Origins of the Irish People

Origin Beliefs of Catholic Ireland

Since the 5th century, the majority of Irish people have believed in the Catholic account of creation. This states that Earth and its inhabitants were created by God over the course of seven days. Humans were cast from their garden paradise, Eden, after committing sin. This doomed them to lives of hardship and toil. During the 20th century, the Catholic Church recognized evolution as compatible with Biblical teachings. Modern Irish people believe in literal Christian creation, evolution, or a blend of the two as a matter of personal choice.[1][2]

Mythical Invaders of Ancient Ireland

Besides universal creation, the Irish were also concerned with their own history. According to myth, the island was home to many waves of settlers before the Irish themselves. Each group of people contributed to its gradual civilization. The fourth wave, for example, brought the Tuatha Dé Danann. They vanquished aquatic monsters called the Fomorians and reigned over Ireland for many years. Later, they would be worshipped as gods by the druids of pre-Christian Ireland.

Last of all came the Milesians, the ancestors of the Irish. They traveled from Scythia to Spain and from there set sail for Ireland. Despite the magical storms of the Tuatha Dé Danann, they landed on the island's shores twice. Doing so allowed them to gain lordship of the island to the present day. The Tuatha Dé Danann retreated below ground into fairy mounds. They would gradually change into the winged sprites of modern fairy tales.[3][4]

Evidence of Irish Origins

Genetic studies of Irish people from different times show evidence of multiple migrations to the island. A 5,200-year-old woman shared close ancestry with Spanish and Sardinian people. A set of three men who lived 4,000 years ago, however, show genetic traces of the Pontic Steppe in Eastern Europe. These immigrants appear to have brought milk tolerance to the island.[5]

Around the 5th century BCE, Celtic cultures migrating through Europe reached Ireland. They do not appear to have invaded in large numbers and probably married into the upper classes. Even in later time periods, influxes of the Hiberno-Norse, Anglo-Normans, and Anglo-Irish all contributed to the modern population of Ireland, who have in turn spread across the globe.[6]

Bibliography

1. Pope Benedict, XVI, In the Beginning: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall, trans. Boniface Ramsey (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 2005), 1-2.

2. Anne M. Clifford, "Creation" in Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives, ed. Francis Schüssler Fiorenza and John P. Galvin (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011), 231.

3. David Adams Leeming, Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia (Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2010), 150-152.

4. Patrick W. Joyce, A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland (London, NY, and Bombay: Longmans, Green, & Co., 1906), 117-128.

5. Paul Rincon, "Ancient DNA Sheds Light on Irish Origins," BBC News, December 28, 2015, BBC, accessed March 09, 2017.

6. Thomas Bartlett, Ireland: A History (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011).

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