Hibernia - Hibernia in The Historical Record

Hibernia in The Historical Record

The island of Ireland was never incorporated into the Roman Empire.The fact that the Romans never occupied Ireland meant that Roman influence on Ireland was limited to trading contacts. There are remains near Dublin of what appears to be a Roman camp, which is thought to have been a regular seasonal fair for trading in both directions. Ancient Roman pottery, coins, and other Roman products are found in Irish archaeology from the period, though not in large quantities. The Roman historian Tacitus makes reference to an expedition to Ireland by the general Agricola in AD 82. He is reported in one passage to "have crossed the water", the water in context is unknown and perhaps is reference to some exploratory mission, however the remainder of the passage deals exclusively with Ireland. According to Seneca, Agricola was of the opinion that Ireland could be conquered with one legion and a moderate amount of auxiliaries, in all roughly 6,000 men. Reference is also made about an Irish king who had fled the island in search of refuge. Agricola provided him with safety in the hope that it might be a reason to possibly invade the island. The Ulster historian Richard Warner has theorised that the Midlands leader Túathal Techtmar, usually thought mythical, was in fact historical and went to Britain to get Roman support for his military campaigns (along with other later exiles). If there is any truth in this hypothesis, the Romans may have had a greater influence on the southeast of Ireland than normally thought by scholars. Overall, the relative lack of Roman influence on Ireland meant that it preserved its ancient culture to a much greater degree than continental countries such as Gaul.

Irish raids harried the Roman provinces of Britannia (Britain) and Gaul (France) as evidenced from surviving Roman texts; this became an increasing problem as the Roman military machine weakened in later periods.

In the early 1st century, Roman and Greek knowledge of Ireland was thin, at least among metropolitan writers. The geographers Strabo and Pomponius Mela describe a cold land populated by extremely fierce inhabitants, where, despite the coldness, the grazing for cattle was lush.

By the 2nd century, the geographer Ptolemy gave coordinates for a surprisingly detailed map of Ireland, naming tribes, towns, rivers and headlands. This information could have come from a variety of sources but does demonstrate the increasing knowledge and interest in Ireland.

Irish written history does not mention Rome at all. However, the lack of written history does not mean that Rome or the Roman province of Britannia did not significantly interact with Ireland. Archaeologists have found an enormous fort complex at Chester (Deva Victrix) in northwest England that may have been planned as a centre to rule the islands, or as a military base to deter Irish invasions.