Irish History Timeline

2,000,000 - 30,000 BC 3000 BC 2500 BC 1800 BC 500 BC AD 1 - 500 297 - 450 431 432 490 546 547/8 563 580 - 680 590 635 - 51 650 - 750 664 698 - 700 795		The 'Pleistocene period', during which Ireland was extremely cold and the sea level rose and fell. The first megalithic tombs were built. The Newgrange passage grave was built around now. Bronze and gold were being used. This was the Bronze Age. Many gold ornaments have been found from this time. The Iron Age began. Crannogs, hill forts and ring forts continued to be built. A Roman called Ptolemy created a map of Ireland showing rivers, towns and tribes. Irish warriors raided Roman Britain. Palladius was the first bishop to be sent to Irish Christians. The year St Patrick is said to have come to Ireland to spread Christianity. The first Irish monastery was founded at Aran by St Éndae. Irish monasteries spread and flourished for the next 150 years. At this time, people were speaking 'Archaic Old Irish.' St Colum Cille founded Derry. St Cíarán founded Clonmacnoise. St Collum Cille founded Iona. Many books were written in Latin during this period. St Columbanus began to travel on the Continent to spread Christianity and found monasteries. St Aidan went out from Iona and founded Lindisfarne. During these years, Old Irish laws were in force. At the Synod of Whitby, Irish and English Christians argued over the date of Easter. It was not until 716 that Iona accepted the Roman Easter. A time of severe famine and plague. This was the period of 'Classical Old Irish'. The Vikings began to raid Ireland. In 802 and 806 they attacked Iona. In 823 they killed bishops and scholars at Bangor. By 837 they were starting to establish long-term bases in Ireland.
841 845 876 - 916 900 - 911 908 916 - 919 923 964 978 980 981, 989, 995 1000 1002 1014 1028 - 1036 1068 1101 1137 1145 1151		The Vikings set up permanent settlements at Annagassen and Dublin. Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid drowned the Viking leader Turgéis. Forty years of peace, during which Viking raids died down. The Irish and Norse went into Cumberland, Lancashire and Cheshire in England. From now on, people were speaking what we call 'Early Middle Irish.' The king of Tara, Flann Sinna, defeated Cormac mac Cuilennáin, the king-bishop of Cashel, at Belach Mughna. High King Niall Glúndub reigned. The Vikings founded Limerick. Mathgamain mac Cennétig of the Dál Cais became king of Cashel. Brian Bóruma became king of Munster. Máel Sechnaill II mac Domnaill, king of Mide, succeeded to high kingship. Máel Sechnaill II captured Dublin three times. Brian Bóruma captured Dublin, defeating Sitric Silkbeard. Máel Sechnaill recognised Brian Bóruma as high king of Ireland. Brian Bóruma led his Munster army against Máel Mórda, king of Leinster, and Jarl Sigurd of Orkney, at Clontarf. Brian was killed, and Máel Sechnaill II became high king. King Sitric and Bishop Dúnán founded Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. People began to speak what we call 'Late Middle Irish.' An Irish fleet attacked Bristol. The first Synod took place in Cashel. Conchobar Ua Briain and Diarmait Mac Murchada laid siege to Waterford with 200 ships. St Bernard of Clairvaux wrote to Diarmait Mac Murchada, calling him the king of Ireland. Diarmait Mac Murchada and Toirrdelbach Ua Conchabar defeated Toirrdelbach Ua Briain, king of Munster, at Móin Mór. Seven thousand Munstermen died.
