Reaching deep into prehistory and concluding with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, these cards unfold the glory and tragedy of Ireland’s history. Author Jack Van Zandt surveys the chaos of Viking raids and that created by violent, ambitious regional kings; Brian Boru’s defeat of the Vikings and the Anglo-Norman invasion that inaugurated eight hundred years of English dominion over the island; the struggle against economic and religious oppression, from Cromwell’s slaughters through the Battle of the Boyne to the bloody revolutions of 1798 and 1916; and the mid-nineteenth-century famines that led so many to emigrate. But What Happened Here? Ireland isn’t all bad news. The reader will learn of the first performance of Handel’s “Messiah,” in Dublin; of the establishment of Ireland’s famed ceramic and textile industries (and her thriving Bronze Age copper works); of the ministries of Patrick and Columcille; and, of course, of the heroes O’Connell, Tone, Pearse, Parnell, and others. This deck offers surprising depth for such a compact medium. Size: 3 1/4 x 4". ISBN 0-7649-3351-5. A sample card: Mount Sandel, near Coleraine, County Derry • 7010 BC. Answer: The oldest known human settlement in Ireland was established. The earliest remains of human habitation in Ireland were discovered here in 1972. The first arrivals came from Scotland, landing on Ireland’s north coast around 7500 BC. In spreading southward into the Bann Valley, the early-Mesolithic immigrants established this small settlement on a promontory above the River Bann. The site was probably used seasonally in the course of its builders’ nomadic life. The inhabitants lived in domed huts with a diameter of about six meters, likely constructed of wood, sod, and skins. Each hut contained a central hearth. The remains of typical Stone Age tools have been found at the site. It appears that these hunter-gatherers kept dogs as companions and lived on wild boar, hare, birds, and freshwater and saltwater fish, as well as apples, berries, and nuts. Other remains of note have been found at Woodpark, County Sligo, but the site at Mount Sandal paints the best illustration of the Stone Age Irish so far. |
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