Old English (Ireland)

The Normans in Ireland were a group of Normans who invaded the various realms of Gaelic Ireland. They arrived from the Kingdom of England from the 12th century onwards and established themselves as a feudal and merchant oligarchy in the Lordship of Ireland which existed throughout the High Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages. They can in many ways be seen as a branch of the Normans in England and Wales. Some of the Normans became Gaelicised, especially in the West.

These Normans nominally owed their position and claims to territory due to the King of England and were also closely associated with the Gregorian Reform of the Catholic Church in Ireland. Their fortunes took a dip in the 17th century and much of their caste merged with native Irish Gaels under the denominator of "Irish Catholic." This was because a New English Protestant elite had arrived as a new ruling class in Ireland during the Tudor period. Some Normans opted to assimilate with these Anglo-Irish people. Their descendants live in Ireland to this day and have spread out through the Irish diaspora, but no longer commonly identify as Norman.

Some of the most prominent Norman families were the Burkes, FitzGeralds and Butlers. One of the most popular Irish surnames, Walsh, derives from Normanised Welshmen who arrived in Ireland as part of this group.

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