A general history from the Mesolithic era (8000 BC) to 50 BC .
Return to index page
50 BC
The last of the major Celtic invasion of Ireland was a direct result of the Roman attempts to dominate the Celtic tribes of Gaul, forcing the more independent amongst them to flee to the Great-Britain and Ireland.According to popular tradition they landed in south Kerry and the Boyne estuary, and from there, they spread North and West. By the 5th century they were dominant throughout Ireland.
300 BC
The third Celtic colonisation of Ireland took place at that time. The Laighin landed in Leinster to which they gave their name. They came from the western part of Normandy and slowly extended their power across the country, forcing the Fir Bolg towards the remoter parts of the West Coast, accounting for the greater concentration of stone forts in those areas.
500 BC
The second and more numerous waves of Celts to land in Ireland was the Euerni later called Erainn, who gave their name to this country. They landed in the south and first established themselves there, afterwards extending their conquest to the rest of Ireland.The Erainn were part of the Belgae, who controlled a large part of the continent and gave their name to Belgium, Bolg was their sun god who, they claim, was their ancestor, so the Irish name Fir Bolg.They divided Ireland into 5 provinces (Kingdoms), and what is now Connacht was then called Olnemacht, after the daughter of one of their chief, Geanain, one of the five chieftains who shared Ireland between them. In that period Shrule is said to have been part of the Kingdom of Irrusdomnonn and was inhabited by a clan Umoir.
According to the legends they were very fond of battle and strong ale, and their favourite weapon was a heavy spear that needed great strength to handle.The Fir Bolg built great stone forts, and to them must be attributed the construction of Cahermore, a very large fort made of two concentric circles of loose stones, situated west of Shrule and North of Kinlough, on the highest point of the parish of Shrule.Its size seems to indicate a place of importance,maybe the residence of a local chieftain.
The battle of Moytura This legend is from a set of stories relating the coming of the Danaan; many historians believe it to be based on a real battle that would have happened in the area north east of Cong between the Fir-Bolg, and possibly the Laighin.According to tradition, the Fir Bolg had their main camp near Cong, and the Danaan had theirs on Knockmaa, Southwest of Shrule, in the parish of Caherlistrane. If this was true the Danaan warriors would have to pass though Shrule, a natural ford on the Blackriver, to get to Moytura and they would have to deal with the Fir Bolg settled in the Shrule-Kinlough area before going further.In the earliest legendary period this area is said to have been part of the kingdom of Irrusdomnonn and was inhabited by a clan Umoir.
600 BC
The first of the Celts to settle in Ireland were the Pretani, later called Cruithnigh and also known to the Romans as Picts. They came to Ulster from Scotland but they did not go much farther. Their descendants, the Dal Riada tribes, dominated the Northeast of Ulster until the tenth century.We will see on other pages how some of them came to live in the Kilmaine barony and in our parish.
1700 BC
start of the Bronze Age.Two spearheads were found near Shrule Bridge, at least one was sent to Dublin for testing and was found to be from the early Bronze Age
3,500 BC (the Neolithic)
With the arrival of the Neolithic people started the clearance of the forests. They were farmers, growing crops and domesticating animals. They were using stone tools of great craftsmanship. Two stone axes of that period, made from a black stone called porcelemite found mainly in county Antrim, were discovered near the Shrule Bridge, during the drainage of the river.
It has always been told locally that the Neolithic people visited our area. A cairn on top of Knockmaa been pointed out as the burial place of a woman named Caesair, leader of a band of 50 women and 3 men.Over the following 3000 years a whole succession of invasions took place, bringing with them new cultures and knowledge in mining, metal work, building…
8 000 BC (the Mesolithic)
The first settlers to Ireland arrived about that time, migrating across the channel from Scotland into Northern Ireland. They travelled by water, living by fishing. They went as far south as Carlow but never came to Shrule area, or so it seems. At that time the land was covered with dense forests giving a perfect habitat for deer, wild boars, wolves …