Irish Monarchs
A history of Irish monarchs.
Contents
Gaelic Ireland
Gaelic Ireland refers to Ireland prior to the Angevin invasion. Thereafter, it refers to any part of Ireland outside of English control.
Ireland was governed as a series of petty kingdom, over which there sometimes emerged a high king.
The most prominent petty kingdoms were:
- Airgíalla
- Connachta
- Laigin
- Ailech
- Mide
- Mumu
- Ulaid
Lordship of Ireland
Henry II launched a conquest of Ireland and took the title lord of Ireland. Territories under English control were known as the Pale, and therefore other territories were beyond the Pale.
Note that Mumu had very recently been divided by civil war, creating Tuadmumu (Northern Mumu) and Desmumu (Southern Mumu). Tuadmumu was largely bolstered by its alliance with Connacht. The petty kingdoms were re-established as provinces:
- Connacht
- Desmumu, renamed as Desmond
- Tuadmumu, as Thomond
- Laigin, as Leinster
- Mide, as Meath
- Ulaid, as Ulster
In time, Tuadmumu (Thomond) and Desmumu (Desmond) would be consolidated into Mumu (Munster) again. Several lords deputy of Ireland, especially during the reigns of Mary I and Elizabeth, attempted to re-divide the province to diminish local influence.
Ailech remained an independent petty kingdom and captured much of Airgíalla.
In 1315, Edward Bruce invaded Ireland and proclaimed himself high king. While ultimately unsuccessful, English control was sufficiently destabilized to see a re-emergence of Gaelic Ireland. Ulster was also captured by the petty kingdom of Ailech; their territories were re-consolidated into a new kingdom of Ulster.
Kingdom of Ireland
Shortly after Henry VIII established the Anglican Church, the Parliament of Ireland established a kingdom of Ireland and appointed the crown to Henry. This established a personal union of the two.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 largely was a direct result of Catholic disenfranchisement. Despite the majority of the population being Catholic, only Anglicans were allowed to sit in the Parliament of Ireland. After the rebellion was crushed, the English sought to bind Ireland tighter to their kingdom. In 1801, George and Pitt merged the crowns of Great Britain and Ireland into the new United Kingdom through the Acts of Union (passed by both parliaments). Note that George specifically continued to bar Catholics from Parliament, which would continue until 1829 and the Roman Catholic Relief Act.
Free State
Irish Home rule bills were proposed in the British Parliament as early as 1886 but, for a variety of English political reasons, were each defeated. By the 20th century, one such complicating debate was the inclusion or exclusion of the 9 counties in Ulster.
The Easter Rising was a short-lived rebellion in 1916. While the leaders were quickly captured and executed, it established the prototype for a more successful rebellion.
In the 1918 British parliamentary elections, Sinn Féin won a supermajority of Irish seats. They convened a revolutionary assembly, the Dáil Éireann, and declared independence in 1919.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was established to expel the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), launching the War of Independence. The RIC was supplemented with volunteers known as Black and Tans. The war was characterized by assassinations and ambushes of British forces, followed by acts of retribution against Irish civilians (i.e., Bloody Sunday, burning of Cork, etc.).
The British Parliament unilaterally partitioned Ireland in the Government of Ireland Act; Northern Ireland comprised the 6 most northeastern counties of Ulster, while Southern Ireland held the rest. In practice, Southern Ireland was never recognized as a legitimate political entity. However, the division became a focal point for ceasefire negotiations. Ultimately, Northern Ireland would be allowed separation from Ireland for the purposes of a peace treaty. And ultimately, Northern Ireland exercised that right.
A ceasefire was agreed in July 1921 and the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in December. An Irish Free State was established as a dominion of the British Empire. The Oireachtas was established as the national legislature and the first constitution (the Constitution of the Irish Free State) was promulgated.
Sinn Féin refused to recognize the free state and boycotted the Oireachtas. de Valera tried and failed to reverse this party policy; he established the breakaway Fianna Fáil which quickly became the dominant party.
De Valera amended the constitution to remove, among other components, the Oath of Allegience. Following the abdication of Edward VIII, he and Hearne drafted a new constitution (the Constitution of Ireland) that entirely abolished recognition of the British monarchy. Following a plebiscite in July 1937, this constitution was adopted in December.