under British rule with a parliament in Belfast. > A > sector of the Republican movement opposed this compromise and a bitter > civil > war followed, culminating in the death of Michael COLLINS, the young Cork > man who masterminded the war of independence. WWII imposed great strains > on > the Free State (economically stagnant for many years) which stayed > neutral. > Sean LEMASS later adopted a more vigorous, expansionist economic policy > which brought new prosperity and paved the way for Ireland's entry to the > European Economic Community (EEC) in 1972. Today the Republic of Ireland > is > a parliamentary democracy with a president as head of state. > > > Check out the Ireland GenWeb website at: http://www.irelandgenweb.com/ > > Great place to get help with your family research. > > County Clare has been adopted! > > Help wanted: County Coordinators > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRELANDGENWEB-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >