Ah now, first of all you haven't allowed for climate change. When I was a child in Belfast [a city in Ireland no matter how much the Loyalists wish to deny reality] in the 60s, the weather was usually pretty miserable [something like the mentality of most of its inhabitants] The weather has actually improved [from the point of view of us Africans and we are at basis all Africans] in Ireland during the past 40-50 years. As a child in Belfast I saw a dramatic improvement in the weather as I grew up there from the 60s to the 80s. Now I live in Dublin and the worst weather is usually a bit drizzly and cool [in winter yes, it gets cold but nothing like I remember in the 60s and 70s in Belfast]. Unfortunately, the mentality of the miserable weather in Ireland persists. It has significantly improved over the last four-five decades. Sadly the improvement in Ireland appears to be at the cost of a severe deterioration in other parts of the world. Wth 50C weather in India at the moment, it looks like the world is going to become a desert within the lifetime of children living today. My heart goes out to them, sincerely.
As someone born and raised in the West of Ireland, it’s largely down to a combination of poorer agricultural land and relative isolation from Ireland’s main trading partners in the EU and UK. This leads to a more scattered population and less prospect of attracting FDI, although American multinationals have stepped in the breach somewhat. The relative lack of people does make for some stunning scenery and generally lower rates of crime, however. As a friend of mine says, don’t tell anyone about how nice it is or they’ll all want to come!
It is by comparison. Cork population 225,000 Dublin 1,250,000 Belfast 664,000 By comparison the biggest populated cities on the east coast Galway 85,000 Limerick 60,000
God I didn't know that The Island only had 3 cities. I could swearing that Ireland (the country) had six: Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Kilkenny(depending on who you ask) and that Northern Ireland had Three Belfast, Derry(I know, shut up) and Newry.
Totally missed the huge influence of the Famine. The west of Ireland was a lot more densely populalted prior to the famine. The famine and the emmigration that followed for over a hundred years, is a major factor in why the west is less populated. For example the population of the Western province of Connacht in 1841, before the famine, was 1.4 million by by 1971 it was 390K. Munster 1841 2.3 million by 1971 879K. A little research wouldn't kill you. The population decline in Ireland is an emotive subject. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_population_of_Ireland
Indeed, my home county of Mayo was one of the most populated counties in Ireland prior to the Famine, now it is only one of two in which the population is falling. The Famine had a catastrophic effect and arguably the population never fully recovered from it.
Through in the post-independence capital flight, add in that the post-independence regime lacked capital, were not all that good at strategic planning and over centralised the state. Significant population growth is recent, as is the development of the transport infrastructure that would encourage more rapid growth in the west.
It took until the early 21st Century for Ireland to recover its population to more or less 1841 levels. But then, there was a huge diaspora of Irish out of Ireland to the USA and even the UK itself, and in the end they carved out new lives in the new countries the Irish emigrated to.
So what defines a 'major' city, given the size and distribution of the population? Limerick and Galway have populations that are not that much less than that of Cork. And are similar to many cities in the UK. The West of Ireland has always been less developed and relied more on agriculture and tourism while Belfast and Dublin always had most of the industry, commerce, and the seats of power. Still, property is still expensive.
@@RazorMouth my hometown has a Catholic Cathedral which is called the Cathedral of Saints Columba and of Saint Eunan here in letterkenny of the RC Diocese of Raphoe in letterkenny town. Just a few miles away there is another Cathedral which is also Saint Eunans Cathedral of the church of Ireland which is Anglican Protestant church Diocese in Raphoe town which is actually a ancient City which has a smaller population than letterkenny. Letterkenny is the largest town in the County of Donegal and main industrial commercial center for the county.
Well Cork is larger than Galway, Limerick, Ennis, Castlebar and Ballina combined. So there is a substantial enough difference between Cork City and all urban settlements along the west coast.
@@RazorMouth Nope. The Local Government Act of 2001 recognises 6 cities in Ireland (known as county boroughs). Kilkenny has special status due to having a historical charter, granted in 1609 by James I, and was reconstituted as a borough council in 2000. The majority of cathedrals in Ireland are in very modest towns. Cavan Letterkenny Longford Kilmore Monaghan Mullingar Cobh Ennis Killarney Skibbereen Thurles Carlow Enniscorthy Ballaghaderreen Could a sane individual ever imagine Cavan being a city? Relative to it's locale it is a "large" town with a cathedral. Similarly Ennis, which is reasonably large by any standard (Pop: ~28,000) does not have any pretentions as to city status. The one fly in the ointment is Sligo who bleat on about their lack of city status incessantly and this has probably sparked your comment. Fortunately we are not the USA which has cities with a population as low as Monowi Nebraska, which in this case is 1 as of 2020.
13:29 not only are Ireland a beautiful island, but the people there are beautiful people also, my company had a project there in the 90'ts and we all simply loved working there, 2 of my colleagues found their wife there and many travelled around the island and they all loved everything, also being in pubs in the evening was so nice, people was easy to talk to and so polite, positive and created a pleasant atmosphere many of us considered it our favourite place to have a project
@@doncarlodivargas5497 obviously not all the people but I'm general just this past winter I was with a mate who is italian (dark skin) and man the difference in treatment were...annoying at best. "go ahead and ask for a table for us....they say is full" .. not it wasnt when I went to ask. Shts like that
@@radidov5333 The racism is a relatively "new" thing whipped up in the past decade or so by social media nutjobs. In the 1990s anyone of any nationality would have been welcomed warmly into Ireland. The innocence has been lost since then, unfortunately, and Ireland is very much a 21st century society now with common 21st century issues.
@@kosefix What's further messed up is the population rose from 2.5M to 8M (i.e. tripled) between 1730 and 1845 (Source: Gurrin, The Death Census of Black '47, Eyewitness Accounts of Ireland's Great Famine 2023)
I was there age 16, in 1966. I was shocked to see palm trees-I mean just like Florida-all over the West coast. I was told it was the warm currents from the Gulf Stream that created such a pleasant climate. The palm trees seemed to like it but it was a bit chilly for me. But visually stunning.
Ireland certainly has a mild climate. We recently visited Wexford and Waterford in Ireland's 'Sunny South-East', and were amazed to see so many palm trees.
Wonderful presentation. Pronunciation is pretty spot on. I live in the west and it truly is a beautiful part of the world. The best advice I could give? If your sat nav suggests turning right, take a left. You’ll find hidden valleys, empty beaches and the odd local pub. If you’re lucky you’ll find yourself at a party, a wedding or an Irish funeral. All strangely similar. David in Galway ❤
I've been all over Ireland as my husband is from Ireland. The consistency of the soil in the west is much rockier than the soil in the East. That's a big factor as to why so many in the west left. Farming was simply more of an uphill battle. If you travel from Dublin to Galway by car you'll gradually notice more and more stone fences. I spent some time on one of the Aran Islands off the west coast and the entire island was broken down by stone "fences".
You might get that impression from visiting the Aran Islands, the Burren area in Clare, West Galway and maybe some areas of Kerry?, but the predominant agricultural constraints in the west of Ireland are low subsoil water permeability in the context of double to triple the rainfall in the East of Ireland, all the downstream effects of this, low topsoil levels due to glaciation and large coverage of bogs/"semi bogs". Tbh the video, especially the thumbnail, is kind of strawmanning - Limerick Co. has the same population density as Co. Cork, and Co. Galway would as well if you disregard the area east of the Corrib, which is literally unbroken uninhabitable bogland and Gaeltachts (native Irish speaking areas). The counties in the centre of the country, where some of the best land in the country is located (eg. Tipperary, Offaly, Laois, Kilkenny), have barely higher population density rates than the counties with the worst land. Ireland's population density distribution is literally just cookie cutter urbanisation around the "major" cities of Galway, Limerick, Cork, Dublin, with a much bigger commuter belt around Dublin because of the better economic opportunities, higher house prices, better transport links and being historically urbanised first.
We just returned from Ireland. We saw the southern portion of the Republic. As nice as the cities in the East are. The beauty and peace of the western areas can't be understated. Some of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in my life were in the west. So I think it comes down to one's desires and preferences. The hustle, bustle and culture of cities or the more relaxed and peaceful areas out in the countryside. Either way. It's something I can so highly recommend if given the opportunity. And we're hoping to make it back again one day.
@@theresanolan1157 Thank you, Theresa. Never mind, where I live is pretty wild & rural, so I suppose I'll explore the highways & byways locally. Kind Regards, Bob.
@@bobrussell3602 You cannot avoid rain in Ireland it rains somewhere there almost everyday of the year but when it's not raining which is actually more often than many believe there is no place more beautiful in the world. The spring and early summer are the most likely times not to encounter serious rain but even then there is no certainty.
@@fitzstv8506 Thank you for your reply. My paternal GGG Grandmother moved to London (sorry about that !) & was known as 'Katie from Cork' so I suppose, I should come over & sample the delights of Ireland. O.K. I know that Cork is on the East side, but we'll let that go for the present (!) I might google the weather forecast, fly over & at short notice & sample the delights of your lovely culture. quote from an explorer..'There is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.' Again, thanks for your reply, please keep in touch.
