| C.400 BC |
Celtic tribes invaded Ireland |
| 432 AD |
Saint Patrick brought
Christianity to Ireland |
| C. 795 |
Vikings began raiding Ireland |
| 1014 |
Brian Boru defeated the Vikings at Clontarf |
| 1541 |
Henry VIII was declared king of Ireland by an Irish
parliament that was led by nobles that favoured English rule |
| 1649 |
Oliver Cromwell crushed an Irish revolt against England
and took land and rights from Irish Catholics |
| 1690 |
The English defeated James II and Irish forces in the
Battle of Boyne |
| 1801 |
Ireland became a part of the British Commonwealth called
the Irish Free State |
| 1949 |
Ireland became a republic |
| 1990 |
Mary Robinson became Ireland's first female president
until 1997 |
| 1999 |
Ireland began taking part in new governing bodies
created by the Northern Ireland peace agreement |