Top 5 Historic Places in Ireland

The GPO, Dublin

The GPO (General Post Office) was the headquarters of the Easter Rising of 1916 when Irish rebels, led by Padraig Pearse of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) proclaimed Ireland a Republic by issuing the signed Proclamation of the Irish Republic by seven members of the army council; Thomas J. Clarke, Sean Mac Diermada, Thomas McDonagh, PH Pearse, Eamon Ceant, James Connolly and Joseph Plunkett and declaring war on the occupying British forces thereafter.

A brief and bloody battle took place in different places in Dublin mainly. British forces attacked the GPO and Pearse and his followers surrendered. They were all executed by the British and although the Easter Rising was generally considered a failure by commentators at the time, it eventually led to the formation of a Free State Government some five years later and the Republic of Ireland we know and live in. today. .

Today the GPO remains a fully functioning Post Office, in the center of O’Connell Street, the main thoroughfare of Dublin City. It is located near the Dublin Spire and an original copy of the Proclamation can be seen there.

Dublin’s castle

Dublin Castle is one of the most visited historical attractions in Ireland and its importance in Irish history cannot be underestimated. It is forever associated with the various repressive English occupiers of Ireland for almost 800 years.

The castle was built by King John in 1204, replacing a wooden structure that was deemed unsafe for English occupation. It was almost completely destroyed by the great fire of 1684 which leveled many buildings in the center of Dublin. The castle was gradually rebuilt and became the seat of the much hated British administration in Ireland until the 1916 rising in which the castle was attacked and gradually lost its status during the subsequent War of Independence. The last of the British occupants left in 1921 and Dublin Castle became a records and administration center for the new Free State government.

Today the castle is used to house the Irish revenue commissioners and other state bodies. It is also used for ceremonial occasions, such as receiving visits from heads of state. Located just off Dame Street, many rooms in Dublin Castle are open to the public and guided tours run daily.

Beal na mBlath, Clonakilty County Cork

Beal na mBalth is one of the most famous places in Irish history. It was here in August 1922 that Michael Collins, one of the most charismatic leaders in Irish history and Commander-in-Chief of the Home Forces, was killed in an ambush while on an inspection tour of Free State troops in his Cork native. .

Collins had brokered an agreement in which Great Britain granted Ireland independence in 26 of the 32 counties and the Six counties of Northern Ireland remained under British rule. These counties were the original Plantation counties, occupied mainly by Scots as part of the Plantation exercise carried out to bring Ireland further under English control. This sparked a civil war between Collins and his former comrades, led by Eamon De Valera, who fought for the government of all Ireland.

Collins’ stubborn insistence on undertaking a journey that was unnecessary and dangerous overruled the advice of his own experienced comrades. His assertion that he would never be killed by his own Cork native people had ironic fatal consequences that August night when he was mortally wounded. in an ambush.

Beal na mBlath is situated between the small village of Crookstown and the village of Cappeen on the R585 on the main Cork – Killarney road (N22) about 70km west of Cork city. The nearest large towns are Macroom and Clonakilty, in which a statue of “The Big Fella” as he was known was erected. The site of the ambush has a large monument and volunteer guides will provide the interested visitor with detailed information about the event.

michael collins, the film was released in October 1996, directed by Neil Jordan and starring Liam Neeson as Collins, along with Julia Roberts, Aidan Quinn and a host of other prominent Irish actors. It caused controversy and divided critics in its depiction of the events of the time and of Collins himself. Jordan stated that he set out to make a film based as faithfully as possible on real events, but mainly as a means of entertainment.

The Battle of the Boyne, Oldbridge, Drogheda, County Louth

The Battle of the Boyne, in 1690, was the end game in a war between the Catholic King James and the Protestant King William of Orange, who had deposed James in 1688. The battle, won by William, was a turning point in their enmity and ultimately helped ensure the continuation of Protestant supremacy in Ireland with ramifications to this day.

The battle took place on July 1, 1690, just outside the Oldbridge town of Drogheda. The armies were on opposite sides of the River Boyne. William’s forces easily defeated those of James, who led an army of mostly inexperienced recruits. The symbolic importance of this battle has made it one of the best-known battles in British and Irish history. It is a key part of Ulster Protestant folklore and is still commemorated today, primarily by the Institution of the Orange Order on 12 July, the day James’s forces surrendered.

Today, an interpretation center in Oldbridge, just west of the town of Drogheda on Slane Road, marks the center point of the battle. Throughout the area there are various monuments, indicating different crossing points and key locations during the battle.

Vinegar Hill, Enniscorthy, County Wexford

The 1798 Irish rebellion against the British occupation of Ireland had many major battles in different parts of the country, but the Battle of Vinegar Hill on June 21, 1798 was especially important. 15,000 British soldiers launched an attack on Vinegar Hill on the outskirts of the County Wexford town of Enniscorthy, the largest camp and headquarters of the Wexford United Irish Rebels. It marked a turning point in the Irish rebellion of 1798, as it was effectively the last stand in a nationwide campaign by the rebels to hold and defend ground against the British army. The battle was actually fought in two places: on Vinegar Hill and on the streets of the nearby town of Enniscorthy.

The British, led by General Lake, were determined to crush the rebellion once and for all, but were met with strong resistance from the Irish led by William Barker. However, the insurgents were outnumbered by the sheer number of British, who numbered over 20,000 in total between Enniscorthy and Vinegar Hill. The Irish were also poorly armed against the better equipped British. The battle is remembered for the terrible atrocities committed by the British after the rebels surrendered when they massacred defenseless women and children.

Today, memorials in different locations around Vinegar and the town of Enniscorthy mark what was one of the bloodiest battles in the long history of British occupation of Ireland.