It's worth noting that the reason why potatoes became such a staple was because when some of the Irish were taken off the good land in the north, east and south, and sent to the west, the land there is really bad land, mostly rock and marshland, the British didn't want it. Potatoes did well in this type of land, but other vegetables didn't. This is why potatoes became such a stable in the west of Ireland
@stewsaquarium1397 no, potatoes is a foreign crop not native to Ireland. The British actually brought potatoes to Ireland. The potatoes become a staple due to its easy growth and large yield and its high statch content which could be used for both food and alcohol. In the west livestock was the main source of food not potatoes
@@inperfectcell4285 I never said potatoes were native to Ireland. Potatoes were brought to Ireland at around the same time as the Ulster plantation, 1606. I also never said that livestock wasn't the main source of food before the good land was taken from the Irish. The famine was caused by the British.
The British indirectly caused the famine. You can continue to think they didn't all you want. Irish people would not have starved to death if the good land was not taken from them and used to send food to the British instead of the Irish.
First, you state the British caused the famine, now you say they indirectly caused it. You change your story each time. The British did not supply the grain needed by the irish but did supply some food although it was very much insufficient. Saying the British caused the famine because they took land is not viable. As even on that land irish people worked and rented that land to grow potatoes. Grains like wheat and barely were seen as cash crops whilst potatoes, turnips and suger beets were more food crop. They would also help the land as it would indirectly cause crop rotation. The British were a factor but to say they caused it is like Saying the sanctions on Germany after world war 1 was the sole reason world war 2 began
Another factor is the rainfall, which on the west coast is twice that of the east, and that rain comes in from the west horizontally most of the time due to the high winds.
Definitely the rain! I live in County Mayo. Rain!!!!! When we drive to Dublin the weather improves until we arrive in sunshine. I miss the sun! But I don't miss the crowds.😊🌦
I recently moved to the west coast of Ireland. One of the advantages of it being less populated than the east is that property prices are much more reasonable. 😁
Like most other countries, NI is Belfast-centric and ROI is Dublin-centric. Governments choose to invest in each of those heavily. Private investment goes there which nobody can control. I think money needs to be more evenly distributed relative to size, problem is Belfast needs massively developed and regenerated in parts with investment, whereas in Dublin the problems are more housing and crime. These cities are much larger than the others. Despite the two being 170km apart, no high speed rail which would be the norm in Europe. All of Ireland deserves a connected railway system also. Infrastructure and transport is a problem on both sides
Did a tour of Ireland in 1998, July, I think. 888 miles from Shannon clockwise to Shannon - one week - 5 of us. Lovely Country - everyone was so friendly and helpful.
My family came from County Clare Ireland on the West coast. I visited Ireland and found the Irish so friendly. Western Ireland has a different culture than Eastern Ireland they have kept their old Irish values and culture they seem to feel Eastern Ireland is more like England.
Indeed. For instance, in the west of Ireland people have their bonfire night on the summer solstice, which is derived from old Celtic tradition. People in the East (if they have one at all) do their bonfires on 5th November, which is derived from English tradition commemorating the uncovering of the Gunpowder Plot at Westminster in 1605 (Guy Fawkes Night).
You're right about the weather. You really should edit the bit about Cork being in the east though, it's most definitely south. I don't know if there will be a united Ireland in the next 10 years or so, at the moment people are more concerned with more immediate issues like the housing crisis, the cost of living and the health service.
There’s no evidence for Celtic Speakers having come from Galicia in Spain to Ireland. It’s much more likely that the route was France to Britain to Ireland.
Geoff this population shift is only true post famine. The population of county Mayo in the west in 1841 was almost 400,000, yet now is 130,000. Inhabited by farmers on very small holdings yet In the east it was often bigger landed estates run by the English. The west and south West never recovered population wise. Cork is also is in the south and south West of the country
The term "English" is a modern use by Irish historians and used to refer to Protestant landlords. Most were born in Ireland and/or to generational Irish families, but their family line may have originated from or married to Norman aristocracy. Equally, most English, Welsh and Scots today can trace their blood line to before the Normans, as they are the same blood as Irish, but did not move with the Roman and Danish invasions. Thereon, they spent most of their time in London, which is common then and today for the wealthy to congregate around the capital for business and societal reasons, as indeed wealthy landowners in Ireland now congregate around Dublin.
Founded in 914 AD by Vikings from Norway, Waterford City is over 1100 years old making it Ireland's oldest City. In 914,the great Viking adventurer and pirate, Regnall, a grandson of Ivor the Boneless, established a base here and built a Longphort or ships haven, which would in time become a modern city. Waterford & Dublin remain the only cities to get Royal city status
"Major" is a relative term....In terms of "major cities" on a global scale, with the exception of Belfast and Dublin, many population centres in Ireland are little more than small towns. BTW I live in Ireland. In the England classifications are as follows Major is 200k - England 28, ROI 2, NI 1 Large is 75k to 199,999 - England 85, Ireland 2 largest of which is 102k, NI is 1 Medium is 20k to 74999 - UK 348 ROI Ireland 21 and NI 11 You can see the trend - Several county towns in Ireland would be classed as Large Village/Small town.
"Major" is relative, but I think, in terms of cities, a way to know whether or not a city is "major" is to imagine what would happen if it were to disappear or if something catastrophic happens to the city. If the city magically disappears, or something catastrophic happens to it, and the effects of that is distruptive and catastrophic to the region and country, then its a major city. If its on a list of targets in a war, its a major city.
We see the reasons the reasons why Ireland's East coast is more heavily populated than the West duplicated in the UK: better geography and proximity to markets. The UK's population is heavily concentrated in South East England for those reasons. The geographical conditions and climate are more benign in the South East of England, and it is closest to the markets in continental Europe
That's rather simplistic. And in fact, untrue! Have a look at a population "heat map" of the UK. You will see that a huge proportion of the UK population is located within 70 miles of the Peak District (5 metropolitan counties included)..nearly 15 million people
Nope. The West used to be vastly populated. People in the West left and died en masse during the Famine or British Genocide. Pre famine population was approx 8 million and we are only approaching that number again now
The geography and temperate climate is very conducive to cattle farming, which is what they did pre famine. The archaeology bears out the huge pre famine population
My relatives in Clare-Limerick and Limerick live lovely lives in lovely places. When the young leave it's more for Paris and cities in France than Dublin or London. France is so much more compatible than life in the west of Ireland.
A small point on the residents of NI and the EU: there is a provision in the Good Friday Agreement that citizens of NI can choose to have citizenship of UK or the Republic of Ireland or both. So, a portion of the NI population are already EU citizens. But they live in a non-EU state.
As a North American of Spanish decent that most people confuse as coming from Irish ancestry, i'd love to learn more about the migration of Celtic people from the Iberian Pennisula into Ireland. Couldn't stop thinkin about that throughout the entire video
Google the Book of Invasions. The Iberian invasion of Ireland was the final one and the people who came were called Milesians in Ireland. They fought the Tuatha de Danann, the "god race" that built the passage tombs like Newgrange 5,500 years ago, likely the ancestors of those who eventually built Stonehenge
All mythology ! The people who lived in the Iberian Peninsula thousands of years ago were not capable of crossing such a vast stretch of ocean with an army to invade Ireland. I doubt very much if they knew Ireland existed, never mind having the vessels and know how to invade it. Of course nobody really knows what happened in pre (recorded) history but I’m pretty sure that anybody who entered Ireland thousands of years ago did so from the neighbouring island of Britain, probably Scotland.
@@davidpryle3935 The English Channel and parts of the North Sea didn’t always exist, and even the UK was connected to mainland Europe before sea level rise.
One to two days earlier and you would have timed it perfectly with the Belfast-built RMS Titanic sinking 112 years ago in 1912, back when the whole island was united under UK rule until 10 years later - the last place that infamous ocean liner lowered her anchor was in Cobh (pronounced 'cove', was Queenstown prior to independence). That's how I noticed errors with the flags displayed at the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, T N, USA (highly recommended, as are the ones in Belfast, N.I. and Branson, M O, USA if you're in those areas), they don't display the N.I. flag nor those of England (because she first sailed from Southampton) and France (2nd stop Cherbourg) but do with the ROI flag even though the Republic didn't exist yet. As for myself, I'm American like you, about half my ancestry is Irish, and possibly specifically Northern Irish at that, as I'm a Protestant with dark brown hair. But brown eyes since I'm part Sioux! 😊 Love Ireland, their people, landscape, food and culture! 🇮🇪 Now I want some Irish food paired with a green apple soda pop... (that's supposed to be a compliment.)
I'm from Wicklow originally, but i grew up in South Kerry, moved to Limerick when I turned 19, and now live in West Clare. I can confirm that the weather is brutal, but there are also more people here than you might think. I certainly would never call the west "empty."
Ireland is like my home town in southwest canad a Belfast reminds me of Victoria, Have bee there many times and witnessed the dramatic changes to life there, A lovely country worth visiting,
Cork is Irelands second city. It's a big place and is in the south west! Galway is also big and not 'pretty empty'!, same for Limerick. Much traffic around Galway, I suppose those jammed roads are an illusion especially Headford Road
I remember when Galway won the All Ireland in 2017. The day the team arrived in Galway I was going to college. It took me two hours just to get to the Headford road roundabout. 😂
Ireland was an independent country since 1922, not 1949. Yes, we were in the commonwealth, but by 1937, we were fully independent but in name. In addition to this, I agree with what others have noticed that you barely if not at all have covered Derry, Limerick or Galway which are some of Ireland's most notable cities. In essence, thank you for focusing on Ireland, but not enough information or research was provided, which has consequently led to slight misinformation on a contentious issue.
My wife and I started in Cork and drove around most of the island (clockwise) and ended up in Dublin. An amazing place. I had some people that worked for me in Cork (we are from San Diego). The people that worked for me were shocked that we were driving around the island. I don't think any of them had ever done that before.
