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Thought to have been built in Medieval times, but there's no consensus on who built them, when they were built, and what they were used for. (This is what makes history interesting.)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringfort
That's not the only thing whose origin is unknown in Ireland. Also see the “round towers”. http://www.roundtowers.org/timahoe/index.htmThese towers had apparently been taken up as an Irish symbol, so you may be able to see depictions of such towers on 19th/early 20th Century Irish architecture. Perhaps Irish history just wasn't documented all that well.
Perhaps Irish history just wasn't documented all that well.
I'm glad you said that, I thought it was just me or the class I'm taking. Ireland is only glanced over. All the major action was in GB, France, and Germany I guess.
Well Ireland really didn't play a big international role through the centuries, although it did end up having the last laugh. Last I heard there were something like 40 million Irish-Americans living in the U.S.; you can be sure that the Irish have been responsible for a good part of America's strength.
Thanks for that. I was thinking along the same lines as well. A lot of the Irish emigrated during the famine too and I wondered if that changed teh demographics.I just dug up some stuff. Ireland's government, up until the early 20th century, was dominated by Great Britain. Ireland didn't really become independent until the 1900's.Hope this links to the correct section: #6 Union with Great Britain.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ireland#Union_with_Great_Britain_.281801-1922.29
In 1800, after the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British and the Irish parliaments enacted the Act of Union, which merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain (itself a union of “England” (Wales had been incorporated into England by the Acts of Union of 1536), and Scotland, created almost 100 years earlier), to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
As for the ringforts. LIvestock pens??? Why not?
As for the ringforts. LIvestock pens??? Why not?
Those must have been some sheep if the Irish had to build livestock walls that high and that thick!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:InishmaanRingfort1.jpgActually, I've been to Ireland a few times, and from what I recall the sheep/goats roam the countryside to a degree. They don't have things such as cattle and horses, at least not naturally….
Those must have been some sheep if the Irish had to build livestock walls that high and that thick!
Maybe they kept mountain goats. 😀
The Irish were absorbed/assimilated into British History because they were “second class” subjects in the minds of British historians. So the events of Ireland are always told in a way that matters to the British, namely where Irish affairs “interfered” with British affairs etc…
I kind of noticed that in the Irish Home Rule readings, it was mostly centered on Britain's POV.Ireland's population declined, unlike pretty much the rest of Europe, in the late 19th century, they never seemed to recover from the famine too. Did the Irish mostly emigrate to Great Britain or to the U.S.? And I wonder if or how much they helped us during the Revolutinary War.
I think most of the emigration came well after the American Revolution. If I recall correctly, there were about three major waves of Irish immigrants, starting in the 1840s or 1850s. No, I don't think they went to Great Britain for the most part; part of the problem during the potato famine was that there was a choice to go hungry or convert to Protestantism and get fed by the wealthy Protestants. If they did this, it was known as “taking the soup” and had some negative connotation to it. As Britain would have been still quite Protestant during this time I'm not so sure the Irish would have been going there quite as much.BTW, I think the movie “Gangs of New York” was supposed to have taken place in the 1860s, reflecting the troubles of the Irish in adjusting to their new home.
I think most of the emigration came well after the American Revolution. If I recall correctly, there were about three major waves of Irish immigrants, starting in the 1840s or 1850s. No, I don't think they went to Great Britain for the most part; part of the problem during the potato famine was that there was a choice to go hungry or convert to Protestantism and get fed by the wealthy Protestants. If they did this, it was known as “taking the soup” and had some negative connotation to it. As Britain would have been still quite Protestant during this time I'm not so sure the Irish would have been going there quite as much.BTW, I think the movie “Gangs of New York” was supposed to have taken place in the 1860s, reflecting the troubles of the Irish in adjusting to their new home.
After seeing film, I was thinking, no wonder New Yorkers are such bad asses. But that view probably applies to every subcultural group anywhere – a lot of fighting here went on – BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY still goes on. So, who's going to win?
Found some interesting stuff on the ringforts:
A Stone fort or ringfort is an early medieval farmstead enclosed by a roughly circular drystone wall or earthen bank. Sometimes more than one bank or wall is present, giving rise to the labels uni-vallate, bi-vallate and tri-vallate (denoting one bank or wall; two Banks or walls etc). Though the name includes the element “fort”, these dwelling-places were not designed for defence: rather the role of the bank or wall was to give shelter and security to the family, its livestock and their possessions.
http://www.burrenforts.ie/main/burren/ringforts/Reading further down, the author says there are least 45,000 of these in Ireland. Cool!
Let's see….from that same site:
Only about 250 Irish ringforts have so far been subjected to archaeological excavation
45,000 – 250 = 44,750 ringforts to go! Sounds like a nice PhD project for someone who may be interested….
I spoke with a classmate of mine yesterday who mentioned that he worked on a dig of a ringfort in Ireland. He said they aren't sure what they were used for, but it sounded like they could have had varying purposes. One of them could have been as defensive fortifications. They have evidence of the British military building on top of an older ringfort, and the conjecture is that if the British did this then perhaps they had reason to – namely, because it had already been an Irish fort in the past. Interesting stuff.
Ring fort may have held Bronze Age sports arena
Their initial findings suggest that the site may have been used for Bronze Age sporting contests in an arena that is the ancient equivalent of Semple Stadium.
Wish they would say what those initial findings were…but then there's this:
Rathnadrinna translates as the ?Fort of the Contest?, he added.
