In 1013 the Danes seized the English throne. Pending renewed Viking invasion, Brian gathered his might to save his young Irish Kingdom:

The Lough Derg Sword, typical of the Viking-style swords wielded by the Irish - Found in Tipperary, Brian Boru’s powerbase, 11th c.

"And the Irish will long suffer from a sorrow that will never grow old for men." Viking curse upon the Irish for Clontarf defeat; Njál Saga

The Viking leader Bródar enters the royal tent of Brian Boru, fulfilling the battle prophecy of '..Irish victory - but King Brian's death.'

BRIAN BORU - Imperator Scotorum - Emperor of the Irish.

One of the few men to realise a united, Gaelic Ireland.

Irish language poem (translated) written in the Viking Age:

On May 3rd 1916, on orders of the General Courts Martial, the British Army began a series of executions of Irish "traitors and rebels".

In doing so they began Ireland's First War of Independence.

On this day: James Connolly and Sean Mac Diarmada were executed in 1916 following the events of the Easter Rising for sovereignty.

James Connolly wasn't really a threat to Britain as a revolutionary socialist, the British state can happily tolerate/fund marxist intellectuals and activists even to this day.

He only truly became a danger when he embraced revolutionary nationalism.

Street parties in Dublin. Now extinct!

Pictish Stones had an impact on Gaelic culture - Note the similar curving motifs used in the Book of Durrow Lion and this Pictish wolf.

John Scotus Eriugena on the old Irish £5 note - Illustrated with images from the Hiberno-Viking Ricemarch Psalter & Book of Durrow.

Tartessos in Southwestern Iberia was a Proto-Celtic culture with its own unique systems of writing, art, & beliefs dating back to 900 BC. According to Herodotus, these 'Celtic-speaking tribes' predated the classical world and the Persian Empire.

The Atlantic Bronze Age (1300–700 BC) was a time of bustling trade and cultural exchange in Western Europe. It is defined by bronze swords, spearheads, cauldrons, and the spread of Celtic as a common tongue, stretching from Tartessos to Brittany, Britain and Ireland.