The Changes from the Old Irish Language to Present Irish Language

Introduction

1.1 Historical background information about Ireland

Prehistoric Ireland spans over the first ever known period of settlement at around 8000 B.C until the proto-historic Gaelic Ireland to the beginning of the Viking Age and in the 5th century the time of Christianization. Notably, the period includes the Hiberno-Scottish mission of the Christianized Ireland to the pagan Europe and Great Britain (Campbell, 2014). At the start of this period, Ireland had just emerged from a very mysterious decline that archaeological evidence suggests to have had hit the standards of living and population levels from 100 B.C to about 300 B.C. The population was entirely rural and dispersed characterized by small ring forts of human populations (Keating-Miller, 2009). The main activity was hunting and gathering although archaeological evidence shows that livestock and cereal farming was an important economic activity from 200 AD onwards. Cattle were greatly valued, and cattle raiding constituted a great part of warfare. Recorded history of the Irish people begins with the introduction of Latin literacy and Christianity, beginning in the 5th century. One of the most reliable historical events is the ordination of Palladius by Pope Calestine 1 as the first Irish bishop to the Christians there in 431. By the 6th century, the church had already developed separate diocese although the country was still predominantly pagan (Campbell, 2014).

Maps of the ancient Ireland (Campbell, 2014):

The 12th century invasion by the Norman marked the beginning of direct English involvement. On May 1, 1169, an army of about 600 men attacked Bannow Strand coinciding with the period of the renewed Norman expansion at the invitation of Dermot Mac Murro...

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... a lot of concern the declining use of the Irish and is implementing policies geared towards preserving the language from extinction.

Works Cited

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