User:Althist/Ireland Superpower/Ireland

The Federal Republic of Ireland or commonly referred to as Ireland is a relatively small island nation in westernEurope. It shares no land border with any other nation but east of the country is the United Kingdom which has long been its rival. It is composed of 4 provinces which contain a number of counties. There are in total 32 counties. The country has a population of 10 million residents with the highest density being in the east and the least in the west and north west. Early autumn is the sunniest and driest period of the year and the rest of the year is scattered showers.

History
It is believed that over 15,000 years ago there were several land bridges between Ireland and the UK. Many people migrated from the UK to Ireland and the first signs of life are in the north of the country and east of the country. Gaelic kingdoms are said to have been established as early as 1514 BC but these are largely legendary. The first High Kings of Ireland are said to have arose in 459 BC. These High Kings lasted until 1318. For the next 200 years the normans and other gaelic people arrived in the country to settle. The Normans controlled most of the eastern of the country but had married into Irish families and had become "more Irish then the Irish themselves" gaelic lords ruled most of the other parts of the country until a invasion by the British in 1510. This was the first time since the time of the High Kings that the country had banded together to fight the British. The most powerful lords the Fitzgeralds of Desmond along with many other lords of Ireland joined there armies together to fight the might of the rising British Empire. The British Army first invaded Belfast and Drogheda at this time the Head of the Fitzgeralds Enda Fitzgerald had contacted all the other noble families across the island to come to Ireland for the first Oirechtas. He famously read the Republic of Ireland Speech stating that Ireland had to join together to fight its enemies and protect its allies. Many historians regard this as the birth of the modern Ireland.

The great Anglo-Irish War took place and the country was in turmoil. Britain soon invaded the entirety of Northern Ireland and controlled this area. Soon Donegal, Tyrone, Armagh, Antrim, Derry and Down were under full control of the british. Fermanagh, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth were all at risk of being invaded. By 1528 the British were preparing for a invasion of the south of Ireland when 5 of the Gaelic and Norman lords discussed the North-South Armistice to finalize peace in the country. The British agreed to the armistice and fighting was stopped but both sides did not trust each other. The first phase of the armistice lasted for a unknown period. It was about 30 years until another conflict broke out. This is the longest unbroken peace in history. Over the next 200 years random fights and clashing began to take place until in 1770 when the British army began to pull out to station its armies in the United States. In 1776 nearly all barracks were withdrawn from Ireland. By this time the government in Southern Ireland was well organised but not official. Elections had taken place and laws were enacted and trade was made with foreign countries that recognised the Irish Republic. Ireland saw this as there chance to invade and Operation Mockingjay was written up to invade Britain.

Operation Mockingjay
Operation Mockingjay was the brain child of famous general Séadna Ó Cuinn. It involved a full charge at the British frontline to push them back to Antrim and Down. Cavalry and Ground soldiers would then assault the city and ships would fire on the British ships docked at Belfast. This would make it very hard for escape of the British.

This plan was carried out on February 13 1777. The ground plan went mainly to plan and all troops were pushed out of Armagh and Derry (No more troops were situated in Tyrone and Donegal. 40 of Irelands 50 ships (borrowed from the Spanish) sailed up the east coast. Nearly 5 were destroyed in a surprise assault in Newry. The rest survived up until Belfast and a large sea battle took place. The remaining officer in command Admiral Douglas F. Gent had ordered his remaining ships to destroy the Irish armada. Many of the cannons and artillery were left at the docks and when the ground troops arrived at the docks they utilized them to fire on the ships. The sea battle went on for 2 days until Douglas F. Gent had lost almost 300 men and had only about 1,500 men left to fight the strong 25,000 Irish force.

The Treaty of Oxford
Talks began a week later in Oxford over a new treaty. Many of the British delegates had given up hope on Ireland and stated it was a "failed state". Though talks dragged on for months and details about the establishment of the Irish government and many other things. Though in September 1777 the English Prime Minister and Peter Fitzgerald signed the Treaty of Oxford. The modern nation of Ireland was born

1777-1850
Many of the government functions were established. Many of the lordships in Ireland had been eradicated and no longer were in existence over the years as many of them divided their estates to pay for the war. The Irish nation copied many of the ideas from the US and began there own federal republic but the major difference was that the President did not have much power. During this transformation period the country was led by theExecutive Council of Ireland which consisted of many members from the rebellion. Soon the First Irish Constitution was created in 1778 and in July 1778 the first general election took place.

Peter Fitzgerald who was a major driving force behind the rebellion surprisingly did not run for office and political turmoil had already broken out in the country once he announced his decision not to run for Prime Minister. He also established the Republican Party and the first person to be considered for the role was Eamon Smith who was the official candidate for the Republican Party.

On the 5th of August Eamon Smith was elected as Prime Minister of Ireland and was the first ever official Prime Minister of Ireland. He soon developed the country and caused rapid economic growth within the