1152 1155 1162 1166 1167 1169 1170 1171 1172 1175 1177 1200 1204 1210 1216 1224 1227 1252, 1267, 1274 1257 - 58 1262 - 3 1297 - 1300 1307 1310		Diarmait Mac Murchada abducted Dervorgilla, wife of Tigernán Ua Ruairc. Henry II of England proposed invading Ireland, but his idea was turned down at the Council of Winchester. John of Salisbury visited Pope Adrian IV at Rome and got permission for Henry II to invade Ireland. Diarmait Mac Murchada obtained complete control of Dublin. Tigernán Ua Ruairc destroyed Diarmait Mac Murchada's castle at Ferns. Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair banished Mac Murchada from Ireland, and he fled to Bristol in England. Mac Murchada returned to Ireland with Flemish soldiers under Richard fitz Godbert de Roche. He managed to get back the kingdom of Uí Chenneslaig. Robert fitz Stephen, Harvey de Montmorency and Maurice de Prendergast landed at Bannow Bay. MacMurchada was able to capture Wexford with the help of the Normans. Richard de Clare, also called Strongbow, captured Wexford and married Mac Murchada's daughter, Aífe. Mac Murchada and his Norman allies captured Dublin. Mac Murchada died and Strongbow took over from him. Henry II came to Dublin and the kings of Leinster, Bréifne, Áirgialla and Ulster submitted to him. Hugh de Lacy was given Meath, Ua Máel Sechlainn's kingdom of Mide. Henry II and Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair signed the Treaty of Windsor. John de Courcy invaded Ulster. Henry II's ten-year-old son John was made 'Lord of Ireland'. He first visited Ireland in 1185, when he was eighteen. Bardic schools set standards for grammar and poetry. From around this time people were speaking what we call 'Classical Modern Irish'. Dublin Castle became the royal centre. John, now King of England as well of Lord of Ireland, captured Carrickfergus. The Magna Carta, which guaranteed certain rights, was issued for Ireland. The Dominiscans and Franciscans founded their first monasteries in Ireland. Richard de Burgh was given the whole of Connacht. There were 'Irish riots' at Oxford University. FitzGerald advanced against the O'Donnells at Sligo, but was stopped. The Irish kings offered the high-kingship to Haakon IV of Norway in return for his help in getting the English out of Ireland. There were three parliaments in Dublin. A big Irish army fought for Edward I in Scotland. At the Parliament of Kilkenny, it was decided the Irish could not join Anglo-Irish religious houses.
1315 1315 - 1317 1318 1327 - 8 1331 1348 1366 1394/5 1435 1446 1459 1468 1487 1494-5		Edward Bruce of Scotland captured Dundalk and became high king. The next year he was crowned king of Ireland. Western Europe including Ireland was hit by a famine. Edward Bruce was killed by John de Bermingham of Faughart. A petition was given to Edward III of England asking for English law in Ireland. It was decreed that there should be one law for both the Irish and Anglo-Irish, except for the betaghs (serfs). The Black Death struck Howth and Drogheda. The Statute of Kilkenny was introduced. It was meant to keep the Irish and English apart, so that the English would not pick up on Irish culture, language and dress. Richard II came to Ireland so the kings could submit to him. He visited again in 1399. A law forbade Irish poets and musicians to go into Anglo-Irish areas. The area under Dublin's control was referred to as the 'Pale' for the first time that we know of. Richard, duke of York, fled to Ireland after losing a battle at Ludford in England. The earl of Desmond was executed. Guns were used for the first time in Ireland by the troops of Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill. Sir Edward Poynings acted as lord deputy of Ireland. He brought in 'Poyning's Law' which backed up the 1366 Statutes of Kilkenny - the Anglo-Irish were not supposed to use Irish laws and customs. However, the Irish language was so widespread that the ban on speaking it had to be dropped.
1495 1504 1520 1529 1534 1539 1540-43 1541 1549 1550-7 1555 1561-7 1568-73 1571 1573-6 1579-82 1580 1584 1585 1587 1588 1591 1585-1603 1598		Supporters of Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be the son of Edward V, besieged Waterford. The Battle of Knockdoe, in which the English and the earl of Kildare defeated Clanricard and Ó Briain. The earl of Surrey, Thomas Howard, was sent to Ireland to regain control for England. King Henry VIII told him to use persuasion rather than violence. A Spanish representative, Gonzalo Fernandez, came to Ireland to see the earl of Desmond. Thomas, Lord Offaly - also called 'Silken Thomas' - was made deputy when his father, the earl of Kildare, went to England. Silken Thomas rebelled and was executed along with his five uncles in 1537. With the Reformation underway and the Catholic church out of favour, the monasteries within the Pale began to be closed. St Leger brought in the 'surrender and regrant' policy, which meant Irish earls and lords had to submit to King Henry VIII to keep their land. Henry VIII was made 'king of Ireland' by the Irish parliament. The English Book of Common Prayer was now to be used in Ireland. Settlers came to Laois and Offaly. Pope Paul IV declared that Ireland was a kingdom. Shane O'Neill rebelled and was called a traitor. In 1562 he submitted to Queen Elizabeth I, then rebelled again. He fought the MacDonnells and burned Armagh cathedral. When he was defeated by O'Donnell at Forsetmore, he ran to the MacDonnells, who killed him. The Desmonds rebelled. The first printed Irish was produced. The Earl of Essex tried to set up a colony in Antrim. In 1575, his soldiers carried out a massacre on Rathlin Island. The Desmonds rebelled again. Soldiers representing the Pope were defeated at Smerwick. The archbishop of Cashel, Dermot O'Hurley, was hanged in Dublin. A plantation of Munster was planned. Hugh O'Neill was made earl of Tyrone. Twenty-five ships of the Spanish armada were wrecked off the coast of Ireland. Hugh Roe O'Donnell, who the government had kidnapped at Rathmullen four years earlier, had managed to escape from Dublin Castle. Hugh O'Neill, earl of Tyrone, rebelled. He defeated Sir Henry Bagenal at Clontibert. After Turlough Luineach died, the earl of Tyrone succeeded him as The O'Neill. He defeated Bagenal again at the Yellow Ford in 1598. The earl of Desmond attacked the Munster Plantation.
