Short description of history of Ireland in Early Middle Ages (400-1000)

Irish people are Celts in origin, who came to island of Ireland from ancient times. They are speaking Irish langhuage which is one type of Celtic language. Irish people in Early Middle Ages spoke Old Irish language and wrote in their Ogham script, which is jag type of script.

As regard to Rome, Rome never conquered the island of Ireland. Rome conquered the larg part of British island but never came to Ireland. 

In Early Middle Ages Ireland consisted of many small kingdoms. It is not certain the number at one period of this petty kingdoms. Historians thinks that at one time number of kingdoms was from 100 to 150 kingdoms. King of his kingdom was king of people, in latin plebs, or in Irish tuath. King was king of people, not the country. Irish people at that time had tribes and very strong tribal identity. So, kingdoms was smaler parts of their tribes. Kingdoms was called in relation to their king, for example Ui Dunlainge which means descendent of Dunlang, and Cenel Conaill which means kindred of Conall.  Kingdoms was very simple in their structure and they could be very small consisting of only few families. Richness was represented in cattle, also dues to king was collected in cattle. Kingdoms was very simple, most kings had stewerd to collect dues, army for war and there was annual assemblies of people - tuath for deliberations. Very important people in country was lawyers, poets and first pagan priests and after Christianization Christian clerics. Lawyers was very learned profession with their advanced law education. There was law hadbooks and tracts. Very interesting is law tract called Crith Gablach from eigth century about rituals and rules for governing kingship; prescribing what king had to do every day. In it, every day is dedicated to ceratin thing and job of king.

Ireland was divided in five provinces: Ulster, Connacht, Meath, Leinster and Munster. There was two main dynasties of kings of Ireland in rivarly with each other. They were Ui Neill and Eoganachta. Ui Neill dominated in Meath and western Ulster, and Eoganachta dominated in Munster. Each of them had religios, rituals centres, Ui Neill in Tara and Eoganachta in Cashel. Leinster was mostly outside of dominance of this two dynasties, and also Connacht the poorest province of Ireland. 

Ireland begun to be Christian island very early, it started in fifth century thanks to missionary work of Britton Patrick. His writings survive to this day. Irish written sources begun in late sixth century and by that time paganism was just the memory. Irish Christianity had episcopal centers attached to kingdoms. Episcopasy of Armagh first claimed episcopal primacy claiming that Patrick was first Irish bishop in Amagh. It was largely ignored by Dal Riata kingdom religious centre - monastery of Iona. That monastery was founded in island of Iona in western Scotland, and was founded by Colum Cille (saint Columba, d. 597) in 563, and it was protected by Ui Neill. Monasteries was very powerful and rich by bestowal of land to them. One of the most powerfull monastery was Clonmacnois in the centre of Ireland. Irish church had some and gave sense of wider Irish identity beyond fragmented Irish kingdoms. First church councils began in the year 560, education of Latin began at that time and by seventh century there was flowering of ecclesiastical literature: hagiography, penitentials, poetry, grammer. Irish church had influence on Francia from Columbanus (d. 615) to John the Scot (d. 877).  

Northern Antrim kingdom of Dal Riata expanded to western Scotland by late fith century occupying Argyll and some Hebridean islnds. After 640 kingdom fragmented into two or three rival lineages. Argyll become larger than any of Irish kingdoms. Kingdom of Alba by 900 was larger and most stable kingdom in region. Scotland was inhabited by Picts from old times, but by 890 in Irish part of Scotland we can see more and more of Irish culture, Irish language and Irish church organization. 

Vikings started to raid Irish kingdoms by 795. They raided coastal settlements, mostly monasteries. In 840 they began to over-winter on Lough Neagh in Ulster, in Dublin, in Meath and Lough Ree in the center of island. They started founding the more permanent settlements as Dublin becomed and Cork, Waterford, Limerick. Dublin was very powerfull city, important traiding settlement and was situated in tradition heartlands od Irish politics and was also the agriculturally richest. Situated in Meath, it was very important to Ui Nell dynasties. From that time Irish kingdoms moved in direction trying to establish united Irish kingdom. 

King Feidlimid mac Crimthainn (d. 847) from Eoganachta of Cashel first aimed for high-kinghip of Ireland itself. He first taken Cashel the paramount kinship of Munster in 820, he established wide alliance in west Munster and Leinster. By 830-31 he was attacking northward into Connacht and Meath, by 840 he was ravaging Meath and camped at Tara, place of Ui Neill paramount kingship. He attempted to form links with major monastic centre of Armagh in northern Ireland and become abbot of Cork in 836 and Clontfert in Connacht in 838. 

Second king to aim for united Irish kingdom or high king of all Ireland was Mael Sechnaill I mac Mael Ruanaid (d. 862). Mael Sechnaill was from Clann Cholmain and king of Tara, hegemonic over Ui Neill by 846. He was strong opponent of Vikings, sacking Dublin in 849. He moved to Munster reaching the sea by war in 858. Annals of Ulster after his death call him "king of all Ireland". 

Third king to aim for high king of all the Ireland was Brian Borama - Brian Boru - mac Cennetig, king of Dal Cais from 976-1014 and leading Ui Neill king. Brian recreated the power of Mael Sechnail and connected the smallest kingdoms of Ireland which was never connected to neither of the great two dynasties. He fought the Vikings a lot, and Munster kings and their Norse allies. He built his authority in Connacht and Leinster. He gained submission from most of Ulsters king in 1005-8 and Cenel Conaill in 1011. Brian was offically for the first time recognized by everyone as "king of Ireland". In his ceremonial visit to Aragh in 1005 his secretary called him "emperor of Irish". Revolts started in Leinster. Two sides clashed in battle in 1014, in batltle of Clontarf. At one side was Brians army and on the other was Vikings and Brians Irish rivarlies - Leinster, Dublin, Orkney... Brians side won but he was killed in battle and also leading king of Leinster and Viking Jarl Sigurd of Orkney. 

Chronicle the war of the Gaedhil (Irish) with the Gaill (Vikings) recounts of benefits od Brians hegemony: peace, much tribute, justice, restoration of churches, learning, roads, fortresses and hospitality. 

In the following two centuries Leinster and Connacht provided claimants to Irish hegemony for the first time in history, also in rivarly with Brians descendents and with nothern Ui Neill. All this created large instability in Ireland, and Ireland was still island of many kingdoms when English-Norman invasion came in 1169 and they conquered all the Ireland.