Gaelic Ireland
Gaelic Ireland () was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the prehistoric era until the early 17th century. Before the Norman invasion of 1169, Gaelic Ireland comprised the whole island. Thereafter, it comprised that part of the country not under foreign dominion at a given time, i.e. "The Pale". For most of its history, Gaelic Ireland was a "patchwork" hierarchy of territories ruled by a hierarchy of kings or chiefs, who were elected through tanistry. Warfare between these territories was common. Occasionally, a powerful ruler was acknowledged as High King of Ireland. Society was made up of clans and, like the rest of Europe, was structured hierarchically according to class. Throughout this period, the economy was mainly pastoral and money was generally not used. A Gaelic Irish style of dress, music, dance, sport, architecture, and art can be identified, with Irish art later merging with Anglo-Saxon styles to create Insular art.

Gaelic Ireland was initially pagan and had an oral culture. Inscription in the ogham alphabet began in the protohistoric period, perhaps as early as the 1st century. The conversion to Christianity accompanied the introduction of literature, and much of Ireland's rich pre-Christian mythology and sophisticated law code were preserved, albeit Christianized. In the Early Middle Ages, Ireland was an important centre of learning. Irish missionaries and scholars were influential in western Europe, and helped to spread Christianity to much of Britain and parts of mainland Europe.

In the 9th century, Vikings began raiding and founding settlements along Ireland's coasts and waterways, which became its first large towns. Over time, these settlers were assimilated and became the Norse-Gaels. After the Norman invasion of 1169–71, large swathes of Ireland came under the control of Norman lords, leading to centuries of conflict with the native Irish. The King of England claimed sovereignty over this territory – the Lordship of Ireland – and the island as a whole. However, the Gaelic system continued in areas outside Anglo-Norman control. The territory under English control gradually shrank to an area known as the Pale and, outside this, many Hiberno-Norman lords adopted Gaelic culture.

In 1542, Henry VIII of England declared the Lordship a Kingdom and himself King of Ireland. The English then began to conquer (or re-conquer) the island. By 1607, Ireland was fully under English control, bringing the old Gaelic political and social order to an end.
Q692312
Gaelic
Concept
Q22890
Ireland
Concept
Q4164217
prehistoric era
LOC
Q901714
Norman invasion
EVE
Q508481
The Pale
LOC
Q1669878
tanistry
Concept
Q5516641
Warfare
Concept
Q889997
High King of Ireland
PER
Q6071413
clans
UNK
Q9056738
pastoral
Concept
Q484830
money was generally not used
Concept
Q612118
Insular art
Concept
Q263031
pagan
Concept
Q209815
oral culture
Concept
Q7080010
Inscription
Concept
Q184661
ogham
Concept
Q7252006
protohistoric period
TIME
Q5326673
literature
UNK
Q1471505
mythology
Concept
Q905501
law code
UNK
Q202763
Early Middle Ages
TIME
Q592459
influential in western Europe
MEDIA
Q12567
Vikings
Concept
Q1293452
Norse-Gaels
PER
Q901714
Norman invasion
EVE
Q83418
Norman
MEDIA
Q844250
Lordship of Ireland
LOC
Q541508
Anglo-Norman
Concept
Q508481
the Pale
LOC
Q921901
Hiberno-Norman
UNK
Q38370
Henry VIII of England
PER
Q215530
Kingdom
LOC
Q1088784
conquer (or re-conquer) the island
Concept
Q3327860
Gaelic Ireland
PER
Q3327860
Gaelic Ireland
PER
Q3327860
Gaelic Ireland
PER
Q3327860
Gaelic Ireland
PER
1169-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1169
DATE
1169-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1169
DATE
1542-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1542
DATE
1607-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1607
DATE
+17^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
17
NUMBER
+1^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1
NUMBER
+9^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
9
NUMBER
+71^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
71
NUMBER
writing system
start time
inception