Above: Norman Quest There was, however, an influence at work amongst the descendants of the early Normans in Ireland greater than that produced either by the increased activity of the Irish or by the Weakness of the Crown of England.  It was the influence of a vigorous national life upon what was still an artificial element in the nation. Its effects were radical because they produced a change of character. Like the Norsemen in an earlier period, the Normans were being assimilated by the ... Read More

Above : Ancient Ireland (A.D 420) The one fact of which we can be certain, therefore, is that when first we get a definite view of early Ireland we find it inhabited by a people who called themselves Caels. They spoke a Celtic language which they called Gaelic, and which still lives under that name. Gaelic was the language of the earlier of the two Western waves of Celtic immigration whose tongues are still spoken. The second wave—which did not reach Ireland—was that ... Read More