Ireland :: essays research papers

Why are the Irish so lucky? What is a leprechaun? Is there really gold at the end of a rainbow? And why does everyone drink green beer on St. Patrick's Day? These questions all have one thing in common, they are myths from the Emerald Isle we all call Ireland. In this paper I will try to explain these myths through Ireland's people, their Celtic tradition, and their religion. To understand the people of Ireland, you first need to understand where Ireland is and what it's like there. Ireland is an island, to the West of England. The climate in Ireland is rainy, year round. Ireland has a little bit of everything from the mountains and castles, to the coasts and pastures. People first came to Ireland about 10,000 years ago. Ireland was one of the last parts of Europe to become inhabited. The people who came to Ireland probably went across the land bridges that linked England to Scotland, and Scotland to Ireland. These first people lived mostly along the coasts of Ireland eating berries, small animals, and shell fish. Then about 6,000 years ago, these tribes of people started to become more advanced and civilized. They raised cattle and sheep and farmed the land for crops. They also moved further inland and had very extravagant burial grounds. Next around 2000 BC, the Bronze age came upon Ireland. The Irish people quickly became infamous for their weapons made of metal, especially their swords. This encouraged trade amongst other European countries, mainly England, Spain, and Portugal. By 500 BC the Celtic people had started to invade Ireland. The Celts as they were known were a very aggressive tribal group that originated as a Germanic tribe. They had defeated the Romans for a slight time period, but eventually they were run out of Europe. Their only safe haven was Ireland. For some reason, the Romans stopped their Empire at England. In Ireland, the Celtic people easily over threw the simple Irish tribes. This happened for two main reasons, 1) The Celts were much better fighters, and 2) There was about five times as many Celts as there were Irish tribes men. The Celts were not just great fighters though, Roman writers described them as being 'lively, imaginative people fond of fighting and hunting as well as poetry and storytelling. They had a complex tribal community made up of chieftains, warriors, poets, and Druids, (the priests of their mystical