The philosophy behind this outline course of Irish History is: interest - pure and simple. Who are the Irish? What does it mean to be Irish? What is their early history, culture, language and geography and how have these shaped later Irish people and society. This course will examine Irish history from the earliest times - the era of the Celts, through their artefacts, language and Sagas to the coming of Christianity with St Patrick, then, through the invasions of the Vikings, and later the Normans, to the Gaelic medieval world, and end with latter's attempted destruction under the Tudors.