A brief history of the Cruthin, who were the original Iron Age inhabitants of Ulster and part of Scotland, may be found at:
http://www.lisburn.com/history/history_lisburn/settlement_of_ulster.htm
Here are a few excerpts:
| QUOTE | Around 7,000 B.C. settlers crossed the narrow channel between Britain and Ulster to become Ireland's first inhabitants. Thirty centuries later they were peaceably joined by new settlers from what is now Scotland, who brought agriculture and commerce.
In continental Europe iron-making caused a technological revolution from 800 B.C. onwards. Prominent in the use of this material were the Celts. These were a group of peoples who spoke related languages and had similar beliefs and lifestyles, although they certainly did not regard themselves as one nation. By 700 B.C. the Celts were established in Central Europe north of the Alps. From there they spread to Asia Minor (the "foolish Galatians"), Italy, Spain, France and the "Islands of the Pretani" (British Isles). From 300 B.C. onwards iron was replacing bronze in Ireland, but archaeology suggests that Celts did not settle on the island in any great numbers until after the time of Christ.
Various Celtic peoples became the dominant caste in different parts of Britain and Ireland. However the majority of the population in Scotland and Ireland remained the Pretani. Those of Pretani stock in Scotland are usually called "Picts", while those in Ireland came to be labelled "Cruthin". In Ulster the Celtic Ulaid from Britain became an elite class. However, Ulster was sometimes still ruled by a Cruthinic king, either with the consent of the Ulaid, or through force. Generally, the two peoples united as Ulidians when faced with a common enemy, the Gaels. |
| QUOTE | | Ulster was continually under pressure from Gaelic tribes. The Cruthin and Ulaid forces were driven from Donegal and the citadel at Navan was destroyed around 450 A.D. South and west of the River Bann a tribe called the Airgialla took control as the Ulstermen retreated eastwards into Antrim and Down. Even here the Gaelic language was finally absorbed. The slow destruction of non-Gaelic power led many to leave for Scotland, particularly in the sixth century. The Romans named those coming from Ireland the "Scotti", from whence Scotland was named. Fergus Mac Ere stretched his Kingdom of Dalriada from North Antrim to Scotland around 500 A.D. Scotland's kings and queens and thus the British monarchy are descended from him. The Gaelic O'Neills set up a Northern Kingdom based on Donegal, and a Southern Kingdom around Meath. They crushed the Cruthin at Moneymore in 563. Although Northern O'Neill kings were slain in 565 and 628, Ulster's resistance to the Gaels received a near mortal blow at Moira in 637, and Dalriada lost its lands in Ulster after siding with the vanquished. |
| QUOTE | | Ulster was continually under pressure from Gaelic tribes. The Cruthin and Ulaid forces were driven from Donegal and the citadel at Navan was destroyed around 450 A.D. South and west of the River Bann a tribe called the Airgialla took control as the Ulstermen retreated eastwards into Antrim and Down. Even here the Gaelic language was finally absorbed. The slow destruction of non-Gaelic power led many to leave for Scotland, particularly in the sixth century. The Romans named those coming from Ireland the "Scotti", from whence Scotland was named. Fergus Mac Ere stretched his Kingdom of Dalriada from North Antrim to Scotland around 500 A.D. Scotland's kings and queens and thus the British monarchy are descended from him. The Gaelic O'Neills set up a Northern Kingdom based on Donegal, and a Southern Kingdom around Meath. They crushed the Cruthin at Moneymore in 563. Although Northern O'Neill kings were slain in 565 and 628, Ulster's resistance to the Gaels received a near mortal blow at Moira in 637, and Dalriada lost its lands in Ulster after siding with the vanquished. |
| QUOTE | President Theodore Roosevelt made this comment on the Ulster contribution to the war: "in the Revolutionary war . . . the fiercest and most ardent Americans of all were the Presbyterian Irish settlers and their descendants". He described those Ulstermen as "a grim, stern people, strong and simple, . . . the love of freedom rooted in their very hearts' core".
The Ulster immigrants brought with them from the shores of Ulster a love of freedom and in America's hour of crisis they fought to defend their freedom. They had travel ed far across the sea but their courage, convictions and commitment were undiminished. |
A more in depth history of the Cruthin may be found in Cruthin: the Ancient Kindred, by Ian Anderson, which is now out of print, but may be found in used bookstores. I was able to get a copy through Amazon.UK. For those interested in the history of the Cruthin, it is well worth reading.
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