When we talk about the end of the Gaelic world brought on by the changes and events of the 16th through 18th centuries, we are talking about the end of the culture that existed prior to that time. Firstly, we need to explore what we mean by culture. Anthropologist Dr. Denise O’Neil of the Behavioral Department at the Palomar College in California defines culture as “the customs, skills, arts, language and other interrelated learned behavior patterns of a people that set them apart as a distinct group or society”. The Irish and Scottish Gaelic peoples prior to the 16th century certainly met this definition of a distinct society. As cultures change and acquire new traits, old no longer useful or popular ones inevitably disappear. The end of a culture or cultural death happens when the culture totally disappears because of the massive adoption of the cultural traits from another society or because of the death of all the people that share the culture. The Protestant Reformation that started in the early 16th century was a seminal event that was to have far-reaching ramifications throughout Europe. The changes wrought by the subsequent events of the 16th to 18th centuries changed the Gaelic world to such an extent that the very fabric of the Irish and Scottish society was changed. They changed it significantly. With the loss of so many of its cultural traits, there emerged a new and transformed culture; the original Gaelic world having suffered a cultural death.
Gaelic Ireland refers to the period when a Gaelic political and social order existed and to the culture associated with it. It emerged in the prehistoric era and lasted until the 17th century. For most of this period, Ireland was a patchwork hierarchy of territories ruled by ...
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...This today, is known as the Flight of the Earls and is seen as the watershed of Gaelic Ireland. It marked the final destruction of Ireland's ancient Gaelic nobility, customs and culture following the Tudor conquest. This would lead to a new ruling class in Ireland known as the “Protestant Ascendancy”. This sadly, was not the end of conflict as plantation and rebellion would continue until well into the second half of the 17th century. Over this period, some 85% of the land in Ireland was transferred to the English and Scottish colonists, often leaving the Gaelic native people in dire predicaments. Add to this disease, plague, famine and transportation to other countries, all of which caused tremendous suffering and loss to the Irish people. It is estimated that by the end of the 17th century, the Gaelic population of Ireland and been reduced by a half to two thirds.