United Kingdom and Ireland compared

Entangled histories

13 events in which either nation’s sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle; nothing here was written for this page.

1. 5th century

   The mission of St Patrick

   The British-born missionary Patrick, traditionally active from the 430s, evangelised much of Ireland, secured toleration for Christians and fostered a native clergy and monasticism; his feast is 17 March.

   Religion · from the Ireland chronicle · Gaelic Ireland and the Monastic Golden Age · Saint Patrick, Ireland Converts to Christianity

2. 1169

   Anglo-Norman landing in Ireland

   At the invitation of the exiled Leinster king Diarmait Mac Murchada, Anglo-Norman, Welsh and Flemish forces landed in Wexford in 1169, beginning centuries of English involvement in Ireland.

   War & Rupture · from the Ireland chronicle · Anglo-Norman Invasion, Plantation and Conquest · Normans Invade Ireland, Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland

3. 1171

   Henry II and the Lordship of Ireland

   Henry II landed at Waterford in 1171, the first English king in Ireland, and established the Lordship of Ireland; in 1177 he made his son John 'Lord of Ireland'.

   Politics & Power · from the Ireland chronicle · Anglo-Norman Invasion, Plantation and Conquest · Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, Normans Invade Ireland

4. 1607–1609

   Flight of the Earls and the Plantation of Ulster

   After the Gaelic earls fled Ireland in 1607, King James I planted English and Scottish Protestant settlers across confiscated lands in Ulster from 1609, embedding a lasting religious and political division.

   Colonisation · from the Ireland chronicle · Anglo-Norman Invasion, Plantation and Conquest · Ireland Converts to Christianity, The Cromwellian Conquest and Land Settlement of Ireland

5. 1 Jan 1801

   Act of Union

   The Act of Union merged the Kingdom of Ireland with Great Britain into the United Kingdom on 1 January 1801, abolishing the Irish Parliament and placing Ireland under direct rule from Westminster.

   Politics & Power · from the Ireland chronicle · Union, Famine and the National Movement · Charles Stewart Parnell and the Home Rule Movement, Irish History Timeline – From 1916 to Today

6. 1 January 1801

   Union with Ireland forms the United Kingdom

   The Acts of Union 1800 merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and abolishing the separate Irish parliament.

   Formation · from the United Kingdom chronicle · Empire, industry, and the Victorian age · Act for the Union of Great Britain and Ireland, Act of Union (United Kingdom, 1801)

7. 1845–1852

   The Great Famine (An Gorta Mór)

   Potato blight destroyed Ireland's staple crop from 1845; about a million people died and a million more emigrated, and the population fell sharply even as food continued to be exported amid an inadequate British relief effort.

   Catastrophe · from the Ireland chronicle · Union, Famine and the National Movement · Irish Potato Famine: Date, Cause & Great Hunger, The Great Hunger: The History of An Gorta Mór

8. 1845–1852

   The Great Irish Famine

   Potato blight and an inadequate, laissez-faire government response caused mass starvation in Ireland, killing roughly a million people and forcing about a million more to emigrate.

   Catastrophe · from the United Kingdom chronicle · Empire, industry, and the Victorian age · The Great Famine, Great Famine (Irish history)

9. 1914–1918

   The First World War

   Britain and its empire fought in the First World War at enormous human cost; the war accelerated social and political change, including votes for women, and led to the partition of Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1922.

   War & Rupture · from the United Kingdom chronicle · World wars, decolonisation, and the modern UK · The end of the British Empire after the Second World War, Act of Union (United Kingdom, 1801)

10. 1919–1921

    War of Independence

    After Sinn Féin's 1918 victory and the first Dáil in 1919, the IRA waged a guerrilla war against British forces until a truce on 11 July 1921 opened the way to negotiations.

    War & Rupture · from the Ireland chronicle · Rising, Independence and Partition · Irish History Timeline – From 1916 to Today

11. 6 Dec 1921

    Anglo-Irish Treaty

    The Treaty signed in London created the Irish Free State as a dominion within the British Empire and confirmed the partition of Ireland, leaving six northern counties in the United Kingdom.

    Independence · from the Ireland chronicle · Rising, Independence and Partition · Irish History Timeline – From 1916 to Today

12. 1955

    UK annexes Rockall

    British Royal Marines landed on the uninhabited Atlantic islet of Rockall in 1955 and claimed it for the United Kingdom; it was declared part of Scotland by the Island of Rockall Act 1972.

    Politics & Power · from the Ireland chronicle · The Republic, Europe and the Northern Question · Who owns Rockall? The history of the Atlantic dispute between Ireland and the UK, Who owns Rockall? A history of disputes over a tiny Atlantic island

13. 1988

    UK–Ireland continental shelf agreement

    Ireland and the United Kingdom agreed a delimitation of the continental shelf between them; Ireland maintained that Rockall, an uninhabitable rock, generates no continental shelf or exclusive economic zone.

    Politics & Power · from the Ireland chronicle · The Republic, Europe and the Northern Question · Who owns Rockall? The history of the Atlantic dispute between Ireland and the UK, Who owns Rockall? A history of disputes over a tiny Atlantic island