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How Did The Irish Road To Independence

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How Did The Irish Road To Independence
The Irish road to independence was much unlike any other, it lasted the course of hundreds of years with innumerous failed revolts and uprisings. To begin, Ireland came under the rule of England after the Norman Invasion of Ireland in 1171 AD. In 1171 AD Henry II of England landed in Ireland when news reached him that Dermot Mac Murragh had gained control of Dublin, and intended to become king. King Henry II had Dermot swear fealty to himself and become a vassal to the king, and so gained control over Ireland. The English king had taken Ireland without having to fight in a single battle. The first signs of Irish dissent to English rule can be recognized as far back as 1534, with The Rebellion of “Silken Thomas”, the son of a well-respected Irish Lord who perished while held captive in England. Enraged by the death of his father, Thomas garnered …show more content…
For hundreds of years more, specific parties in Ireland would seek out Home Rule. Yet for hundreds of years they would fail. It would not be until the Irish War for Independence, ending in 1921, that the Irish would become truly free from England. This research paper intends to analyze the reasons that Irish revolutions and rebellions against the English crown failed up to 1921. One major aspect to be discussed will be the role of the common people in revolution, and the lack of full support from the people in Irish revolutions. The lack of major popular support relates directly to the failure of revolution. Without the support of the people of a nation, rebellion will inherently fail, and this is well exemplified in the Irish road to independence.
In order to understand why and how Irish revolutions failed, it is useful to comprehend an example of a successful revolution in a nation of similar status to Ireland. England’s American colonies are a prime example. American colonists lacked decent political representation in England, and this lack of representation

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