Irish Economy

Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.

Raiding, Cattle, and the Ancient Irish Economy

The first inhabitants of Ireland were hunters and gatherers, who arrived there around 7,000 BCE. They likely hunted wild boar, foraged for wild plants, and collected seafoods from the island’s coasts and rivers. Agriculture came about 2,500 years later, carried by settlers via boat. They brought with them crops like wheat, barley, oats, and rye, as well as livestock such as cattle, pigs, and sheep. Agriculture allowed larger communities to develop. They grew more complex with the advent of bronze working, which they used to produce stronger tools and more deadly weapons. At this time, much of the island’s forests were cut down with bronze axes to make way for farmland. Copper was relatively abundant and may have been its first major export.

Besides copper, Ireland also possessed valuable gold deposits. Its native smiths worked the gold into thin sheets, which could then be hammered into discs, or lunulae, or twisted into torc necklaces and armbands. Hoards from the Bronze Age have been found preserved in the island’s peat bogs, a valuable insight into its prehistory.

The Iron Age was ushered in by another wave of immigrants, this time Celtic settlers from mainland Europe. The Irish Celts, or Gaels, were already familiar with sophisticated metalworking. They likely introduced new technologies and adopted native ones as they built small kingdoms in Ireland. The torcs produced in earlier centuries, for example, have also been found in Iron Age hoards. They did not build large cities but instead lived in agricultural communities centered on a ruling family.

At this time, social mobility was almost nonexistent. Farmers generally raised farmers; children of charioteers grew up to be charioteers themselves. Their societies did not use a coin-based currency. Rather, salaries, legal fees, and other expenses were valued in terms of milk cows. Dairy products were a staple across the island, making milk cows one of the most precious commodities a common person could own. Land ownership and the size of a farmer’s herd determined status in society; both men and women could inherit and own cattle. When kingdoms went to war, they usually did so by raiding their foes’ herds and burning their crops.

Medieval Ireland and the Norman Conquest

This pattern of life continued relatively unchanged while the rest of Europe fell under Roman control. To the west, the island of Britain became a part of the larger Roman trade network, bringing an influx of wealth and goods. Some of the Gaelic lords of Ireland took advantage of this by raiding for slaves and valuables overseas. This grew especially popular as the reach of the Roman Empire faded.

Christianity came to the island around this time through St. Patrick, who claimed to have been taken as a slave to Ireland. In reality, however, he may have been the wayward son of a Roman tax collector. Whatever his origins, the work of Patrick and other missionaries to convert the island transformed its societies. Christian monasteries offered a network with the rest of Europe, as well as a written language. Artisans within these communities produced beautiful artifacts in the Celtic or Insular style. Among their works were elaborate brooches, chalices, and manuscript covers studded with gems and wrapped in spirals of gold.

This prosperity could not go unnoticed forever. Viking raids turned into permanent urban settlements over the course of two centuries. Their towns were the first major trading hubs on the island. For most native Irish, however, these cities were peripheral: a place to sell crops and goods but little else. Their traditional economies of farming, metals, and textiles continued to dominate. When the Normans invaded from England in the 12th century, their power similarly receded to the cities.

Colonization and Famine in Ireland

By the 16th century, the English monarchy was on the rise. Legal reforms backed by military force slowly strengthened its hold on the island. Once established, the British Crown sought to transform Ireland into an agricultural supplier for its global ambitions. Because of this, Ireland is sometimes described as the first English colony. Its societies went from subsistence farming to producing foods and textiles for mass export. Over time, the native Irish Catholics lost almost all of their land, now owned by Protestant immigrants from England and Scotland. Most worked as laborers on large estates, which shipped their surpluses from ports like Dublin to Britain.

This rapid economic shift left many Irish families nearly destitute. At the same time, a population boom was made possible by the potato, which could feed more people from smaller plots of land. Lack of opportunity encouraged millions of children from this generation to emigrate. In the United States, they formed a large immigrant group that would help to build its cities, railroads, and businesses.

At home, those who remained faced hardship and struggle. A wave of potato blight in 1845 sparked a famine that would kill an estimated million people, all of whom relied on the crop as their staple food. The British government did little to assist the starving masses. Grain imports and exports both continued through the worst of the famine, but they did not reach those who needed it most. Families fell behind rent trying to cover inflated food prices and were promptly evicted by their landlords. Even emigration cost money.

This environment of poverty, land loss, hunger, and cultural suppression formed the basis of the Irish nationalist movement. By separating from the United Kingdom, the rebels of the early 20th century hoped to turn the island’s economy to its own benefit, among other goals.

Modern Economics of Ireland

Since the War of Independence split the island into two states, Ireland’s economy has modernized rapidly. The Republic of Ireland has moved away from agricultural industries in favor of technology and finance. A period of growth and wealth in the ‘90s and early 2000’s was known as the Celtic Tiger period. The nation’s reliance on banking, however, proved disastrous during the financial crisis of 2008. Its economy and real estate markets saw a sharp downturn in the aftermath. Ireland recovered in part through a loose taxation system, which encouraged global corporations to settle there. Today, both Ireland and Northern Ireland face questions about the UK’s departure from the EU and how it will impact their economies.

References

Burke, Ceimin. “'Ireland Is Not a Tax Haven': Department of Finance Dismisses 'Tax Haven' Research Findings.” TheJournal.ie, Journal Media, 13 June 2018, www.thejournal.ie/ireland-tax-haven-study-4068018-Jun2018/.

Donnelly, Jim. “The Irish Famine.” BBC, BBC, 17 Feb. 2011, www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/famine_01.shtml.

Evans, E. Estyn. The Personality of Ireland: Habitat, Heritage and History. Cambridge University Press. 2005.

Hegarty, Neil. The Story of Ireland: A History of the Irish People. Macmillan. 2012.

Hollis, Daniel Webster. The History of Ireland. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2011.

Joyce, Patrick Weston. A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland. Longmans, Green, and Co. 1908.

Ranelagh, John O'Beirne. A Short History of Ireland. Cambridge University Press. 2012.

“The World Factbook: Ireland.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 24 Oct. 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ei.html.

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