Early Christian Ireland

Overview

Early Christian Ireland began after the country emerged from a mysterious decline in population and standards of living that archaeological evidence suggests lasted from c. 100 to 300 AD. During this period, called the Irish Dark Age by Thomas Charles-Edwards, the population was entirely rural and dispersed, with small ringforts the largest centres of human occupation. Some 40,000 of these are known, although there may have been as many as 50,000, and "archaeologists are agreed that the vast bulk of them are the farm enclosures of the well-to-do of early medieval Ireland". These commonly featured souterrains: underground passages and chambers for hiding in or escaping through. It is likely that raiding Great Britain for slaves and other loot gave an important boost to an otherwise almost entirely agricultural economy. The lakeside enclosures called crannógs continued to be used and seem especially associated with crafts.