@hafluq2979 I don’t know where you’re driving in Ireland but i find the only peaceful driving is at night. During the day the roads are always busy everywhere
Let me guess before watching the video: population centers exist where the food, water, and trade ports are. If you don't have all three, you have low populations.
I'm sorry but your point about the trains is incorrect. The train network in West of Ireland was at one point just as developed as the East Coast. There are plans to reopen it. "The Western Corridor" already runs between Limerick and Galway but will eventually go through Mayo to Sligo.
1. Cork is on the southern coast - not the eastern coast. 2. 3rd and 4th largest cities are on the western coast (Galway & Limerick). Belfast still under British rule. 3. Rural Ireland is far more populated vs the equivalent in Scotland, Spain & much of Europe. 4. Rename channel to "Geoff knows no Geography"
excellent point about how rural Ireland is functionally populated. There are people everywhere in the west, enough to make friendly villages for socializing. Most places, not all of course. After a successful movie/TV career in Dublin and London a cousin founded her thriving film production company in Ennis, Clare. To be close to family but a good location for the business.
My family come from Inishmurray Island on the west coast. Moved to Carns Moneygold. Stunning part of the country. Her views growing of the sea and Benbulben mountain. We live in Australia now. Love this country
An interesting video. Not to be pedantic, but the name for the country of Ireland is Ireland / Éire as per Bunracht na hEireann, the Irish constitution. Whilst there was a Republic of Ireland Act passed in 1949, this didn't change the name, only declared that the country is a republic. Also, there is no L, O, N, D, O or N in Derry😉
Maybe when your plane stopped off in Dublin airport you should have gotten off instead of just looking out of the window, the west of Ireland is quite well populated from Kerry right up to Donegal, there is even roads and buildings to move and house the people living there.
Hi Geography by Geoff ! I've spent 43 years designing and project managing infrastructure all over Ireland ( Poland, UK, NL, Cayman Islands). It's unfortunately necessary to say, that for 30 of those years, I'd leave my home on the West Coast, to arrive at a site on the East Coast, work the day, and be home by 10pm. You're reading far too much into what you haven't read at all.
Limerick is very much a city, not a very big one but still a city. It has everything you need, an airport (Shannon), lots of business, a food scene (Limerick changed a LOT in the last 15 years, it's a fun place for a day trip), even a yearly city Marathon in May.
Dingle on the West Coast was such a major trading hub that Queen Elizabeth sent her A-Team - Sir Walter Raleigh (of Spanish-Armada burning fame) to destroy the Catholic trading hub. The trade with Spain, Portugal, and France on the West Coast could have been an economic powerhouse - but for the British.
I think the reason for this was mainly fearing it could be a major landing stage for an invasion by France or Spain. I'm not sure Dingle, as beautiful as it is, would have made all that bit a difference economically as a port, and to be honest with you I'm glad it didn't develop into a major trading port because it is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to in my life. There were already ports like Limerick and Cobh that are much better placed. I think the problem was really the English nobles and the landowners they have land to with no thought of the people working the land, just about exploiting them and making money. As a Brit with a third Irish in me (countries Mayo, Roscommon, and Armagh) I can only apologise for what England did to Ireland over the centuries, from Longbow to Cromwell and beyond. I feel most English are ignorant of the history and just not taught about any of it, though that is no excuse.
Recent archeologist discovered that Roman did significant trade with Wales as well as up and down the Irish Sea. That would also support more human activity on the East Coast of Ireland.
But I’m telling you dingle and Donnegal both on the West Coast are the best places to be. Also, there’s a town called Tipperary which is pretty awesome
my grandmother came from Achill on the far west coast, it has suffered huge depopulation over the last few centuries, there are literally abandoned villages everywhere. The population at one point was huge in comparison to now. this first loss was due to mass emigration in the famine as people moved, often to the US. Years later lot's of young Irish leaving their rural way of life to seek prosperity with work in England and abroad in institutions such as the NHS and better paid work than subsistence farming their ancestors had lived
hahaha! You try make it sound like the Australian outback, try drive from Dublin (east coast) to Galway (west coast) and you'll see just how "empty" this country is, every town and city is bursting with people. You have not got a clue and I suspect you've never set foot here.
I did that many years ago! Enjoyed my times there! I liked Limerick and Galway. However always in the back of my mind --my return to Thailand. The weather here wins hands down!
I mean I wish it was a bit more empty in some places... We really have spread out a bit too much in some regards not left any natural areas for people to actually connect with. Cant even go camping wild in this country it feels we just sell everything out to tourists.
@@BananaBoat-o4x drive to offaly and laois and drive up the sliabh bloom mountains. I guarantee you will find acres of space for your wild camping. Just clean up the rubbish after you. 🇮🇪👍
I've never even been to Ireland, but I'm inclined to agree with the comments pointing out that the explanation given for the title question in the video is incomplete, if not inaccurate. The geographical aspects for Ireland mostly mirror the situation in both Scotland and Norway (and, I suppose, northern France), but though these have the population skewed to the east as well there are striking historical differences. Particularly in Norway, there is actually more of the population on the West coast than in the flatter&dryer inland regions. In fact, historically this was even more the case - the capital used to be Trondheim, then Bergen, whereas the population growth in the Oslo region is a more recent development. This is because historically, the disadvantages of steep rainswept coasts are actually not as relevant. Most transportation happened by boat anyway, fishing had more significance, rain is mostly a good thing for agriculture, and the hills aren't a show-stopper for traditional farming (they're more of a hindrance for modern industrialized monocultures). The west coast was thus _better_ suited for habitation than the east with its lack of navigable waterways and cold winters. The latter disadvantages apply less to Ireland and Scotland, yet these too used to have a more evenly spread population including the mountainous west and north. It's clear that the actual reasons for the population declines in those regions are more complex than just "rugged landscape" and "proximity to England" (or to Denmark in case of Norway).
We've been talking about going back to Ireland (there in 2003 for a wedding), and on a whim I started filling out the trip form. Alas, although we are in our 60s, our kids range from 7 to 12... I hope you have a great trip 🙂
You need to be a sailor to understand this - the West Coast is a terrible place to find a safe harbour - its rocky and stormy - facing out to the wild Atlantic with nobody to trade with - whilst the east coast is sheltered and has safe harbours.
Didn’t donegal lose many fisherman in one sailing disaster at the turn of the 20th century? I watched a documentary many yrs ago. Can’t remember all the details.
Cork is on the south coast, and there are two small cities (Limerick and Galway) on the west coast. Not as big as Dublin, but Limerick has a population of 100,000. Inland there's another big town/small city, Athlone. When there are errors this big in the first few seconds, I'm disinclined to watch further.
That part about the Irish Celts arriving in Ireland from Galicia in Spain - that doesn't sound right to me, or from a quick Google search, whic just says they arrived through Britain. If I'm wrong, please let me know, as it would be a very cool story!
There's a Queen's University study (I'll try and find the link) that suggests people and animals may have arrived from Galicia. They studied DNA from badgers and discovered Irish badgers came from Northern Spain. It's an interesting read, that's for sure
Yeah, I agree. I doubt very much did people in living in Spain in the millennium BC have vessels capable of transporting large numbers of people across such a vast and treacherous stretch of ocean.
Not true. From Galway city. You drive south to Ennis and Limerick city. That’s about 250,000 people in a short distance. A short 1 hour drive between them. Then you have Tralee in county Kerry.
Thanks for the video on Ireland! I appreciate your time, research and presentation of world geography and interesting facts. Maybe consider adjusting your voice and varying the depths and heights of your tone during your videos. Otherwise great job, keep up the good work :)
You can now travel on a dual carriageway from Larne Harbour to Cork Harbour. This is known as the Eastern Corridor and was funded by the European Union.
There are some many factual inaccuracies in this video I don't know where to begin. The death toll of the famine, Independent since the 40s, the geographical information is ok but historically very inacurate. The cromwellian invasion should bear some influence on this topic too, "to hell or to Connacht"
When you spoke about a United Ireland that really felt like it was out of a text book. But I dont blame you, its hard for anyone not living in Ireland to understand. Its very complex and has no simple answer.
It's because as you go West you encounter big lakes and big rivers where the surrounding lands are marshlands or as you near the coast it gets very rocky which is bad for farming.
Ok, 2 minutes in: The Celts most likely came to Ireland the same way most people did, through Britain. The Iberian hypothesis has been pretty much debunked. If you study it linguistically, Goidelic kept the characteristics of older Celtic languages longer while Brythonic had more influences from the mainland.
@@LFCMattNOI Not completely. If you study both, you'll recognise the relationship & similarities. But yes, Brythonic was able to get a lot more continental influences over the years. Many Brythonic words would've been loaned from Latin & replaced the older Celtic words that remained in Goidelic. Goidelic was isolated for quite some time before the Gaels brought it with them to the Isle of Man and Scotland. Difference wise, I'd liken it to English and German: clearly both Germanic but not really mutually intelligible. Though both younger than the divergence found between Goidelic and Brythonic.
I agree. There’s no way that people living in Spain in the millennium bc had vessels to transport large numbers of people across such a vast treacherous stretch of ocean.
@@KevOSMusic what about the cruthin who lived historically in Antrim and down. Unionists in NI try to tell us they were British people native to Ireland/Ulster before the gaels from abroad invaded and drove them out,only for them to return centuries later in the Ulster plantation. I’m guessing that story is a load of rubbish too yeah ?