1599 1601 1603 1605 1606 1607		Phelim MacFeagh O'Byrne beat the English at Deputy's Pass near Wicklow, and Sir Conyers Clifford, president of Connact, was killed by Hugh Roe O'Donnell in the Curlew Mountains. A Spanish army landed at Kinsale to support Hugh O'Neill. They were attacked by government forces led by Lord Deputy Mountjoy. When Tyrone and O'Donnell tried to help, they were defeated. Hugh Roe O'Donnell fled to Spain, where he died. Hugh O'Neill surrendered at Mellifont. There was a proclamation that all people were subjects of the king, not of any lord or chief. 'Gavelkind', a method of inheritance involving splitting land between members of a clan, was made illegal. The Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell (Rory O'Donnell, Hugh Roe's brother) sailed from Lough Swilly. This was known as the 'flight of the earls'. They were charged with high treason.
1608 1610 1612 1621 1626 1635 1641 1642		Tanistry became illegal. Settlers from England and Scotland began to arrive in Ulster. The bishop of Down and Connor, Cornelius O'Devany, was hanged for treason. New plantations in Leitrim, King's County, Queen's County and Westmeath were given the go-ahead. Charles I offered concessions called graces to the Irish people in return for money he could use in his fight against Spain. Viscount Wentworth, lord deputy, prepared for a plantation of Connacht. A rising began in Ulster. Government forces were beaten at Julianstown Bridge, near Drogheda. The Ulster Irish and Old English allied with one another against the English. A Catholic confederacy known as the Confederation of Kilkenny was created.
1646 1647 1649		Owen Roe O'Neill defeated the Scots under Robert Munro at Benburb. Dublin was lost to parliamentary forces. Oliver Cromwell arrived in Dublin on August 15th as the commander-in-chief. On 11th September his forces overwhelmed Drogheda and a month later they took Wexford. New Ross surrendered before he could commit a massacre there.
1652-3 1660-5 1663 1666 1671 1681 1689 1690 1691 1695-1709 1699 1704, 1709 1705 1713 1718 1720 1731 1739-41 1757 1759		Land was confiscated under Cromwell's orders. All landowners who had been involved in the rebellion would lose their estates. Even those who had not been involved were driven off their land and sent to Connacht. Cromwell's soldiers were given the confiscated land. With Cromwell dead and Charles II in control of England, some efforts were made to give the king's supporters their land back. This was the Act of Settlement and Act of Explanation, which had to be brought in because the Act of Settlement was insufficiently clear. Irish trade with the colonies was restricted by Act of Parliament. The Irish could no longer send cattle to England. The Second English Navigation Act meant that the colonies couldn't send goods directly to Ireland. Archbishop Oliver Plunkett was executed in London. King James II, who had taken over the throne after Charles II died, arrived in Kinsale and besieged Derry, which had defied him. Enniskillen was also defying James II and his Jacobite army. They defeated his soldiers at Newtownbutler. King William III, who had claimed the throne from James, defeated James at Oldbridge on the Boyne. Limerick was under siege in August. Patrick Sarsfield led a Jacobite force against William. King William took a victory at Aughrim. Limerick was besieged again. A Treaty was signed, which meant the end of the war. The Irish army was allowed to go to France to serve James II. An act of the English parliament pushed out Catholics from parliament and public office. Anti-Catholic laws were passed, called the 'popery code' or Penal Laws. Under the Williamite confiscation (1691 - 1703), more land was seized from Catholics, leaving them with about 14% of Irish land. The Irish were restricted in selling woollen goods abroad. Acts were passed that forbade Catholics to buy land or lease it for more than 31 years. By 1778, hardly 5% of Irish land would be owned by Catholics. The export of Irish linen to American colonies was permitted. Jonathan Swift became dean of St. Patrick's cathedral, Dublin. Ulster Scots began to emigrate to America. The George I Act declared the right of the British parliament to legislate for Ireland. Parliament met for the first time at College Green. Extreme weather brought on a bad harvest, famine and sickness. The Rotunda hospital opened in Dublin. There was rioting in Dublin after rumours spread that Britain and Ireland could be united.
