154959

How Ireland Became a Nation?

Around 7000 BC, a group of hunters came to Ireland from Great Britain and became the earliest settlers. Then came the Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age civilizations.

In the 6th century BC, the Celts successively invaded Ireland from Central Europe, gradually formed a unified script and language, established at least five small kingdoms, and became the ancestors of the modern Irish, but failed to form a unified country.

In 432, St. Patrick came here to spread Christianity and Roman culture. After the 9th century, it was constantly invaded by Vikings from Norway.

From 1169 to 1171, Richard de Clair, the second earl of Pembroke, under King Henry II of England, led an army to invade and won a decisive victory at the Siege of Dublin.

In 1542, King Henry VIII of England became King of Ireland, and since 1560 there have been many wars against British colonization in Ireland. After the English Civil War, the British gradually eroded the territory and sovereignty of Ireland.

In 1801, the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain were united, and Ireland was incorporated into the United Kingdom.

In 1845, the famine in Ireland was caused by the failure of the potato harvest. The British government did not provide much assistance despite the fact that it could import American food, which caused the population of Ireland to decrease by a quarter, and made many Irish people dissatisfied with the United Kingdom. The Irish Independence Movement start.

In 1916, the “Easter Uprising” against the British broke out in Dublin.

In 1919, most of the Irish MPs elected in the 1918 general election refused to serve in the British House of Commons, and they formed their own Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann).

And in January 1919 issued a unilateral declaration of independence in the name of the independent “Republic of Ireland”. At that time, Ireland was not recognized internationally, but after the Anglo-Irish War (also known as the Irish War of Independence), representatives of the British and Irish sides reached a Anglo-Irish treaty to give Ireland legal autonomy, that is, Dominion status.

Ireland established the Irish Free State, the territory including the whole island of Ireland, but the treaty allows the six northern counties (ie Northern Ireland) not to participate in the Irish Free State. The Constitution of the Irish Free State also stipulates that Ireland is a constitutional monarchy, the King of Ireland is concurrently held by the King of England, and the position of Governor is established.

On December 6, 1921, Britain was forced to allow 26 counties in the south of Ireland to establish a “Free State”, while the 6 counties in the north were still British.

On December 29, 1937, Ireland adopted the new Irish Constitution, officially naming the country as “Ireland”, declaring Love as a sovereign, independent, democratic country that remains in the Commonwealth. The establishment of the presidency of Ireland (the office, but the king continues to be the symbol of the Irish state internationally under statute law.

The Republic of Ireland Act passed on April 1, 1949 finally abolished the monarchy, handing over all the powers of the king to the president, and Ireland became a republic. According to Article 4 of the Irish Constitution, “Eire” is the name of the country, and Articles 2 and 3 declare that Ireland also has sovereignty over Northern Ireland (this article was repealed in 1999), so the Republic of Ireland generally refers to itself in the diplomatic field. “Éire” (eg Irish Constitution, President of Ireland).

However, because the UK actually exercises sovereignty over the six northern counties, many countries avoid using the word “Éire” directly, in order to take care of Northern Ireland’s position and avoid the suspicion of favoritism.

In April 1949, Ireland automatically withdrew from the Commonwealth after proclaiming the establishment of a republic. Although Ireland did not reapply to the Commonwealth, it retains the rights of many member states and enjoys special status in the UK. On April 18, 1949, the United Kingdom recognized the independence of love, but the six northern counties still belonged to the United Kingdom.

In 1955, Ireland joined the United Nations and at the same time cooperated with the United Kingdom to resolve the violent conflict in Northern Ireland. The Belfast Agreement, adopted by Irish and Northern Irish voters in 1998, is now being implemented.