@@LFCMattNOI A stupid argument. Nearly everyone on the island of Ireland is descended from someone who lived on the island of Great Britain. The real issue was England conquered Ireland but rarely looked after its conquest. Irish rebellion was always in response to poor conditions brought on by the rule of the English, later the British. Irish Independence is a direct result of centuries of poor British rule. Same to be said of all the other previous provinces of the British Empire.
Cork is in Munster... Which has two other relevant cities in Limerick and Warerford. Even Connacht has Galway so IDK where this idea that it's pretty empty comes from
Major cities of Ireland are located in East coast because they were close to England Scotland and Wales and cities are not in the west coast because most of the west coast is not suitable for making ports and also it is far away from major port cities of Britain and Europe compared to Dublin, Belfast and Cork.
Many cities nowadays thrive off of shipping and transit, and the port related industries that shipping brings with it. The Atlantic Coast of Ireland tends to be stormier than the east, and there aren't many well protected deep harbors for shipping. That's ultimately what things came down to. Galway is one of the few exceptions.
I haven't but I will now look. The landmass of England, Wales and Scotland resembles a man in a large hat riding on a pig, my Dad pointed this out to me and once you see it you keep seeing it!
the western provinces of ireland, munster and connaught, had far bigger populations prior to the mid 1800s then they do today. Population density was actually higher in the west than the east at that stage
Ireland was officially declared a republic in 1949. The 1937 constitution, although republican in tone, didn't officially remove the position of the king as head of state or break Irealnd's link with the Commonwealth. In short the years '37 to '49 were a bit of a grey area in terms of Ireland's status as an independent country.
Saying that Canada and Australia are not independent ? Many ex-Brit countries became republics later after a period of sharing the monarchy. They are 2 different things
@@AG-ni8jm The citizens of the island of Ireland were all British and had British passports up until 1949 when Eire became the Republic of Ireland and Irish passports were issued. Effectively this means that anyone who emigrated to the USA prior to 1949 were British Americans not Irish Americans.
@@saxonanglo3956incorrect. Irish passports have been issued since 1924. The first Irish passport, issued to the general public from 3 April 1924, contained a green hardcover with the Irish coat of arms, the harp, embossed in the centre.
The Plantation slide is funny - three little figures with a trowel each, planting a little planteen-shmanteen. Somehow, I don’t think that exactly how the Plantations manifested 😁
It takes until 7:45 until he starts discussing the title. Why do youtubers feel the need to give an entire history of a country instead of getting right to the topic? We don't need a lecture about the Vikings and Normans.
I wish also but the reality is taxes are lesser for the Northern Irish people being ruled by Great Britain. So for that reason that everything costs more in the Republic of Ireland for the Northern Irish people. They don’t want that, they want to pay less … so they want to stay part of England. I mean if you were part of United States and things were cheaper than Canada would you want your small state to return back to being part of Canada. If things cost more money… Nope.
Galway isn't a global metropolis, but it's a major city by Irish standards - it's not that much smaller than Cork. What Ireland's population distribution really comes down to is that you have Belfast and Dublin and then everything else in terms of population centres (but that doesn't make a very good clickbait title)
My husband and I are a pair of New Yorkers who moved to rural northwestern Ireland ten years ago. Our home sits along a small road. Our side is the Republic. The other side of the road - is the UK. Border country is its own flavor, and can be confusing at first. How the folks in our nearest village have one accent, and the folks two miles away in the next village (in the UK ) speak with a COMPLETELY different accent - is amazing. Literally a few NYC blocks between them…. Different countries, different histories, different politics - two countries side-by-side - and yet, a wide gulf runs between them. It’s hard to imagine them joined and blended - anytime soon. And about the geography? Two local sayings? “Leitrim land is sold by the gallon.” And “When a crow flies over Leitrim, he brings his own lunch” Thanks for the video, and all the information - nice work!
No different than Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Harlem, and Staten Island all having different accents. hell, i have heard the differences in Boston’s accents just from going a couple of blocks over from White Dorchester to the rest of Dorchester
2:21 Wait a minute... Wasn't Viking settlement limited to the eastern coastline? Not only do DNA tests reveal that Scandinavian genes appear mostly in the east, but there's the sheer fact that Vikings were responsible for establishing cities in lieu of agricultural estates.
They attempted to settle the south but were pushed out... He makes it seem as if we were "buddies" with the vikings and we didnt go to war with them all the time.
Since a lot of trade and influence passed through Holyhead, perhaps you should've said "England and Wales". It would've made the maps look more sensible.
Not true that Cork is in the East and you ignored Galway and Limerick the next 2 biggest cities by population both in the West, lazy
Galway is hardly a city now. Cracking town though.
@@lunarskyye2680 50,000 is the criteria for a city. Galway 'City' has 85,000 plus.
@@lunarskyye2680 galway is considered a city
Derry is larger than both of them mate
@@liamg1706 It is. But it's not much of a city.
I went to Ireland recently, and it only rained twice; the first time for 4 days, and the second time for 3 days 😂
I'm going to use that one 😂. Can rain for weeks solid here
I assume you were there for only a week.😅
I take it you were there only for a week ?
LOL! Yep.
Ah now, first of all you haven't allowed for climate change. When I was a child in Belfast [a city in Ireland no matter how much the Loyalists wish to deny reality] in the 60s, the weather was usually pretty miserable [something like the mentality of most of its inhabitants]
The weather has actually improved [from the point of view of us Africans and we are at basis all Africans] in Ireland during the past 40-50 years. As a child in Belfast I saw a dramatic improvement in the weather as I grew up there from the 60s to the 80s.
Now I live in Dublin and the worst weather is usually a bit drizzly and cool [in winter yes, it gets cold but nothing like I remember in the 60s and 70s in Belfast].
Unfortunately, the mentality of the miserable weather in Ireland persists. It has significantly improved over the last four-five decades. Sadly the improvement in Ireland appears to be at the cost of a severe deterioration in other parts of the world.
Wth 50C weather in India at the moment, it looks like the world is going to become a desert within the lifetime of children living today. My heart goes out to them, sincerely.
Just casually ignoring Limerick and Galway cities while also saying that Cork is on the east coast when that’s just blatantly wrong
Well in fairness, Limerick is a city most of us wish we could casually ignore.
@@TheGiantKillers And then left out Waterford, which is sort of on the east coast...It's the oldest City in Ireland, even if the smallest now...!!!
Forgot Derry as well.
@@TheGiantKillers😂💀
Hardy Har Har..Hope you don't workas comedian FOOL
As someone born and raised in the West of Ireland, it’s largely down to a combination of poorer agricultural land and relative isolation from Ireland’s main trading partners in the EU and UK. This leads to a more scattered population and less prospect of attracting FDI, although American multinationals have stepped in the breach somewhat.
The relative lack of people does make for some stunning scenery and generally lower rates of crime, however. As a friend of mine says, don’t tell anyone about how nice it is or they’ll all want to come!
Who told you it's nice?
@@27forme2 Living there for a good portion of my life told me that; you might have another opinion.
Still here in d west no better place as usual waiting for sam😂
sounds like my kind of place
@@noelfleming3567 They’ll be out there tie dying sheep and cutting “Mayo for Sam” into the hills before you know it!
I’ve told my son and his wife in Galway that the people he sees every day are an illusion as where he lives is ‘pretty empty’
Yes, I suffer from that Galway hallucination as well. Guess Limerick has the same problem.
It is by comparison.
Cork population 225,000
Dublin 1,250,000
Belfast 664,000
By comparison the biggest populated cities on the east coast
Galway 85,000
Limerick 60,000
Yeah
God I didn't know that The Island only had 3 cities. I could swearing that Ireland (the country) had six: Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Kilkenny(depending on who you ask) and that Northern Ireland had Three Belfast, Derry(I know, shut up) and Newry.
@@brummiesalteno-81 *west
All the population on the east coast tilts the island to have nice beaches there and high cliffs on the opposite side of the island.
blarney or malarky ?
Science!
Some of d best beaches n Ireland are on d west coast
Donegal has the best beaches but not the weather for them
says US Congressman Hank Johnson, Americas expert on inland tipping over
Totally missed the huge influence of the Famine. The west of Ireland was a lot more densely populalted prior to the famine. The famine and the emmigration that followed for over a hundred years, is a major factor in why the west is less populated. For example the population of the Western province of Connacht in 1841, before the famine, was 1.4 million by by 1971 it was 390K. Munster 1841 2.3 million by 1971 879K. A little research wouldn't kill you. The population decline in Ireland is an emotive subject.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_population_of_Ireland
Indeed, my home county of Mayo was one of the most populated counties in Ireland prior to the Famine, now it is only one of two in which the population is falling.
The Famine had a catastrophic effect and arguably the population never fully recovered from it.
@@TheLastAngryMan01So did the 1740 famine and Cromwell’s invasion
@@socire72 Quite, “to hell or to Connacht”.
Through in the post-independence capital flight, add in that the post-independence regime lacked capital, were not all that good at strategic planning and over centralised the state.
Significant population growth is recent, as is the development of the transport infrastructure that would encourage more rapid growth in the west.
It took until the early 21st Century for Ireland to recover its population to more or less 1841 levels. But then, there was a huge diaspora of Irish out of Ireland to the USA and even the UK itself, and in the end they carved out new lives in the new countries the Irish emigrated to.
