OT: The Story of the Irish and how the Sullivan Clan came to New York State
And from the two-dozen page Geneology work I did in 2003, quoting from Seamus MacManus’s fantastic”Story of the Irish Race: (And this is God’s honest truth as it was told to me. < Wink! >
- Prehistoric Ireland and the coming of the Celts
Literacy and writing came to Ireland with the coming of Christianity in the fifth century A.D. But the first Irish settlers arrived sometime around 900 B.C., so the prehistory of Ireland is shrouded in myth and legend.
Only recently has the archaeological evidence displaced some of the myths. For example, until recently (e.g., in Seamus MacManus’s 1921 “The Story of The Irish Race”, there was a widespread belief that prehistoric Ireland had had a series of invasions: first, the Firbolg < the original Celts >, then the Tuatha De Danann, who “unlike the uncultured Firbolg, the Tuatha De Danann were a capable and cultured, highly civilized people, so skilled in the crafts, if not the arts, that the Firbolg named them necromancers”. Then in 1,100 B.C. or so the legends say, a fleet of Celts from Spain led by the wife and sons of King Milesius invaded Ireland. These Milesians overthrew the Tuatha De Denann and established a Celtic empire. “But archaeological vidence shows no indication of large-scale movements of people into Ireland from overseas; immigrants trundled in over hundreds of years.” < McCaffrey, C. And Eaton, L., “In Search of Ancient Ireland” (2002). >
McCaffrey and Eaton hypothesize that many of the misconceptions about the pre-history of Ireland arose in the late nineteenth century, when Irish civilization was trying to reassert itself after centuries of British domination. The new Irish patriots grasped at myths for a storied and glorious past. Yet, even if no Milesian invasion occurred sometime before the time of Christ, a strong Celtic influence was evident, even if it grew gradually. The roots of the Irish Gaelic language are evidence enough, and there is archaeological evidence of some Celtic influence dating to 300 B.C. And later.
The first Irish settlers arrived during the Mesolithic period, or Middle Store Age, sometime after 10,000 B.C., after the end of the latest Ice Age.
There is more extensive discussion in my 24 page booklet on Irish History and Family Geneology. Anyone who wants a copy can send me a private message with your mailing address. I can mail you a copy if you give me $10 to defray printing costs.
For the condensed version of how the Sullivan Clan came to New York State see the link below:
Message 33245986
Slainte! (Irish for “Cheers!”)
Proinseas (Irish for “Frank”)
O Suilleabhain (Irish for “Sullivan”, aka 'Eagle-Eyed”)
Your local Irish Mathematician and Observer.
Welcome to my world!
Cead Mile Failte! (Irish for “A 100,000 Welcomes”)
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