Walk in the footsteps of our heritage
The aim of the Ancient Clans website is to share heritage sites to encourage people to visit and understand our rich shared history, heritage and culture.
Contact us if you would like to share information and images about a heritage site.
Overview of the major periods of Irish history, from the earliest human presence to the end of the medieval era.
1. Mesolithic Ireland (c. 8000–4000 BC)
Represents the earliest known human activity in Ireland.
Hunter-gatherer groups arrived after the last Ice Age.
Small, mobile communities lived by fishing, hunting, and foraging.
Sites such as Mount Sandel in County Derry are key examples.
2. Neolithic Ireland (c. 4000–2500 BC)Introduction of farming, domesticated animals, and settled life.
Construction of megalithic monuments such as passage tombs at Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth.
Production of polished stone axes and early pottery.
Large communal tombs reflect organized, cooperative societies.
3. Bronze Age Ireland (c. 2500–500 BC)
Arrival of metalworking—first copper, then bronze.
Growth of trade networks, especially for metal ores.
Development of hillforts, ceremonial sites, and distinctive gold ornaments such as torcs and lunulae.
Social stratification increases.
4. Iron Age Ireland (c. 500 BC–AD 400)
Introduction of iron technology and influences from Celtic culture, though the nature of “Celtic” arrival is debated.
Emergence of tribal kingdoms and warrior elites.
Ogham, the earliest known Irish writing system, begins late in this period.
5. Early Christian Ireland (c. AD 400–800)
Transition from pagan traditions to Christianity, traditionally associated with St Patrick (5th century).
Flourishing monastic culture famous for art, manuscripts, and scholarship (e.g., Book of Kells, high crosses).
Ireland becomes known as the “Island of Saints and Scholars.”
6. Viking Age Ireland (c. 800–1100)
Arrival of Viking raiders and later Viking settlers.
Founding of Ireland’s earliest towns, including Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, Wexford, and Cork.
Integration of Norse and Gaelic cultures; alliances and conflicts with local kings.
7. Medieval/Norman Ireland (c. 1169–1500s)
Anglo-Norman invasion begins in 1169 led by Strongbow.
Establishment of feudal structures, castles, and towns under English rule.
Over time, many Normans become “more Irish than the Irish themselves.”
By the late medieval period, English control shrinks to the Pale around Dublin, while Gaelic lordships reassert power.
8. Early Modern Ireland (c. 1500s–1801)
Tudor Conquest and Religious Change (16th century)
English crown seeks tighter control over Ireland.
Tudor reconquest and plantation policies begin.
Introduction of Protestant Reformation, though most Irish remain Catholic.
Major Gaelic lords lose power.
Plantations and Rebellions (1600s)
After the Nine Years’ War and Flight of the Earls (1607), English rule expands.
Ulster Plantation (from 1609) brings large-scale settlement by English and Scottish Protestants.
The 1641 Rebellion and ensuing wars reshape land ownership dramatically.
Cromwell’s campaign (1649–53) is especially brutal; massive land confiscations follow.
Penal Laws and Protestant Ascendancy (late 1600s–1700s)
After the Williamite War (1689–91), Catholics and dissenting Protestants face discriminatory Penal Laws.
Political and economic power concentrated in the Protestant Ascendancy.
Irish Parliament exists but is subordinate to London.
Late 18th Century Reform and Rebellion
Inspired by American and French revolutions.
United Irishmen, led by Wolfe Tone, seek a non-sectarian republic.
1798 Rebellion is crushed.
Leads to the Act of Union (1801): Ireland becomes part of the United Kingdom.
The Ancient Irish Clans and Plantation
The system of clans was the basis of society in Ireland up to the 17th Century and included powerful clans such as Ó Neill of Tir Eógain in Ulster, Ó Conor in Connacht, Ó Brien in Thomond, MacCarthy in Desmond, and MacMurroughs in Leinster.
The Gaelic Irish earls, led by Hugh O’Neill, attempted to find foreign support for a rebellion against English rule. Following their defeat in the Nine Years’ War, most notably at the Battle of Kinsale, (1601) the English Crown redoubled efforts to establish control, enforcing English law, undermining the traditional land rights of the earls, and challenging their Catholic faith. Internal betrayals among the Gaelic chiefs, anxieties over potential English retaliation, and a final attempt to secure support, both military and financial, from Spain led to their decision to leave Ireland for continental Europe. This exodus known as ‘The Flight of the Earl’ (1607) marked the collapse of Gaelic authority in Ireland.
During The Plantation of Ulster (1609 – 1690) Irish owned lands were taken by the English Crown and given to settlers from England and Scotland settlers to manage.
The chiefs remained exiled from Ireland bringing an end to the Gaelic order. O’Donnell died, in 1608, and was buried in the church of San Pietro di Montorio. Hugh O’Neill died of fever in 1616 in his sixties and was interred beside O’Donnell.
Find out more about The Ancient Clans of Ireland
Many of the History Heritage Forum members involved in this project share their Irish and Ulster-Scots history, genealogy and culture locally and across the world.
The Ancient Clan website is the result of a Cross Border Heritage Project between Mid Ulster District Council and Donegal County Council funded through EU PEACE IV funding. It began by sharing heritage sites in Donegal and Mid Ulster and now extending it to include heritage sites connected to our ancient history and heritage.
Mid Ulster District Council (MUDC) Good Relations Grant 2025 – 2026 and Small Development Grant 2025-26