So what defines a 'major' city, given the size and distribution of the population? Limerick and Galway have populations that are not that much less than that of Cork. And are similar to many cities in the UK. The West of Ireland has always been less developed and relied more on agriculture and tourism while Belfast and Dublin always had most of the industry, commerce, and the seats of power. Still, property is still expensive.
In Ireland if a large town has a cathedral it is considered a city.
There are towns here with higher populations than one of our cities, Kilkenny.
@@RazorMouth my hometown has a Catholic Cathedral which is called the Cathedral of Saints Columba and of Saint Eunan here in letterkenny of the RC Diocese of Raphoe in letterkenny town.
Just a few miles away there is another Cathedral which is also Saint Eunans Cathedral of the church of Ireland which is Anglican Protestant church Diocese in Raphoe town which is actually a ancient City which has a smaller population than letterkenny.
Letterkenny is the largest town in the County of Donegal and main industrial commercial center for the county.
Well Cork is larger than Galway, Limerick, Ennis, Castlebar and Ballina combined. So there is a substantial enough difference between Cork City and all urban settlements along the west coast.
@@bannanachops beat me to it
@@RazorMouth Nope. The Local Government Act of 2001 recognises 6 cities in Ireland (known as county boroughs). Kilkenny has special status due to having a historical charter, granted in 1609 by James I, and was reconstituted as a borough council in 2000.
The majority of cathedrals in Ireland are in very modest towns.
Cavan
Letterkenny
Longford
Kilmore
Monaghan
Mullingar
Cobh
Ennis
Killarney
Skibbereen
Thurles
Carlow
Enniscorthy
Ballaghaderreen
Could a sane individual ever imagine Cavan being a city? Relative to it's locale it is a "large" town with a cathedral. Similarly Ennis, which is reasonably large by any standard (Pop: ~28,000) does not have any pretentions as to city status.
The one fly in the ointment is Sligo who bleat on about their lack of city status incessantly and this has probably sparked your comment.
Fortunately we are not the USA which has cities with a population as low as Monowi Nebraska, which in this case is 1 as of 2020.
13:29 not only are Ireland a beautiful island, but the people there are beautiful people also, my company had a project there in the 90'ts and we all simply loved working there, 2 of my colleagues found their wife there and many travelled around the island and they all loved everything, also being in pubs in the evening was so nice, people was easy to talk to and so polite, positive and created a pleasant atmosphere many of us considered it our favourite place to have a project
if your skin is not dark
@@radidov5333 - they probably don't appreciate people constantly complaining and accusing others
Are you referring to people being cheesed off by the huge influx of refugees.. if so its not because of their skin colour.
@@doncarlodivargas5497 obviously not all the people but I'm general just this past winter I was with a mate who is italian (dark skin) and man the difference in treatment were...annoying at best. "go ahead and ask for a table for us....they say is full" .. not it wasnt when I went to ask. Shts like that
@@radidov5333 The racism is a relatively "new" thing whipped up in the past decade or so by social media nutjobs. In the 1990s anyone of any nationality would have been welcomed warmly into Ireland. The innocence has been lost since then, unfortunately, and Ireland is very much a 21st century society now with common 21st century issues.
"The island of Ireland is home to about 7.2 million people."
So still almost 1 million less than in 1840
That's genuinely messed up.
@@kosefix What's further messed up is the population rose from 2.5M to 8M (i.e. tripled) between 1730 and 1845
(Source: Gurrin, The Death Census of Black '47, Eyewitness Accounts of Ireland's Great Famine 2023)
@kosefix
If I remember correctly, we are the only country on planet Earth with a smaller population in the 21st century than the 18th century
Whats messed up about population tripling in over 100 years? Thats very slow growth for todays standards
@@horatiotodd8723 Between 1901 and 1991 the UK’s population only increased 50%. Ireland’s growth is many times larger than that.
Wonderful video. I won't bore you with historical stuff. The West of Ireland is jaw dropping beautiful. Again, fantastic video.
I was there age 16, in 1966. I was shocked to see palm trees-I mean just like Florida-all over the West coast. I was told it was the warm currents from the Gulf Stream that created such a pleasant climate. The palm trees seemed to like it but it was a bit chilly for me. But visually stunning.
@@margomoore4527 isn't it amazing?
I think they are a type of African tree that prefer coastal climates due to the lack of winter frost
Ireland certainly has a mild climate. We recently visited Wexford and Waterford in Ireland's 'Sunny South-East', and were amazed to see so many palm trees.
There are no palm trees in Ireland!! Neither are there palm trees in Britain!! What you do see though, are sub tropical trees from New Zealand.
It's cold as f and you can't live there.
There is palm trees in ireland not native to Ireland though the phoenix park and many other areas of Ireland have palm trees
@@DerekLangdon there certainly are, in the National Botanical gardens at Glasnevin.
Wonderful presentation. Pronunciation is pretty spot on. I live in the west and it truly is a beautiful part of the world. The best advice I could give? If your sat nav suggests turning right, take a left. You’ll find hidden valleys, empty beaches and the odd local pub. If you’re lucky you’ll find yourself at a party, a wedding or an Irish funeral. All strangely similar. David in Galway ❤
... but his geography is abysmal
Limerick has left the chat, and Galway’s already in the car.
Good. Those aren’t real cities lmfao. Bye.
And neither of them have more than 100k people... learn statistics please
Awesome cities🤘🏴☠️
Sounds like a pitch for a Foil, Arms and Hog sketch.
@@dr.woozie7500 Limerick city's population is 102,287.
I've been all over Ireland as my husband is from Ireland. The consistency of the soil in the west is much rockier than the soil in the East. That's a big factor as to why so many in the west left. Farming was simply more of an uphill battle. If you travel from Dublin to Galway by car you'll gradually notice more and more stone fences. I spent some time on one of the Aran Islands off the west coast and the entire island was broken down by stone "fences".
Drystone walls, I think they may be known as.
You might get that impression from visiting the Aran Islands, the Burren area in Clare, West Galway and maybe some areas of Kerry?, but the predominant agricultural constraints in the west of Ireland are low subsoil water permeability in the context of double to triple the rainfall in the East of Ireland, all the downstream effects of this, low topsoil levels due to glaciation and large coverage of bogs/"semi bogs".
Tbh the video, especially the thumbnail, is kind of strawmanning - Limerick Co. has the same population density as Co. Cork, and Co. Galway would as well if you disregard the area east of the Corrib, which is literally unbroken uninhabitable bogland and Gaeltachts (native Irish speaking areas).
The counties in the centre of the country, where some of the best land in the country is located (eg. Tipperary, Offaly, Laois, Kilkenny), have barely higher population density rates than the counties with the worst land.
Ireland's population density distribution is literally just cookie cutter urbanisation around the "major" cities of Galway, Limerick, Cork, Dublin, with a much bigger commuter belt around Dublin because of the better economic opportunities, higher house prices, better transport links and being historically urbanised first.
The soil in most of county Limerick is quite fertile. A Dairy farnmer aunt uncle in that county were mmillionaires from their dairy farm.
i think most of the islands on the west coast are mainly stone.
We just returned from Ireland. We saw the southern portion of the Republic. As nice as the cities in the East are. The beauty and peace of the western areas can't be understated. Some of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in my life were in the west. So I think it comes down to one's desires and preferences. The hustle, bustle and culture of cities or the more relaxed and peaceful areas out in the countryside. Either way. It's something I can so highly recommend if given the opportunity. And we're hoping to make it back again one day.
But what about the weather. This is a serious question. When should I go to avoid rain ?
@@bobrussell3602 never..
@@theresanolan1157 Thank you, Theresa. Never mind, where I live is pretty wild & rural, so I suppose I'll explore the highways & byways locally. Kind Regards,
Bob.
@@bobrussell3602 You cannot avoid rain in Ireland it rains somewhere there almost everyday of the year but when it's not raining which is actually more often than many believe there is no place more beautiful in the world. The spring and early summer are the most likely times not to encounter serious rain but even then there is no certainty.
@@fitzstv8506 Thank you for your reply. My paternal GGG Grandmother moved to London (sorry about that !) & was known as 'Katie from Cork' so I suppose, I should come over & sample the delights of Ireland. O.K. I know that Cork is on the East side, but we'll let that go for the present (!) I might google the weather forecast, fly over & at short notice & sample the delights of your lovely culture. quote from an explorer..'There is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.'
Again, thanks for your reply, please keep in touch.
It's worth noting that the reason why potatoes became such a staple was because when some of the Irish were taken off the good land in the north, east and south, and sent to the west, the land there is really bad land, mostly rock and marshland, the British didn't want it. Potatoes did well in this type of land, but other vegetables didn't. This is why potatoes became such a stable in the west of Ireland
@stewsaquarium1397 no, potatoes is a foreign crop not native to Ireland. The British actually brought potatoes to Ireland. The potatoes become a staple due to its easy growth and large yield and its high statch content which could be used for both food and alcohol. In the west livestock was the main source of food not potatoes
@@inperfectcell4285 I never said potatoes were native to Ireland. Potatoes were brought to Ireland at around the same time as the Ulster plantation, 1606. I also never said that livestock wasn't the main source of food before the good land was taken from the Irish. The famine was caused by the British.
@stewsaquarium1397 the famine was not caused by the British. They didn't help ireland but it silly to say the caused it.
The British indirectly caused the famine. You can continue to think they didn't all you want. Irish people would not have starved to death if the good land was not taken from them and used to send food to the British instead of the Irish.