1760 1761 1763 1766 1769 1771 1774 1778 1780 1782 1784 1785 1791 1792 1793 1795 1798 1801 1803 1808 1813 1816 1821 1823 1826 1828 1829 1831 1832 1834 1836 1838 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844		François Thurot conquered Carrickfergus. The Whiteboy movement began in Munster. The Oakboy disturbances began in Ulster. A priest, Nicholas Sheehy, was accused of inciting the Whiteboys and was executed. The 'Tumultuous Risings Act' was published. Steelboy disturbances took place in Ulster. American statesman Benjamin Franklin visited Ireland. Catholics would be allowed to swear loyalty to the king without renouncing their faith. An American privateer, John Paul Jones, raided Belfast Lough twice. A Catholic Relief Act came out allowing Catholics to take leases for 999 years and inherit like Protestants. Ireland could now trade with British colonies the same as Britain itself. Henry Grattan campaigned for Irish independence from the British parliament, and the 1720 act was rolled back. The second Catholic Relief act allowed Catholics to buy land in most places. Some laws against Catholic clergy and worship were lifted. Meanwhile, Presbyterian ministers were permitted to carry out marriage ceremonies. After a fight at Markethill, the Protestant Peep o'Day Boys and the Catholic Defenders were formed. The Whiteboys, now known as Rightboys, caused trouble in Munster. On the 14th of October, the Society of United Irishmen was founded. A Catholic Relief Act was passed allowing Catholics to become solicitors and barristers. Intermarriage between Catholics and Protestants became legal. Hobart's Catholic Relief Act was passed. Catholics could vote but not sit in parliament or become judges. A Catholic seminary at Maynooth was approved by Act of Parliament. The Battle of the Diamond between the Peep o' Day Boys and the Defenders led to the foundation of the Orange Society. The United Irish rising took place in May and June. Theobald Wolfe Tone was captured in November. He was convicted of high treason and sentenced to death, but committed suicide by cutting his throat. The Union of Great Britain and Ireland came into law on the 1st of January. Robert Emmet's rising took place in Dublin. He was convicted of high treason and executed. Michael Dwyer, who had been in revolt in Wicklow since 1798, finally surrendered. The Christian Brothers were founded at Waterford. Henry Grattan introduced a Catholic Relief Bill to the UK House of Commons. It was narrowly defeated. The potato crop failed, causing famine, which was made worse by an outbreak of typhus. George IV visited Ireland and Dún Laoire Harbour was renamed Kingstown. The Catholic Association was founded in Dublin on May 12th. Supporters of Catholic emancipation defeated sitting MPs in counties Waterford, Westmeath, Louth and Monaghan. Daniel O'Connell became MP for County Clare. A Relief Act allowed Catholics to enter parliament and hold higher offices of state. This was known as 'Catholic emancipation'. The 'tithe war'. Police seized cattle in County Kilkenny by way of payment for the tithe; violence broke out in June and December. A Parliamentary Reform Act increased the electorate to 1.2% of the population. Ireland's first railway opened between Dublin and Kingstown. The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland decided to dissolve itself. Father Theobald Mathew founded the total abstinence movement in Cork. The Poor Relief Act extended the English poor law system to Ireland. This would allow for workhouses to be set up. Daniel O'Connell formed the National Association, aimed at repeal of the Union. O'Connell became lord mayor of Dublin. The first edition of the Nation paper was published by the Young Ireland group. O'Connell held 'monster meetings' in favour of repeal. O'Connell was found guilty of 'conspiracy' but saved from a full year's imprisonment by the House of Lords.
