20 years of DNA findings: who are the Irish?

The history books have been completely rewritten over the last 20 years - more than once

DNA advances have separated fact from fiction

What do they teach us on Irish & European arrivals? (1) Around 2004, the first DNA findings seemed to confirm the history books

They showed Irish similarities to Iberia (north Spain-Portugal)

Gaelic texts like the Books of invasions had claimed the Gaels invaded from Spain

But - it was a false positive (2)

Ireland in WW2 - the declassified files

Ireland declared neutrality at the outbreak of WW2

Agendas in Britain and America sought to discredit Ireland, twisting truth

Declassification revealed their secrets

Here are 3 key documents, with links

What do they tell us? (1) Britain, particularly Winston Churchill, had multiple reasons to discredit Ireland in WW2

One was diminishing Irish efforts to end partition, particularly among the powerful Irish- American lobby

A second was scapegoating. Britain’s Admiralty had failed to plan for the loss of access to Irish Ports and resultant Atlantic issues, an obvious likelihood when de Valera came to power in 1932.
Blaming Atlantic shipping losses on the loss of the ports, and not British failures to plan for or address that likely situation, served multiple purposes for Britain’s First Lord of the Admiralty from Sept 1939, to May 1940 - none other than Winston Churchill

There was also a petty, personal angle to Churchills dislike of de Valera & Irish Republicanism, which went both ways

He would falsely imply Ireland aided or favoured the Nazis, overstate the importance of Irish involvement & Treaty Ports, never mention the extent of Irish support, & most reprehensibly, use his victory speech to falsely accuse Ireland of ‘frocking with the Germans’ (2)

The Irish Triskele:

The tri-spiral is one of humanities oldest symbols

It appears at burial site Newgrange - a location 1000 years older than the Pyramids & Stonehenge

The symbol would be used by the Gaelic Irish 2500 years later

What is the secret of its longevity? (1) The symbol is found on the entrance stone to Newgrange

Built around 5200 years ago, its builders were early Irish farmers who had arrived from Anatolia

There were masters of stone and sky

They were building Europe's most impressive monuments (2)

The green harp flag of Ireland

It was first recorded in 1642

It became the flag of the 1798 rebellion &, for many, a national standard

So why didn’t it become the Irish National Flag? (1) The harp flag to represent Ireland was first recorded as early as the 13th century

Incredibly, it was a French device, not English as was believed

It appears in Part B of the Wijnbergen Roll around 1270, in blue

Richard 3rd & Henry 8th later used it, but did not invent it (2)

Tell me you don't know anything about Irish history without telling me you don't know anything about Irish history

People like Jamie were brought up on a diet of lies & hatred regarding the island they were born in

No, Ireland's role in WW2 wasn't shameful - far from it in fact, as Ireland aided Britain & the Allies completely while navigating difficult politics at home - politics made challenging by British policy.
Declassification has shown it was the right decision, aiding the Allies covertly rather than openly, a fact agreed with completely by British intelligence MI5

Here are the facts (1) When WW2 broke out most countries declared neutrality

America, Spain, Belgium, British ally Portugal... many large nations that could make a difference

Funnily enough, people like Jamie don't suggest other nations that took an identical approach to Ireland are 'shameful'?

Ireland had far more reason than most to declare neutrality (2)

Remembering Roger Casement, sent to London this week, 1916

British diplomat & Irish rebel

'The Father of modern human rights investigations'

He was Knighted for exposing atrocities overseas

For Ireland's cause, he was hanged

His words live on - here are his finest (1) On self government...

Spies, sabotage, secrecy & gunrunning...

A rising is planned in Ireland for Easter 1916

The effort to arm it is extraordinary

It results in a scuttled ship, a crew imprisoned on Spike Island & Roger Casement's hanging

The incredible story of the Aud (1) For context, World War 1 has erupted

Hundreds of thousands of Irish head off to war

Spike Island protects Cork Harbour & trains troops for the front

But Irish rebels see opportunity in England's distraction

A chance to end centuries of oppression & achieve independence (2)

Irish aid to Europe post-WW2:

It is a little known fact that Ireland donated the highest % of public expenditure in aid to Europe after WW2

It remains 'unprecedented in scale and national involvement'

How did it come about? (1) The generous aid was in direct contrast to a strict refugee policy

After Irish independence 1922, 1 of the poorest nations in Europe refused to take anyone who could become a burden on the state

This wasn't specific to 1 group

This policy was maintained in WW2 (2)

Ireland has millennia of symbology

Some of our oldest symbols are over 5000 years old

On #StPatricksDay what is the history & pedigree of Ireland's oldest symbols (1) The shamrock was linked to St Patrick

It was 1st recorded in Irish association in the 1500’s

A recent link to the 1196 Topographia Hibernica implies much earlier use

The Irish wore them on St Patrick’s Day no later than the 1600’s

The symbolism has older Celtic roots (2)

The fighting Irish:

In the news following Trump's highlighting of Irish-American bravery

More than just a dictum, it is a statement of fact

A staggering 2021 of 3464 US Medals of Honour were awarded to Irish-Americans

How was the phrase earned? Here's the history (1) Before its American use it was a disparaging term in Ireland

A centuries long slander campaign tried to 'other' the Irish

Diminishing our character = diminish our rights

When an Irish Attorney-General was proving difficult, he was mocked as the 'Fighting Irish' (1844) (2)

In 1847 as the Irish famine raged, a prison was opened on a small Irish island

Within 5 years it was the largest prison in the world

Within 20, it had redefined modern approaches to prisoner reform

This is the story of Spike Island (1) The prison was opened to deal with an explosion in crimes of survival

Government policy left 1 million Irish starve

Close to 2 million emigrated - 25%+ of the population gone

Ireland is the only country in the world with a lower population today than in 1840 (2)

The blue harp flag of Ireland

Back in the news following some choice comments on the Irish tricolour!