First, you state the British caused the famine, now you say they indirectly caused it. You change your story each time. The British did not supply the grain needed by the irish but did supply some food although it was very much insufficient. Saying the British caused the famine because they took land is not viable. As even on that land irish people worked and rented that land to grow potatoes. Grains like wheat and barely were seen as cash crops whilst potatoes, turnips and suger beets were more food crop. They would also help the land as it would indirectly cause crop rotation. The British were a factor but to say they caused it is like Saying the sanctions on Germany after world war 1 was the sole reason world war 2 began
Very interesting. Thank you. Ireland is such a beautiful country.
Another factor is the rainfall, which on the west coast is twice that of the east, and that rain comes in from the west horizontally most of the time due to the high winds.
Definitely the rain! I live in County Mayo. Rain!!!!! When we drive to Dublin the weather improves until we arrive in sunshine. I miss the sun! But I don't miss the crowds.😊🌦
I recently moved to the west coast of Ireland. One of the advantages of it being less populated than the east is that property prices are much more reasonable. 😁
Like most other countries, NI is Belfast-centric and ROI is Dublin-centric. Governments choose to invest in each of those heavily. Private investment goes there which nobody can control. I think money needs to be more evenly distributed relative to size, problem is Belfast needs massively developed and regenerated in parts with investment, whereas in Dublin the problems are more housing and crime. These cities are much larger than the others. Despite the two being 170km apart, no high speed rail which would be the norm in Europe. All of Ireland deserves a connected railway system also. Infrastructure and transport is a problem on both sides
Hey lad… limerick,Galway,Athlone,Mullingar,Thurles,Clonmel,Portlaoise,Tullamore,Castlebar,Westport,Letterkenny,Kilkenny etc etc say hello….
Did a tour of Ireland in 1998, July, I think. 888 miles from Shannon clockwise to Shannon - one week - 5 of us. Lovely Country - everyone was so friendly and helpful.
My family came from County Clare Ireland on the West coast. I visited Ireland and found the Irish so friendly. Western Ireland has a different culture than Eastern Ireland they have kept their old Irish values and culture they seem to feel Eastern Ireland is more like England.
Indeed. For instance, in the west of Ireland people have their bonfire night on the summer solstice, which is derived from old Celtic tradition. People in the East (if they have one at all) do their bonfires on 5th November, which is derived from English tradition commemorating the uncovering of the Gunpowder Plot at Westminster in 1605 (Guy Fawkes Night).
The way things are going it'll be more like Morocco or Pakistan soon enough.
Nobody in Ireland has a bonfire on the 5th.You're obviosly not Irish.
@@geem8658 A mhic, I’ve forgotten more about Ireland than I suspect you know.
@@TheLastAngryMan01 Are you getting angry?
You're right about the weather. You really should edit the bit about Cork being in the east though, it's most definitely south. I don't know if there will be a united Ireland in the next 10 years or so, at the moment people are more concerned with more immediate issues like the housing crisis, the cost of living and the health service.
What about the invasion? Not worried about that? Not even a little bit?
I doubt that there will be unification is Dublin continues to ignore and do nothing about the housing crisis.
There’s no evidence for Celtic Speakers having come from Galicia in Spain to Ireland. It’s much more likely that the route was France to Britain to Ireland.
Yep. That's close to debunked Oppenheimer territory.
Geoff this population shift is only true post famine. The population of county Mayo in the west in 1841 was almost 400,000, yet now is 130,000. Inhabited by farmers on very small holdings yet In the east it was often bigger landed estates run by the English. The west and south West never recovered population wise. Cork is also is in the south and south West of the country
The term "English" is a modern use by Irish historians and used to refer to Protestant landlords. Most were born in Ireland and/or to generational Irish families, but their family line may have originated from or married to Norman aristocracy. Equally, most English, Welsh and Scots today can trace their blood line to before the Normans, as they are the same blood as Irish, but did not move with the Roman and Danish invasions.
Thereon, they spent most of their time in London, which is common then and today for the wealthy to congregate around the capital for business and societal reasons, as indeed wealthy landowners in Ireland now congregate around Dublin.
They numbers never recovered because that land was just not worth resettling into for most.
Galway city and limerick city are pretty big cities in the west of ireland now😊
Founded in 914 AD by Vikings from Norway, Waterford City is over 1100 years old making it Ireland's oldest City. In 914,the great Viking adventurer and pirate, Regnall, a grandson of Ivor the Boneless, established a base here and built a Longphort or ships haven, which would in time become a modern city. Waterford & Dublin remain the only cities to get Royal city status
None of the Irish cities were founded by the Vikings. All existed long before. What the Vikings did was develop them into more significant size.
@@PanglossDr trading arrived to two small villages, and they weren't cities until the Vikings got them going, eh??
@@DwightStJohn-t7y Semantics
"Major" is a relative term....In terms of "major cities" on a global scale, with the exception of Belfast and Dublin, many population centres in Ireland are little more than small towns. BTW I live in Ireland.
In the England classifications are as follows
Major is 200k - England 28, ROI 2, NI 1
Large is 75k to 199,999 - England 85, Ireland 2 largest of which is 102k, NI is 1
Medium is 20k to 74999 - UK 348 ROI Ireland 21 and NI 11
You can see the trend - Several county towns in Ireland would be classed as Large Village/Small town.
"Major" is relative, but I think, in terms of cities, a way to know whether or not a city is "major" is to imagine what would happen if it were to disappear or if something catastrophic happens to the city. If the city magically disappears, or something catastrophic happens to it, and the effects of that is distruptive and catastrophic to the region and country, then its a major city. If its on a list of targets in a war, its a major city.
I would argue that Belfast is a large town and Dublin is a small city to be honest
And in the states, a small little village or town is a city :-)
@@scoggscork always found that interesting myself
@@scoggscork ,lol 😂
We see the reasons the reasons why Ireland's East coast is more heavily populated than the West duplicated in the UK: better geography and proximity to markets. The UK's population is heavily concentrated in South East England for those reasons. The geographical conditions and climate are more benign in the South East of England, and it is closest to the markets in continental Europe
That's rather simplistic. And in fact, untrue! Have a look at a population "heat map" of the UK. You will see that a huge proportion of the UK population is located within 70 miles of the Peak District (5 metropolitan counties included)..nearly 15 million people
Nope. The West used to be vastly populated. People in the West left and died en masse during the Famine or British Genocide. Pre famine population was approx 8 million and we are only approaching that number again now
The geography and temperate climate is very conducive to cattle farming, which is what they did pre famine. The archaeology bears out the huge pre famine population
My relatives in Clare-Limerick and Limerick live lovely lives in lovely places. When the young leave it's more for Paris and cities in France than Dublin or London. France is so much more compatible than life in the west of Ireland.
A small point on the residents of NI and the EU: there is a provision in the Good Friday Agreement that citizens of NI can choose to have citizenship of UK or the Republic of Ireland or both. So, a portion of the NI population are already EU citizens. But they live in a non-EU state.
Seeing the direction that the EU is going, can they change back?
I would imagine that portion is a majority.
Yes I live in County Down and I have a Irish and British passport I'm northern Irish 😊😊
So do the irish tinkers.😂
@@AntonHu what direction is it going?
I would not say that the west coast is empty. Galway has a population of about 80,000. It population was about 27,000 in 1970.
As a North American of Spanish decent that most people confuse as coming from Irish ancestry, i'd love to learn more about the migration of Celtic people from the Iberian Pennisula into Ireland. Couldn't stop thinkin about that throughout the entire video
What the fuck is this comment
Google the Book of Invasions. The Iberian invasion of Ireland was the final one and the people who came were called Milesians in Ireland. They fought the Tuatha de Danann, the "god race" that built the passage tombs like Newgrange 5,500 years ago, likely the ancestors of those who eventually built Stonehenge
All mythology ! The people who lived in the Iberian Peninsula thousands of years ago were not capable of crossing such a vast stretch of ocean with an army to invade Ireland. I doubt very much if they knew Ireland existed, never mind having the vessels and know how to invade it.
Of course nobody really knows what happened in pre (recorded) history but I’m pretty sure that anybody who entered Ireland thousands of years ago did so from the neighbouring island of Britain, probably Scotland.
@@davidpryle3935 The English Channel and parts of the North Sea didn’t always exist, and even the UK was connected to mainland Europe before sea level rise.
Amazing how close those Mesolithic guys from 9,000 years ago look so much like modern Saturday night guys after the pubs have closed.
😂🤣 🍺🍻🥃
😅😅😅
One to two days earlier and you would have timed it perfectly with the Belfast-built RMS Titanic sinking 112 years ago in 1912, back when the whole island was united under UK rule until 10 years later - the last place that infamous ocean liner lowered her anchor was in Cobh (pronounced 'cove', was Queenstown prior to independence).
That's how I noticed errors with the flags displayed at the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, T N, USA (highly recommended, as are the ones in Belfast, N.I. and Branson, M O, USA if you're in those areas), they don't display the N.I. flag nor those of England (because she first sailed from Southampton) and France (2nd stop Cherbourg) but do with the ROI flag even though the Republic didn't exist yet.
As for myself, I'm American like you, about half my ancestry is Irish, and possibly specifically Northern Irish at that, as I'm a Protestant with dark brown hair.
But brown eyes since I'm part Sioux! 😊
Love Ireland, their people, landscape, food and culture! 🇮🇪 Now I want some Irish food paired with a green apple soda pop... (that's supposed to be a compliment.)
