Walker 1 Corbett Walker Lynn M.

Raymond ENGL 1103 10/04/13 Origin While looking back through the history of my family, I have found that I have several different places of origin. I have a background of German, Irish, and Native American. For this report however, I am going to delve into my Irish background. I will also tell you that while I was researching I found many different facts that caught my eye numerous times. I think it is only best then, to share this newfound information with you. Ireland, is the third largest island of Europe. It is also right in the middle of the Atlantic, Celtic and Irish Sea. What else is there to learn about this wonderful island? Let me share. Irelands national flag is a flag of three vertical stripes with the colors green, white and orange respectively. In 1848, a group of French women gave this flag to Thomas Francis Meagher because they were knowledgeable of the Irish cause. The colors of this also have meanings to them, green representing the Gaelic tradition of Ireland, orange representing the followers of William of Orange in Ireland, and white representing the aspiration for peace between them (Flag of Ireland). Then there is the national anthem, which was written by Peader Kearney. This song entitled The Soldiers Song was written in 1907. Now although it was written in 1907, it did not become the national anthem of Ireland until some time in 1926. But before this, it was published in an

Walker 2 Irish newspaper in 1912. The song was not widely known until it was sung during the Easter Rising of 1916 and later at various internment camps (Irish National). The chorus of this song goes, Soldiers are we whose lives are pledged to Ireland; Some have come from a land beyond the wave. Sworn to be free, No more our ancient sire land Shall shelter the despot or the slave. Tonight we man the gap of danger In Erin's cause, come woe or weal 'Mid cannons' roar and rifles peal, We'll chant a soldier's song. Moving on though, what about citizenship? To become a citizen of Ireland you must first go through a process known as naturalization. Through this, you must meet a list of requirements that include: being eighteen years old, being of good character, and intending in good faith to continue to reside in the State (Becoming an Irish). Then after completing this, the minister of Ireland will review your application and determine whether or not you will be able to become a legal citizen of Ireland, also known as naturalization. One other thing to state about this process, is that before you can even think about it, you must have lived in Ireland for some amount of time, at least a year. How about influential people, did Ireland have any, very much so. There was a patriot leader of the revolutionary war and some of our presidents have even been of Irish descent. There are two Irish people that I would like to talk about that I think were pretty influential. The first I have already mentioned, and his name was Charles Thomson. Charles was born in Maghera, County Londonderry in 1729 and died in 1825, was part of the Continental Congress of America and as I said earlier; was a patriot leader of the Revolutionary War. The other person that I also think was influential is Richard Martin, born in 1754 and died in 1834. He may not have been as political as Charles Thomson, but I still think that he was important. In 1824 he founded the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), now the oldest and largest animal

Walker 3 welfare organization in the world (List of). I also mentioned that there were some presidents of descent. These included President James Buchanan, President John F. Kennedy, and President Ronald Reagan. Now what else can we learn about Ireland? We have learned quite a lot, but how about some important days in history for Ireland. After doing some research, there are two important dates that I would like to mention. These two dates are September 1845, and April 1916. The first date that I mention has to do with the start of the Great Famine. The Great Famine was a time in Ireland when a blight went through the Irish farm land and destroyed the potato crop. This famine lasted for four years killing some one million people. For Irish nationalist, it became a truism that the Almighty sent the potato blight, but the English created the famine (Hegarty). This then is somewhat related to my next important date in Irish history. This next date is known as the Easter Rising. During the week of Easter, a group of Irish republicans decided that it was time to become independent of the British rule. To accomplish this, there was an armed insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916 (Easter Rising). This was also smartly planned on the Irish because at the time the United Kingdom was also involved with World War 1. We have now come to the conclusion. There are many things that I never knew about Ireland, but have now learned from all my research. I really found it interesting that some very influential presidents came from Ireland and that to become a citizen of Ireland the minister has to accept you. I hope that through this paper, you not only learned a lot, but were also intrigued enough so that you may go and do some research of your own. I know I learned a lot and very well may just have to learn some more myself.

Walker 4 Works Cited Becoming an Irish Citizen through Naturalisation." Citizensinformation.ie. Citizens Information, 10 July 2013. Web. 03 Oct. 2013. (Becoming an Irish) "Easter Rising." Wikipedia.com. Wikipedia, 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 Oct. 2013. (Easter Rising) "Flag of Ireland." Wikipedia.com. Wikipedia, 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 Oct. 2013. (Flag of Ireland) Hegarty, Neil. "Ireland's Milestone Moments." Histroyextra.com. History Extra, n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2013. (Hegarty) Ireland Flag (Irish Flag). Digital image. Mapsofworld.com. Maps of World, 09 Aug. 2012. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. (Ireland Flag) "Irish National Anthem." Irishroots.org. Irish in Illinois, n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2013. (Irish National) "List of Famous Irish People." Eupedia.com. Eupedia, n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2013. (List of)