Basic HTML Version
Bogside ghetto. Street names in Dub–
lin comprise a virtual register of fallen
martyrs who succumbed in the end–
lessly recurring struggles for Irish free–
doro. To the English, of course, the
names smack of nothing but rebellion.
Papal Grant
In order to understand the grave
crisis in Northern Ireland today, one
must understand the key events in
Ireland's living history.
How and when did the English
become involved in what they monoto–
nously cal! the "Irish problem"?
Equally important, how did Northern
Ireland come to be inhabited by the
majority Protestant Scotch-Irish or
Ulster Scots, a people whose char–
acteristics, names, history, and reli–
gion are radically different from the
majority of those living in southern
Ireland?
The trouble began in A. D.
1155
when Pope Adrian IV granted the
English King Henry Il lordship of
Ireland and authorized him to invade
the country for the purpose of "re–
forming evil manners, planting virtue
and increasing the Christian religion."
For a while Henry did nothing con–
cerning his papal concession.
Adrian, ironically, was the only
English pope in history, having been
boro Nicholas Breakspear in Hert–
fordshire. Adrian wanted a tighter
control over the "saintly eccentricities"
of the Irish Church. Catholícism had
been introduced into Ireland in A. D.
432
but had progressively developed
sorne non-Roman patterns and tradi–
tions.
England's Henry crossed over to
Ireland in 1171 with
240
ships and
4,000
troops and conquered the south·
eastern portion of the island to prevent
a possible rival Norman state from
arising across the Irish Channel.
In
1172
the native Irish kings rec–
ognized Henry as Lord of Jreland, thus
beginning
800
years of Engüsh at–
tempts to establish authority in Ire–
land. But the English conquerors were
never able to secure full support and
4
compliance throughout the whole
island.
War and killing became almost con–
tiouous in succeeding decades and cen–
turies. Laws were subsequently intro–
duced in attempts to secure English
predominance. The statutes of Kil–
kenny of
1366
outlawed intermarriage
between Anglo-Norman settlers and
the native Irish.
The "Plantation"
British monarchs of the Protestant
faith finally decided that the way to
solve the "lrish Problem" was to
devastate Ireland and drive the native
Irish leaders out of their homelands
- especially in the North - and then
"plant" a contingent of staunch, Joya!
Protestants from Scotland and En·
gland.
Queen Elizabeth I
(I558-L603)
in–
itiated the plantation program. For
over a decade she was opposed by
Hugh O'Neill and Red Hugh O'Don–
nell who were aided by the Spanish.
In
1603,
after the Battle of Kinsale,
they abandoned their cause and fled to
the Continent.
Elizabeth's successor,
Protestant
James I, took away much of the better
land from the lrish earls in
1608,
es–
pecially in the North, and leased large
tracts to Protestants from England and
the Scottish lowlands. The land was
divided among Scottish and English
Protestants, most of whom had to
promise to take no Irish and no Catho–
lics as tenants. They advertised in En–
gland and Scotland for subtenants. In
the next
30
years about
20,000
English
and
100,000
Scots were successfully
settled in Ulster.
The Ulster "plantation" occurred at
roughly the same time as the begin–
nings of colonization in America.
Jamestown, Virginia was chartered by
James I in
1607,
the year before the
Ulster "plantation."
Writes author Richard Rose:
"The argument for introducing col–
onists into Ulster was far more im–
mediate than that for introducing them
into Virginia or Pennsylvania. Ireland
was of great strategic importance. In
the hands of a Continental enemy it
could isolate England both from Eu–
rope and America. The point had oc–
curred to the Spaniards at the time
of the Armada, and was later noted
(Contin11ed on page 6)
PLAIN TRUTH June 1972