I'm from Wicklow originally, but i grew up in South Kerry, moved to Limerick when I turned 19, and now live in West Clare. I can confirm that the weather is brutal, but there are also more people here than you might think. I certainly would never call the west "empty."
This video is beyond the Pale.
Is that because he chose to paint the Republic the color of Ulster??
Ireland is like my home town in southwest canad a Belfast reminds me of Victoria, Have bee there many times and witnessed the dramatic changes to life there, A lovely country worth visiting,
The west coast of Ireland is very wet and relatively mountainous, is why it’s less populated. There is a similar population trend in Scotland.
Cork is Irelands second city. It's a big place and is in the south west! Galway is also big and not 'pretty empty'!, same for Limerick. Much traffic around Galway, I suppose those jammed roads are an illusion especially Headford Road
I remember when Galway won the All Ireland in 2017. The day the team arrived in Galway I was going to college. It took me two hours just to get to the Headford road roundabout. 😂
Ireland was an independent country since 1922, not 1949. Yes, we were in the commonwealth, but by 1937, we were fully independent but in name.
In addition to this, I agree with what others have noticed that you barely if not at all have covered Derry, Limerick or Galway which are some of Ireland's most notable cities.
In essence, thank you for focusing on Ireland, but not enough information or research was provided, which has consequently led to slight misinformation on a contentious issue.
I am sure when I visited Ireland on the west part, there were plenty of big towns and cities, especially south west, Galway, Lemerick, Shannon...
What foods do you grow in your garden what fish do you eat
My wife and I started in Cork and drove around most of the island (clockwise) and ended up in Dublin. An amazing place. I had some people that worked for me in Cork (we are from San Diego). The people that worked for me were shocked that we were driving around the island. I don't think any of them had ever done that before.
@hafluq2979 🤣
@hafluq2979 I don’t know where you’re driving in Ireland but i find the only peaceful driving is at night. During the day the roads are always busy everywhere
I love Bundoran on the coast! Nice surfing
Burdoran is just the best. In a few decades, I hope to retire there, if not sooner.
Let me guess before watching the video: population centers exist where the food, water, and trade ports are. If you don't have all three, you have low populations.
I'm sorry but your point about the trains is incorrect. The train network in West of Ireland was at one point just as developed as the East Coast. There are plans to reopen it. "The Western Corridor" already runs between Limerick and Galway but will eventually go through Mayo to Sligo.
1. Cork is on the southern coast - not the eastern coast.
2. 3rd and 4th largest cities are on the western coast (Galway & Limerick). Belfast still under British rule.
3. Rural Ireland is far more populated vs the equivalent in Scotland, Spain & much of Europe.
4. Rename channel to "Geoff knows no Geography"
excellent point about how rural Ireland is functionally populated. There are people everywhere in the west, enough to make friendly villages for socializing. Most places, not all of course. After a successful movie/TV career in Dublin and London a cousin founded her thriving film production company in Ennis, Clare. To be close to family but a good location for the business.
My family come from Inishmurray Island on the west coast. Moved to Carns Moneygold. Stunning part of the country. Her views growing of the sea and Benbulben mountain. We live in Australia now. Love this country
An interesting video. Not to be pedantic, but the name for the country of Ireland is Ireland / Éire as per Bunracht na hEireann, the Irish constitution.
Whilst there was a Republic of Ireland Act passed in 1949, this didn't change the name, only declared that the country is a republic.
Also, there is no L, O, N, D, O or N in Derry😉
Maybe when your plane stopped off in Dublin airport you should have gotten off instead of just looking out of the window, the west of Ireland is quite well populated from Kerry right up to Donegal, there is even roads and buildings to move and house the people living there.
Hi Geography by Geoff !
I've spent 43 years designing and project managing infrastructure all over Ireland ( Poland, UK, NL, Cayman Islands).
It's unfortunately necessary to say, that for 30 of those years, I'd leave my home on the West Coast, to arrive at a site on the East Coast, work the day, and be home by 10pm.
You're reading far too much into what you haven't read at all.
Limerick and Galway (3rd and 4th largest cities in the Irish Republic) are both in the west of Ireland and Galway is on the coast.
Surprised you didn’t mention Cromwell. He and his forces were responsible for some heinous crimes against the Irish people.
Cromwell put half a million Irish into slavery. They were exported to the Carribean.
1/4 - 1/2 the population was decimated by him. 'Gods punishment'. As he put it...
Pure invention by the Faiche Repoblichaines and Papal agents. usual false victimhood narrative. .
Yes, Leo is comparable to Cromwell 🤡🤡🤡omumbeejumbee
@@LoCoAde87 there's always one absolute lunatic.. You can bet @omumbeejumbee hates foreigners and immigrants are causing all the problems
Limerick is very much a city, not a very big one but still a city. It has everything you need, an airport (Shannon), lots of business, a food scene (Limerick changed a LOT in the last 15 years, it's a fun place for a day trip), even a yearly city Marathon in May.
Striking scenery. Great, informative video.
Appreciate the effort in getting the pronunciations and facts correct 👏🏼
Dingle on the West Coast was such a major trading hub that Queen Elizabeth sent her A-Team - Sir Walter Raleigh (of Spanish-Armada burning fame) to destroy the Catholic trading hub. The trade with Spain, Portugal, and France on the West Coast could have been an economic powerhouse - but for the British.
I can hear the theme already
And they still try to claim colonisation ‘civilised us’
I think the reason for this was mainly fearing it could be a major landing stage for an invasion by France or Spain. I'm not sure Dingle, as beautiful as it is, would have made all that bit a difference economically as a port, and to be honest with you I'm glad it didn't develop into a major trading port because it is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to in my life.
There were already ports like Limerick and Cobh that are much better placed. I think the problem was really the English nobles and the landowners they have land to with no thought of the people working the land, just about exploiting them and making money.
As a Brit with a third Irish in me (countries Mayo, Roscommon, and Armagh) I can only apologise for what England did to Ireland over the centuries, from Longbow to Cromwell and beyond. I feel most English are ignorant of the history and just not taught about any of it, though that is no excuse.
Dingle is today a pretty wealthy place.
You have plenty of big towns in the west. Limerick, Galway, Sligo town also, the west has plenty of decent sized towns.
Recent archeologist discovered that Roman did significant trade with Wales as well as up and down the Irish Sea. That would also support more human activity on the East Coast of Ireland.
What seems to be a roman trading post has been found in North county Dublin by the coast. They made to Ireland here all right but not with swords.
But I’m telling you dingle and Donnegal both on the West Coast are the best places to be. Also, there’s a town called Tipperary which is pretty awesome
Cool video, though the background music is distracting.
my grandmother came from Achill on the far west coast, it has suffered huge depopulation over the last few centuries, there are literally abandoned villages everywhere. The population at one point was huge in comparison to now. this first loss was due to mass emigration in the famine as people moved, often to the US. Years later lot's of young Irish leaving their rural way of life to seek prosperity with work in England and abroad in institutions such as the NHS and better paid work than subsistence farming their ancestors had lived
hahaha! You try make it sound like the Australian outback, try drive from Dublin (east coast) to Galway (west coast) and you'll see just how "empty" this country is, every town and city is bursting with people. You have not got a clue and I suspect you've never set foot here.
I did that many years ago! Enjoyed my times there! I liked Limerick and Galway. However always in the back of my mind --my return to Thailand. The weather here wins hands down!
@@senianns9522 Apparently Limerick and Galway don't exist..... place is empty
I mean I wish it was a bit more empty in some places... We really have spread out a bit too much in some regards not left any natural areas for people to actually connect with. Cant even go camping wild in this country it feels we just sell everything out to tourists.
@@BananaBoat-o4x drive to offaly and laois and drive up the sliabh bloom mountains. I guarantee you will find acres of space for your wild camping. Just clean up the rubbish after you. 🇮🇪👍
Your pronunciation is very good. Great video thank you.
I've never even been to Ireland, but I'm inclined to agree with the comments pointing out that the explanation given for the title question in the video is incomplete, if not inaccurate.
The geographical aspects for Ireland mostly mirror the situation in both Scotland and Norway (and, I suppose, northern France), but though these have the population skewed to the east as well there are striking historical differences. Particularly in Norway, there is actually more of the population on the West coast than in the flatter&dryer inland regions. In fact, historically this was even more the case - the capital used to be Trondheim, then Bergen, whereas the population growth in the Oslo region is a more recent development.
This is because historically, the disadvantages of steep rainswept coasts are actually not as relevant. Most transportation happened by boat anyway, fishing had more significance, rain is mostly a good thing for agriculture, and the hills aren't a show-stopper for traditional farming (they're more of a hindrance for modern industrialized monocultures). The west coast was thus _better_ suited for habitation than the east with its lack of navigable waterways and cold winters.
The latter disadvantages apply less to Ireland and Scotland, yet these too used to have a more evenly spread population including the mountainous west and north. It's clear that the actual reasons for the population declines in those regions are more complex than just "rugged landscape" and "proximity to England" (or to Denmark in case of Norway).
We've been talking about going back to Ireland (there in 2003 for a wedding), and on a whim I started filling out the trip form. Alas, although we are in our 60s, our kids range from 7 to 12... I hope you have a great trip 🙂
You need to be a sailor to understand this - the West Coast is a terrible place to find a safe harbour - its rocky and stormy - facing out to the wild Atlantic with nobody to trade with - whilst the east coast is sheltered and has safe harbours.
Didn’t donegal lose many fisherman in one sailing disaster at the turn of the 20th century? I watched a documentary many yrs ago. Can’t remember all the details.