1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1853 1854 1856 1858 1859 1860 1862 1865 1866 1867 1869 1870 1871 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1879 1880 1881 1882 1884		The potato blight was first reported in Ireland on the 9th of September. Robert Peel ordered £100,000 of Indian corn from the USA. (The famine is covered more fully here). Acts were passed authorising public works and repealing the Corn Laws. The potato crop was completely destroyed. The worst year of the famine. Soup kitchens were established and outdoor relief authorised, but only for those who held a quarter acre of land or less. The potato crop failed again. The Young Ireland rising took place in Munster, led by William Smith O'Brien. Its leaders were captured and sentenced to transportation for life. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Ireland. The Irish Tenant League was formed. The Catholic Defence League of Great Britain and Ireland was formed. It was also known as the 'Irish Brigade'. Victoria and Albert visited Dublin. The Catholic University of Ireland opened. Jeremiah O'Donovan (later O'Donovan Rossa) founded the Phoenix Society. James Stephens founded what would become the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The Irish Times was inaugurated. The beginning of a series of cold and wet seasons heralded a severe agricultural depression. A Poor Relief Act extended outdoor relief. James Stephens was arrested and then rescued from Richmond prison. The Fenians raided Canada. Fenians attempted to seize Chester Castle and rose up in Kerry, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Clare. Clan na Gael was founded in New York. In December, Fenians attempting to rescue Richard O’Sullivan-Burke from Clerkenwell jail caused an explosion that killed twelve people living near the prison. The Church of Ireland was disendowed. Isaac Butt launched the Home Rule movement. The Fenians invaded Canada. The Home Rule League was founded. Isaac Butt's motion on home rule was defeated in the House of Commons. Charles Stewart Parnell became MP for Meath. The Irish Republican Brotherhood withdrew support for home rule. Parnell and others held prolonged sittings in the House of Commons. An economic crisis followed three years of bad harvests and agricultural depression. The Irish National Land League was founded. A 'land war' began that would continue for three years. Parnell visited America. The words 'boycotting' was coined after Captain Charles C Boycott was ostracised during the land war. The Land League was declared illegal. Gladstone's Second Land Act conceded the 'three Fs' - fair rent, free sale and fixity of tenure. The Cabinet accepted the Kilmainham Treaty. Parnell and others were released from Kilmainham Jail. Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke were murdered at Phoenix Park by the Invicibles. A dynamite campaign in Britain led to Thomas Clarke and others being jailed. The Gaelic Athletic Association was founded. The Franchise Act added many Irish rural voters.
1885 1886 1887 1889 1891 1892 1893 1896 1898 1900 1903 1904 1905 1906 1908 1910 1911 1913		In the general election, Parnell managed to hold the balance between the Liberals and the Conservatives. Gladstone's conversion to home rule was announced. Gladstone introduced a home rule bill, which was defeated. When nationalists demonstrated in London against the imprisonment of William O'Brien there were over one hundred casualties. This was known as Bloody Sunday. The Pigott forgeries were exposed. O'Shea filed for divorce over his wife's affair with Parnell. Parnell married Katherine O'Shea as soon as her divorce had gone through. He died three months later. John Redmond became the leader of the Parnellites. Ireland got its first Labour party, in Belfast. The Second Home Rule Bill passed the Commons but was defeated in the Lords. The Gaelic League was founded. The Irish Socialist Republican party was formed with James Connolly as its secretary. Queen Victoria visited Ireland. Arthur Griffith founded the Cumman na nGaedheal. The Wyndham Land Purchase Act worked out a new scheme for tenant land purchase. The Abbey Theatre was founded. The Ulster Unionist Council was formed. Arthur Griffith first published Sinn Féin. The Sinn Féin name was adopted for the 1907 union between the Sinn Féin League and the National Council. The Irish Party held the balance in two UK general elections. An Act of Parliament removed the House of Lords' absolute veto over new legislation. The third home rule bill passed the Commons twice and was twice rejected by the Lords. The Ulster Volunteer Force, Irish Citizen Army and Irish Volunteers were founded. In September, the Dublin Lockout began. It continued until February 1914.
1914 1916 1918 1919 1920 1921		The Curragh Incident (or 'Mutiny') took place when British army officers announced they would rather resign than oppose the pro-British Ulster Volunteer Force. Cumman na mBan was founded. The Ulster Volunteers carried out gun-running at Larne, Bangor, and Donaghadee. The Irish volunteers brought in weapons at Howth and Kilcoole. The third home rule bill passed the Commons for the third time and received royal assent but was suspended after Britain declared war on Germany on the 4th of August. The Easter Rising took place in Dublin in April. Its leaders were executed. In the general election, Sinn Féin won 73 seats, as against 31 unionists and six home rulers. The War of Independence began with an ambush at Soloheadbeg, County Tipperary. Sinn Féin representatives met as Dáil Éireann, which adopted a provisional constitution and declared independence. The Irish Volunteers became known as the Irish Republican Army. The Black and Tans were enlisted. There were disturbances in Derry and Belfast. Terence MacSwiney, mayor of Cork, died on hunger strike. On the 21st of November, fourteen British secret service agents were shot dead by the IRA. In response, the Black and Tans fired on a crowd at a Gaelic football match in Croke Park, killing twelve people. This was known as 'Bloody Sunday'. The following month, the Black and Tans sacked Cork. The Government of Ireland Act organised subordinate parliaments for Dublin and Belfast. An election to the two parliaments took place. The IRA destroyed the Custom House in Dublin. James Craig became Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and George V opened its parliament. On 9th July, a truce was declared between the IRA and the British army. The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London on 6th December.
