IRISH AND PROUD OF IT
Copyright © Summersdale Publishers Ltd, 2014
With research by Malcolm Croft
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, nor transmitted, nor translated into a machine language, without the written permission of the publishers.
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ISBN: 978-1-78372-105-4
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
MAKING HISTORY
Important Dates in Our History
WE CAN BE HEROES
People We Can Be Proud to Call Our Own
SOMETHING TO REMEMBER US BY
Our Nation's Cultural Highlights
STARS IN OUR EYES
The Entertainers We Love
THE WRITE STUFF
Famous Writers, Poets and Playwrights
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Our Landmark Dishes
MAPPING THE NATION
Our Weather and Geography
THE OBJECTS OF OUR DESIRE
Iconic Objects and Famous Inventions
A LAW UNTO OURSELVES
The Peculiar Laws that Keep Us Out of Trouble!
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Famous Places to See and Things to Do
INTRODUCTION
From the World Heritage Site of the Boyne Valley to the Ring of Kerry, stopping off en route to sink a few cheeky pints of Guinness at the Storehouse, nipping back to County Clare to dangle your feet off the Cliffs of Moher, this little book will take you on a tour of everything that makes this great country beautiful. There is no finer place to be proud of than Ireland. So, what are you waiting for? Come and join us on a magical journey through the land of Gulliver, Guinness and the Gaelic, and discover what makes people Irish… and proud of it!
MAKING HISTORY
IMPORTANT DATES IN OUR HISTORY
One of the most important dates in Irish history was around 7500 BC, when people first settled in the region. Up until then the land had been populated by nomadic tribes. Celtic tribes came along around 600–150 BC, bringing with them the Gaelic culture that was to infuse itself within the landscape and the settled peoples.
St Patrick's Day on 17 March is no longer just a national holiday and feast day in Ireland – the entire western world now celebrates the life of Ireland's most beloved saint, the man who brought Christianity to the island around 430 BC. A popular toast to St Patrick on this special day is: May the roof above you never fall in, and those gathered beneath it never fall out.
The King Henrys of England played a huge part in the history of Ireland. In October 1171 Henry Plantagenet (Henry II) invaded and established the island as an English colony, known as the 'Lordship of Ireland'. Four hundred years later, Henry VIII 'united' England and Ireland under one crown when Englishmen living in Ireland proclaimed him king of both.
The legendary Battle of the Boyne in 1690 was an important engagement that was to influence the religious beliefs of the nation up to the present day. War had broken out between the two rival claimants to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland; Catholic King James and Protestant King William. They clashed at the River Boyne, near Drogheda on the east coast. William won the battle and James returned to exile in France, his hopes of regaining his former powers crushed.
I'm Irish. We think sideways.
SPIKE MILLIGAN
One of the most tragic events in Irish history was the Great Potato Famine of 1845–1852
