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Irish History

Eucharia gives a briefÂ history of Ireland.

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Eucharia	Todd

Todd: Hey, Eucharia can you give us a brief history of Ireland?

Eucharia: Sure well, I think most people know of St Patrick’s day and that it is an Irish festival which celebrates being Irish. Well, St Patrick was brought to Ireland in 460 as a slave from Wales and then he left and went to Italy where he was converted to Christianity and then he went back to Ireland to bring Christianity to the Irish Celtic people. So, skipping ahead a few years. The Celtic people were always quite unique within Europe because we… the Celtic people always believed in equality between men and women and therefore there were women warriors in Ireland which used to frighten many of the potential invaders away because a lot of men didn’t like to be beaten by women back then and maybe it’s still true today.

Then the next biggest thing in history was the colonialisation of Ireland by England, starting in the 16th century until the early 20th century. And it wasn’t taken to readily because of the nature of the Celtic warriors. It was probably the bloodiest period in history because the Celtic people did not like to be colonised, so there was a lot of fighting and battles between the English and the Irish even though the English had, to all intents and purposes, colonised, it was not an easy colonisation. But the single most effective tech that the Eng used in the colonisation came in 1822 when the English implemented a national education system. Before this the Irish people used to go and learn in schools called ‘hedge schools’ ,so they were outside and they were given by people who wanted to teach, so genuine academics and people learned stuff like ancient greek, latin, so most people have this tradition of speaking other languages, mathematics… So when the education system was changed in line with the English colonial system it became illegal to speak Irish in the classroom and it became illegal to speak Irish in many places. Now in my city there’s a lovely trading area called ‘The Old English Market’ and its called ‘The Old English Market’ because there is a sign inside the door: ‘Anyone who will speak… who will speak in Irish and not in English will be sent to jail’. So it was really strictly enforced and it was a very… I can’t say laudible technique but… it was a very effective way of colonisation. Nowadays in Ireland people spk English and people speak Irish, both, and it’s considered bilingual. All documents, all street names are written in Irish and English.

1922 there was what was known as the civil war and that was the beginning of the end for the English so the firstt Irish constitution was written in 1935 and it stated that Ireland is a neutral country so therefore Ireland did not enter World War 2 and it was declared a Republic in 1949.

Todd: Thanks. That was a good history!

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

skip ahead

So, skipping ahead a few years. The Celtic people were always quite unique within Europe ...

Used like this, to 'skip ahead' is to move from talking about one past date or period to a more recent one without giving all the details about what happened in between. Notice the following:

I prefer to skip ahead from my childhood to my early twenties when I talk about my past.
When he's telling a story, he always skips ahead and it becomes difficult to understand.

for all intents and purposes

Even though the English had, for all intents and purposes, colonised, it was not an easy colonisation.

The most common usage of the phrase 'for all intents and purposes' is to refer to usual situations or circumstances or for the purposes that are practical. So the example is, although the English had colonised in a practical sense, it was not easy for them. Notice the following:

For all intents and purposes the house is finished being built, we just need to clean up a little so we can live in it.
Our relationship, for all intents and purposes, was over before we even went on vacation together.

strictly enforced

So it was really strictly enforced.

If something is 'strictly enforced,' it is regulated very closely. For example, a law that is monitored closely by police, such as speeding. Notice the following: