Ireland seems to have been inhabited as early as 7000 BC. the original inhabitants seems to have been Picts, but after the 4th century and the advent of the Iron Age we have a predominantly Celtic culture and people occupying the island. By the 1st century BC the island had split into many small kingdoms, the Celtic invasion seems to have been more of a cultural diffusion than a conquest. Either way by the 1st century the island was Celtic in flavor. In 100 AD the geographer Ptolemy recorded Irelands geography and tribes, calling the island "Hibernia". Ireland, at best, played only a small role in the expanding Roman Empire and these relations are little understood at this time.
Ireland entered a distinctly new phase of its history with the advent of St. Patrick, who according to tradition arrived on the island in 432. With his arrival he brought with him Christianity and was able to quickly convert the island to that faith, collapsing the power and culture od the Duidic religion that had prevously existed. This influx of Christianity brought with it scholorship and the Latin language. theology and monasteries flourished at this time and prospered. This lasted until the intermittant Viking raids that scourged Europe during the 9th-10th centuries, who plundered towns and monasteries alike. Eventually Ireland settled back down and converted some of the Vikings into their cultural heritage. Ireland again with through a change that can be drawn to the year 1172 when King Henry II of England gained Irish lands, granted to him by a papal bull. For the rest of the middle ages England exerted more and more control over the island, introducing English law along with English rule. By the 17th century the Gaelic social and political struture had collapsed under the English system. The conversion of England to Prostentism and the conflicts resulting from that were long lasting and terrible for relations of Ireland and England. With Irish Catholics, represting some 90% of the Irish constantly having their rights revoked and dominated by the Protestants.
In 1800 Ireland and Great Britian officially became the United Kingdom and would remain part of the United Kingdom for the rest of the century. During this century the great famine of the 1840's was the largest event, resulting in the death of over a million Irish due to starvation and the emigration of more than a million people. By the end of WWI Ireland was attempting to succeed from the UK, but failed to do so with on a campaign for Irish home rule and was followed by the Anglo-Irish was, which resulted in a militant seperation in 1922. The result was the creation of Northern Irelan, remaining under the rule of the UK and the rest of Irelan spliting into factions and entering into a civil war. Finally in 1937 a new and stable constitution was created and Ireland was referred to as "Eire". This new state remained neutral during WWII, but did offer some assistance to the allies. In 1949 the state declared itself a republic and became "Republic of Ireland". Up until the 1990's Ireland continued to suffer from poverty and emigration, but since the 90's it has recovered with a vengance to become one of the wealthiest (per capita) nations in the European Union resulting in net immigration for a change.
