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Republic of Ireland
Brief Historical Overview
Climate
The History of Ireland has been heavily influenced by the concurrent history of Britain (its
larger neighbour to the east) and by Europe as a whole. The first humans inhabited
Ireland from around 7500 BC and were later responsible for major Neolithic sites such as
Newgrange. Following the arrival of St. Patrick and other Christian missionaries in the
mid-fifth century, a syncretized form of Christianity subsumed the indigenous pagan
religion by A.D. 600. Christianity has played a major role in Ireland's subsequent history
and culture.
From around 800, more than a century of Viking invasions wreaked havoc upon the
monastic culture and on the island's various regional dynasties, yet both of these
institutions proved strong enough to survive and assimilate the invaders.
Throughout this period, Ireland regained a form of self-governing status through the Parliament of
Ireland, but power was limited to the Anglo-Irish, Anglican minority while the majority Roman Catholic
population suffered severe political and economic privations. In 1801, this parliament was abolished
and Ireland became an integral part of a new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the
Act of Union.
In 1922, after the War of Independence, the southern and western twenty-six counties of Ireland
seceded from this United Kingdom and became the independent Irish Free State — now legally
described as the "Republic of Ireland". The remainder of the island, known as "Northern Ireland",
remained part of the UK. The history of Northern Ireland has been dominated by sporadic sectarian
conflict between (mainly Catholic) Nationalists and (mainly Protestant) Unionists. This conflict erupted
into the Troubles in the late 1960s, until an uneasy peace 30 years later.
The coming of Anglo-Norman merce