Arts and Entertainment – Emerald Archives

Hostages and Holy Relics

The surviving chronicles present 1090 as a year of royal bargaining, mobile armies and vulnerable...

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St Andrews and the Port Tunnel

In 2006, Ireland’s boom brought record housebuilding, low unemployment, migration and pressure on infrastructure and services. The census recorded 4,239,848 people, with non-Irish nationals comprising about one tenth, reflecting profound social and religious change. Government responded through employment-permit, strategic-planning and social-partnership measures, while the Dublin Port Tunnel opened to improve freight access. In Northern Ireland, the St Andrews Agreement created a route towards restoring devolved power-sharing, although Stormont remained suspended; a Transitional Assembly began preparatory work. The High Court rejected recognition of Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan’s Canadian marriage. Europe’s Ryder Cup victory at the K Club projected confidence.

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Council and Calamity

1179 Ireland remained politically fragmented despite Henry II’s overlordship, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair’s western influence, and expanding lordships under Hugh de Lacy and John de Courcy. Laurence O’Toole attended the Third Lateran Council, became papal legate, secured Dublin’s privileges, and convened Clonfert synod to advance church reform against lay control. Henry reprimanded de Lacy following Irish complaints, but settlement continued. In the north, a relic-sworn peace at Ardstraw ended in treacherous killings and devastation. Fires damaged Armagh and several church centres. Annals recorded famine, warfare and destructive snow, exposing vulnerable rural communities amid religious reform, diplomatic engagement, and enduring political instability.

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Contest for Connacht

In 1203, conflict over Connacht revealed Ireland’s overlapping Gaelic, Anglo-Norman and royal authorities. William de Burgh campaigned from Munster and Meath, fortifying Mílec and ravaging western Connacht, including Clonfert and Clonmacnoise. King John curbed him by removing Limerick from his control; Meiler fitz Henry and Walter de Lacy enforced submission and mediated Connacht’s dynastic disputes. Cathal Crobderg Ua Conchobair retained his kingship despite rivalry with Toirrdelbach, son of Ruaidrí. Elsewhere, dynastic killings and warfare continued. Contemporary annals report famine, worsened by plunder, while churches remained vulnerable targets yet vital centres of learning, shelter, diplomacy and legitimacy. Connacht’s future remained unresolved.

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