Allan: Ireland's History

The island of Ireland is made up of two countries, the southern majority known today as The Republic of Ireland and the Northern most portion, known as Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom. The island's politics, religions, economies, peoples and devastating historical events like the 1840's famine have left their mark not only on the cultural and social landscape of the island of Ireland, but also the physical one.

Ruinous buildings impart the history of Ireland in a real context, one that books housed in historical libraries, now under glass, can not convey. These works are but fading marks of the scribe of history, visible on the island landscape. Castles, churches, monasteries, stone towers, gravestones, town walls and other fortifications are living history of the years man has inhabited this island. It is with humility that I am silenced as I start to understand and consider the place in Ireland's history that each one of these remains hold.