Cork is on the south coast, and there are two small cities (Limerick and Galway) on the west coast. Not as big as Dublin, but Limerick has a population of 100,000. Inland there's another big town/small city, Athlone. When there are errors this big in the first few seconds, I'm disinclined to watch further.
That part about the Irish Celts arriving in Ireland from Galicia in Spain - that doesn't sound right to me, or from a quick Google search, whic just says they arrived through Britain.
If I'm wrong, please let me know, as it would be a very cool story!
There's a Queen's University study (I'll try and find the link) that suggests people and animals may have arrived from Galicia. They studied DNA from badgers and discovered Irish badgers came from Northern Spain. It's an interesting read, that's for sure
@@Vampire.Vegan. that's really interesting, thanks! Definitely send the link if you find it
@@exoterminator look up Breogán it'll explain a good bit of detail
@@Vampire.Vegan. Yes, send the link.
Yeah, I agree. I doubt very much did people in living in Spain in the millennium BC have vessels capable of transporting large numbers of people across such a vast and treacherous stretch of ocean.
Wow!! Ireland is so beautiful!! I want to go there and maybe move there.
Go on then
It's to create atmosphere when you stare longingly at the Atlantic Ocean and write poetry.
Ireland is amazing! I have incredibly fond memories of the my visit there.
Not true. From Galway city. You drive south to Ennis and Limerick city. That’s about 250,000 people in a short distance. A short 1 hour drive between them. Then you have Tralee in county Kerry.
Ennis and Tralee aren't cities but Limerick is
What little I saw of the traffic, both within and approaching Galway, rivals that of my home city of Toronto.
Thanks for the video on Ireland! I appreciate your time, research and presentation of world geography and interesting facts. Maybe consider adjusting your voice and varying the depths and heights of your tone during your videos. Otherwise great job, keep up the good work :)
You can now travel on a dual carriageway from Larne Harbour to Cork Harbour. This is known as the Eastern Corridor and was funded by the European Union.
There are some many factual inaccuracies in this video I don't know where to begin. The death toll of the famine, Independent since the 40s, the geographical information is ok but historically very inacurate. The cromwellian invasion should bear some influence on this topic too, "to hell or to Connacht"
When you spoke about a United Ireland that really felt like it was out of a text book. But I dont blame you, its hard for anyone not living in Ireland to understand.
Its very complex and has no simple answer.
An excellent summary 👏🏻🇮🇪
It's because as you go West you encounter big lakes and big rivers where the surrounding lands are marshlands or as you near the coast it gets very rocky which is bad for farming.
Cork is not on the east cost and Limerick is not a coastal town.
Why do so few people live at the North Pole? I’m very curious 🧐
Ok, 2 minutes in: The Celts most likely came to Ireland the same way most people did, through Britain. The Iberian hypothesis has been pretty much debunked.
If you study it linguistically, Goidelic kept the characteristics of older Celtic languages longer while Brythonic had more influences from the mainland.
Is that why the Irish language and the Welsh language are completely different ?
@@LFCMattNOI Not completely. If you study both, you'll recognise the relationship & similarities. But yes, Brythonic was able to get a lot more continental influences over the years. Many Brythonic words would've been loaned from Latin & replaced the older Celtic words that remained in Goidelic. Goidelic was isolated for quite some time before the Gaels brought it with them to the Isle of Man and Scotland.
Difference wise, I'd liken it to English and German: clearly both Germanic but not really mutually intelligible. Though both younger than the divergence found between Goidelic and Brythonic.
I agree. There’s no way that people living in Spain in the millennium bc had vessels to transport large numbers of people across such a vast treacherous stretch of ocean.
@@KevOSMusic what about the cruthin who lived historically in Antrim and down. Unionists in NI try to tell us they were British people native to Ireland/Ulster before the gaels from abroad invaded and drove them out,only for them to return centuries later in the Ulster plantation. I’m guessing that story is a load of rubbish too yeah ?
@@LFCMattNOI A stupid argument. Nearly everyone on the island of Ireland is descended from someone who lived on the island of Great Britain.
The real issue was England conquered Ireland but rarely looked after its conquest. Irish rebellion was always in response to poor conditions brought on by the rule of the English, later the British. Irish Independence is a direct result of centuries of poor British rule. Same to be said of all the other previous provinces of the British Empire.
Cork is in Munster... Which has two other relevant cities in Limerick and Warerford. Even Connacht has Galway so IDK where this idea that it's pretty empty comes from
Major cities of Ireland are located in East coast because they were close to England Scotland and Wales and cities are not in the west coast because most of the west coast is not suitable for making ports and also it is far away from major port cities of Britain and Europe compared to Dublin, Belfast and Cork.
Many cities nowadays thrive off of shipping and transit, and the port related industries that shipping brings with it. The Atlantic Coast of Ireland tends to be stormier than the east, and there aren't many well protected deep harbors for shipping. That's ultimately what things came down to. Galway is one of the few exceptions.
1:22 Anyone else notice that the aisle of Anglesey and northwest wales looks like a guy earring a raincoat, pointing accusingly around Wexford
I haven't but I will now look. The landmass of England, Wales and Scotland resembles a man in a large hat riding on a pig, my Dad pointed this out to me and once you see it you keep seeing it!
the western provinces of ireland, munster and connaught, had far bigger populations prior to the mid 1800s then they do today. Population density was actually higher in the west than the east at that stage
That was not a good thing. They were living in extreme poverty.
Pretty sure Ireland didn't get independence in 1949, but rather in 1937 when it became a Republic
Ireland was officially declared a republic in 1949. The 1937 constitution, although republican in tone, didn't officially remove the position of the king as head of state or break Irealnd's link with the Commonwealth. In short the years '37 to '49 were a bit of a grey area in terms of Ireland's status as an independent country.
It was technically only a republic in 1949, the year of formal separation from the British crown. But an independent state by 1920.
Saying that Canada and Australia are not independent ? Many ex-Brit countries became republics later after a period of sharing the monarchy. They are 2 different things
@@AG-ni8jm The citizens of the island of Ireland were all British and had British passports up until 1949 when Eire became the Republic of Ireland and Irish passports were issued. Effectively this means that anyone who emigrated to the USA prior to 1949 were British Americans not Irish Americans.
@@saxonanglo3956incorrect. Irish passports have been issued since 1924. The first Irish passport, issued to the general public from 3 April 1924, contained a green hardcover with the Irish coat of arms, the harp, embossed in the centre.
The Plantation slide is funny - three little figures with a trowel each, planting a little planteen-shmanteen.
Somehow, I don’t think that exactly how the Plantations manifested 😁
Loving your country is Normal. Ireland is a beautiful Country.
It takes until 7:45 until he starts discussing the title. Why do youtubers feel the need to give an entire history of a country instead of getting right to the topic? We don't need a lecture about the Vikings and Normans.
You do, background is necessary and alas some history is involved.
I wish to see both Ireland and Northern Ireland united soon. 🇮🇪🍀
Like Israel and Palestine?
❤🇬🇧
@@vince1229❤🇮🇱
Never 😞
I wish also but the reality is taxes are lesser for the Northern Irish people being ruled by Great Britain. So for that reason that everything costs more in the Republic of Ireland for the Northern Irish people. They don’t want that, they want to pay less … so they want to stay part of England.
I mean if you were part of United States and things were cheaper than Canada would you want your small state to return back to being part of Canada. If things cost more money… Nope.
Galway isn't a global metropolis, but it's a major city by Irish standards - it's not that much smaller than Cork.
What Ireland's population distribution really comes down to is that you have Belfast and Dublin and then everything else in terms of population centres (but that doesn't make a very good clickbait title)
And alot safer than Dublin!
My husband and I are a pair of New Yorkers who moved to rural northwestern Ireland ten years ago. Our home sits along a small road. Our side is the Republic. The other side of the road - is the UK. Border country is its own flavor, and can be confusing at first. How the folks in our nearest village have one accent, and the folks two miles away in the next village (in the UK ) speak with a COMPLETELY different accent - is amazing. Literally a few NYC blocks between them….
Different countries, different histories, different politics - two countries side-by-side - and yet, a wide gulf runs between them.
It’s hard to imagine them joined and blended - anytime soon.
And about the geography? Two local sayings? “Leitrim land is sold by the gallon.” And “When a crow flies over Leitrim, he brings his own lunch”
Thanks for the video, and all the information - nice work!
Props to you for getting out of that dumphole NYC and 10 years ago no less, almost prophetic considering how bad it has gotten.
No different than Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Harlem, and Staten Island all having different accents.
hell, i have heard the differences in Boston’s accents just from going a couple of blocks over from White Dorchester to the rest of Dorchester
Ireland is one country, with 2 states. Northern Ireland is an artificial state, created to maintain a Protestant majority.
That’s not even where Cork is? Cork has just consumed Waterford county altogether lol.
2:21 Wait a minute... Wasn't Viking settlement limited to the eastern coastline?
Not only do DNA tests reveal that Scandinavian genes appear mostly in the east, but there's the sheer fact that Vikings were responsible for establishing cities in lieu of agricultural estates.
They attempted to settle the south but were pushed out... He makes it seem as if we were "buddies" with the vikings and we didnt go to war with them all the time.
@BananaBoat-o4x Interactions certainly *started* with warfare, but Vikings often agreed to negotiate with locals not too long after initial conflict.
Since a lot of trade and influence passed through Holyhead, perhaps you should've said "England and Wales". It would've made the maps look more sensible.