1922		The Dáil Éireann approved the Treaty on January 7th. Violence broke out in Northern Ireland. The IRA was declared illegal in the North and a Special Powers Act was passed. The Civil War began on June 28th. Michael Collins was killed in an ambush on the 22nd of August. William Thomas Cosgrave was elected head of the provisional government. On October 25th, the Constitution of the Irish Free State was approved by the Dáil. In November, Erskine Childers was executed for unlawful possession of a revolver. In the same month, the first of seventy-seven executions of fighters opposed to the Treaty took place. On the 5th of December, the Irish Free State Constitution Act (UK) ratified the constitution and the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1929 1930 1932 1933 1936		The Civil War ended in May. The Garda Síochána were established. On the 10th of September, the Irish Free State was admitted to the League of Nations. The Boundary Commission met for the first time. The governments of the UK, the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland agreed to maintain the existing boundary between the two parts of Ireland. Éamon de Valera launched the Fianna Fáil party. The Irish Free State minister for justice, Kevin O'Higgins, was assassinated. A general election took place in the Irish Free State. De Valera entered the Dáil with Fianna Fáil the largest opposition party. Proportional representation in parliamentary elections was abolished in Northern Ireland. The Irish Free State appointed its first censorship board. The Irish Free State was elected to the council of the League of Nations. The Army Comrades Association was formed. When de Valera withheld the payment of land annuities to the British government, an economic war with Britain began. Strikes and riots took place in Northern Ireland over high unemployment. Meanwhile, the Stormont parliament building was formally opened by the Prince of Wales. The Army Comrades Association adopted a blue shrit and black beret as its dress and took on the name 'National Guard'. It was led by the former chief commissioner of the Garda Síochána, Eoin O'Duffy. The National Guard was declared unlawful. The United Irish Party (later Fine Gael) launched with O'Duffy as president. On the 18th of June, the IRA was declared illegal in the Irish Free State. O'Duffy and his followers left for Spain in November to fight for Franco. They returned the next June. In December, Frank Ryan's ideologically left-wing unit joined government forces in Spain. The Irish Free State Constitutional Amendment Act removed all references from the constitution to the crown and the governor general.
1937 1938 1939		The new constitution was approved by referendum and came into effect on December 29th. There was an Anglo-Irish agreement on 'treaty ports', finance and trade. Douglas Hyde became the first president of Éire. The IRA initiated a bombing campaign in Britain. An explosion in Coventry killed five people. When Germany invaded Poland on September 1st, de Valera announced that his government would be neutral. That December, the IRA raided Magazine Fort in Phoenix Park.
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947		Two emergency bills against the IRA were passed. Germany bombed Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow. In April, more than 700 people were killed by Nazi bombing in Belfast. Dublin and Dun Laoghaire fire brigades went to assist. In May, German bombs fell on Dublin, killing 34. De Valera protested against American troops arriving in Northern Ireland. Sir Basil Brooke became PM of Northern Ireland. He would remain in that position for twenty years. The Irish transport company Córas Iompair Éireann was set up. The Second World War, known in Ireland as the Emergency, came to an end. In a radio address, Winston Churchill criticised Ireland for its neutrality. De Valera responded strongly. Seán T. O'Kelly became President of Éire. Seán MacBride founded the Clann na Poblachta. Ireland applied to join the United Nations and was admitted nine years later. The Health Act was passed in Éire. Catholic bishops disapproved of some clauses, especially those relating to mother and child services which took away influence from the Church.
1948 Return to top		Éire had a general election. John A. Costello became Taoiseach. Various bodies were set up in both parts of Ireland including An Taisce and the Ulster Transport Authority. On the 21st of December, the Republic of Ireland Act repealed the External Relations Act of 1936 and provided for the declaration of a republic. See 1949 in Irish history.