The First Kerry People
It is believed the first people came to Ireland about 7,000 years ago. These were
Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) people. They probably arrived here across the land
bridge that existed between Ireland and Scotland at that time. They existence in
classed by archaeologists as that of ´hunter gatherers´. In the
4th millennium we had the first evidence of Neolithic people who settled
down and cleared areas of woodland to grow crops and tend cattle. Unlike the
Mesolithic people of which we have very little evidence of, the Neolithic people built
magnificent stone monuments such as Newgrange and the many fine examples of
Megolithic (from the Greek meaning Great Stone) monuments found throughout Kerry.
The Milesians Battle with the Tuatha De Danann
Around 3,500 BC the Milesian Armies invaded Erinn, they were to be the last of the
ancient colonists. The Tuatha De Danann armies engaged the invading Milesians in
fierce combat. The final decisive battle took place at Taillten on the plains of
Royal Meath, in which the three ruling Tuatha De Danann Kings of Erinn were slain. In
victory the surviving Milesian Princes Aber, Finn and his brother Eremon were to
found the mighty kingdom of Erin.
The pedigrees of the Gaelic nation were collected and written in a single book
named "The Cin of Dromsneacta", now regrettably lost to us forever. However,
extracts from this ancient Irish manuscript are contained in several existing
manuscripts. The Cin of Dromsneacta is believed to have been written by Ernin, the son
of Duach Galach the King of Connaught shortly before the arrival of St. Patrick in
Ireland.
Lost Tribe Found in Kerry
The Milesians are recorded as being descended from the race of Japhet through his
son Magog, who was the grandson of Noah, thus linking our distant ancestors to the
Book of Genesis. Their leader Galamh or Milesius was the son of a Monarch of Spain,
and his wife Scota was the daughter of a Pharaoh of Egypt. They are believed to be
one of the lost tribes of Israel. They subsequently went to Greece and finally to
Spain, where they built the city and Tower of Bregantia.
Arrival in ´their promised land´
In their continuing search for their Inis Fail, they finally arrived in Ireland at
Waterville on the Ring of Kerry. As they moved through the magnificent forests where
red deer roamed in great herds and discovered the lofty McGillycuddy Reeks, magnificent
lakes with abundance of salmon and trout, fed by the cascading watersfalls of the
surrounding hills and magnificent beaches all along the coastline - they must have
truly believed that they had found their island of destiny, their promised land.
The Metal Workers
About 2,000 BC the Beaker People arrived in search of copper and other minerals,
bringing with them the skills of making metals and pottery - bringing Ireland into
the Bronze Age. The copper mines at Ross Island in Killarney date from this period.
They are now believed to be the oldest copper mines in Europe. They later discovered
gold in places such as Wicklow and produced magnificent jewelery, such as the
magnificent gold collar found in the Mangerton Mountain above Killarney.
The Celtic Nation
The arrival of the Celts in 600 BC from Central Europe had a major impact on the
country. They have given us the Gaelic Language, ogham stones and the famous Celtic
designs. Because the Romans armies stopped at Britain, the Celtic people remained
largely undisturbed until the coming of Christianity in 400 AD.
Early Christian
The Church was not as fortunate. In the late 8th and early 9th
century the Vikings were regular raiders along the Irish coast, terrifying the people
as they raided villages and monasteries. In 823 they raided the monastery on the
Great Skelligs and took the abbot away as a hostage. He later died on hunger strike.
However, the Vikings settled in some parts of Ireland. They built walled cities at
Dublin, Waterford and Limerick
Normans join Irish
The Normans came originally from the Normandy area of northern France but during
the early part of the 11th century had invaded England and defeated the
Saxons at the battle of Hastings in 1066. A century later they arrived to conquer
Ireland. They moved through the country with relative ease until they arrived in
Kerry. At the Battle of Callan which took place outside Kilgarvan in 1261 the Normans
suffered a rare defeat at the hands of the Irish chieftains. This left the Mc Cathy
Mór family to rule Killarney and South Kerry for several hundred years after
the rest of Ireland had been subdued. Like the Vikings, the Normans also settled down
and it is said they ´became more Irish than the Irish themselves´.
There biggest claim to fame in the division of Ireland into countries, which still
exists to this day. They also introduce many religous orders from the continent -
thus ending the Early Christain Church and bringing the Irish Church under Rome.
English Rule
Because the Normans felt so at home here, like most of our visitors, they gradually
neglected the throne in England and saw themselves as a new nation. In 1649 the
English General Cromwell arrived in Ireland and after a reign of terror, Ireland was
brought well and truely under English Rule The Norman descendants and Irish was
followed were stripped of their land by the English and Scotish ´planters´.
The Irish became tenants of their own land. A situation which was to last into the
20th century.
A Nation Once Again
Although there were various uprisings against English rule in Ireland, the Easter
Rising of 1916 was one which was an utter defeat in a military sence but had the most
impact in the struggle for Irish freedom. Great Britain was more than pre-occupied
with World War 1 and the Rising in Dublin forced it to think seriously of the value
of clinging to dominance of an increasingly determined Irish Nation. Following
negotiations, the first meeting of independent Irish Parliament was held in 1919.
Three years later the Irish Free State was declared. In 1973 Ireland, along with
Britain and Denwark joined the European Economic Community. |