Ireland's oldest symbol, it was pipped to the post by the French inspired tricolour from 1916

How did it supersede a near thousand year old device? (1) There are 2 reasons why the tricolour won the race to become Ireland's national flag:

1) An inaccurate origin story for the harp flag of Ireland

2) The use of the tricolour as a Republican device from 1848 to 1921

To take the inaccurate harp flag origins first (2)

An extraordinary week for Ireland has seen its history revised & diminished by a U.S Senator & British commentators

They repeat 80 year old anti-Irish slurs & 20th century thinking

The subject is Irish neutrality in WW2

What is the truth? (1) Falsehoods emerged immediately after WW2

Official records were sealed for decades

When released they sat in Dublin's National Archives, unused by 20th century American & British writers

Amid a reserved silence from Ireland's government, outside agenda wrote the story (2)

Over 175 years ago the people of Ireland and American Indians embraced

Ireland was being annihilated by a forced famine that would kill over 1 million

Those with nothing offered everything

Now, 2 statures standing either side of the Atlantic mark the moment (1) In 1847 Ireland was ravaged by a horrific famine

British rulers denied sufficient aid, continuing to export food as people starved

Over 1 million Irish died - millions more emigrated

It is the most lethal event in modern Irish or British history, incl both World Wars (2)

On this day, 86 years ago, a momentous moment in Irish history occurred

Spike Island was returned to Ireland

It was deemed so important by Britain it fortified & held it from 1779 to 1938

When returned, Winston Churchill raged

Ireland celebrated

How did it come about? (1) For context, Ireland gained independence for 26 of 32 counties after a brave War of Independence in 1921

Spike Island was retained as 1 of 3 Irish ‘Treaty ports’

A British Military base since 1779, Cork Harbour were deemed too important to relinquish

Primarily by one man (2)

My wife & I completed an Irish pilgrimage today

Sant'Agata dei Goti in Rome holds the heart of the most substantial Irishman of all time

Daniel O’Connell

Except the relic has been missing since 1927

This is the strange story of the missing heart of Daniel O’Connell (1) Daniel O’Connell stands alone in Irish history

Born near Cahirsiveen in rural Kerry, he was 1 of the few landowning Catholic families

As a young man he watched as Ireland was fiercely punished for a rising in 1798

The modest gains of the late 18th century were reversed (2)

A touch of class from King George VI

When Ireland became a Republic in 1948, it formally removed the last functions of the King

The Kings response was a gracious message:

'I send you my sincere good wish this day being well aware of (our) neighbourly links...' (1) 'I hold in most grateful memory the services and sacrifices of the men and women of your country who rendered gallant assistance to our cause in the recent war & who made a notable contribution to our victory

I pray that every blessing may be with you today & in the future' (2)

The secret scriptorium of Spike Island Cork;

It’s long been known Spike Island was home to a monastery from 635ad

But since the 1950’s a new theory has emerged

Evidence that a sacred scriptorium operated on Spike Island

And now we think we know where (1) The monastery has always been of interest

An important monks death is recorded in the Annals, 821ad

Research suggests it survived at least 500 years into the 13th century

But the monastery’s exact location was lost to us

The motivation to find it has increased (2)

The military credentials of Spike Island Cork are remarkable

Yet most people don't know the enormous effort taken to secure the western approaches to the British Empire

Here is the story of an island fortified to defend an Empire (1) For context, Spike Island is a 104 acre island outcrop in Cork Harbour

It had already been home to a monastery in the Celtic Sea from 635AD

A first prison arrived in the 1600's, holding Oliver Cromwell's POW's. More would follow

But its strategic importance was rising (2)

The incredible story of Waterford's Edmond Power, the boy they made a murderer

Edmond was a soft famine orphaned teen in 1848

Instead of the care he needed, Edmond was treated like a criminal

In just 8 short years, his mistreatment twisted him into something far worse... (1) His first crime in 1848 was the act of being homeless

That an orphaned boy of 14 was homeless during 1 of the worst famines in history is hardly surprising

Yet the authorities made a criminal of Edmond, and set him on a path to ruin (2)

In 2020 workmen on Spike Island found a centuries old surprise

They were reopening the ‘Sallyport’

A tunnel under the forts walls, it connects the surrounding moat for strategic military purposes

It was blocked up to deter prisoner escapes, but it hid something else (1) Halfway down the tunnel was an unexpected doorway

It was not on any maps or drawings of the 1804 fort

Shining a light into centuries of darkness revealed a stone spiral staircase

Intricate. Ornate. The work of master craftspeople (2)