1594 Nine Years' War

The Nine Years' War or Tyrone's Rebellion took place in Ireland from 1594 to 1603. The war against O'Neill and his allies was the largest conflict fought by England in the Elizabethan era. At the height of the conflict (1600–1601) more than 18,000 soldiers were fighting in the English army in Ireland. By contrast, the English army assisting the Dutch during the Eighty Years' War was never more than 12,000 strong at any one time. The Nine Years' War was fought between the forces of Gaelic Irish chieftains Hugh O'Neill of Tír Eoghain, Hugh Roe O'Donnell of Tír Chonaill and their allies, against English rule in Ireland. The war was fought in all parts of the country, but mainly in the northern province of Ulster. It ended in defeat for the Irish chieftains, which led to their exile in the Flight of the Earls and to the Plantation of Ulster.

1577 Great Comet of 1577

The Annals of the Four Masters record that the Great Comet of 1577 "was wondered at by all universally". The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The Great Comet of 1577 was a comet that passed close to Earth. It was viewed by people all over Europe, including the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe and Turkish astronomer Taqi ad-Din. From his observations of the comet, Brahe was able to discover that comets and similar objects travel above the Earth's atmosphere. 

1537 Silken Thomas executed at Tyburn

Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare (1513–1537), also known as Silken Thomas, was a leading figure in sixteenth century Irish history. In June 1534 Thomas heard rumours that his father had been executed in the Tower of London and that the English government intended the same fate for himself and his uncles. He summoned the Council to St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, and on 11 June, accompanied by 140 horsemen with silk fringes on their helmets (from which he got his nickname), rode to the abbey and publicly renounced his allegiance to King Henry VIII, Lord of Ireland. In July he attacked Dublin Castle, but his army was routed. In October 1535 he was sent as a prisoner to the Tower. FitzGerald was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn (with his five uncles). Silken Thomas's revolt caused Henry to pay more attention to Irish matters, and was a factor leading on to the creation of the Kingdom of Ireland in 1542.

1495 Poynings' Law

Poynings' Law or Poynings' Act, formal title: Statute of Drogheda is an Act of the Parliament of Ireland. Assembling the Parliament on 1 December 1494, he declared that the Parliament of Ireland was thereafter to be placed under the authority of the Parliament of England. It was initiated by Sir Edward Poynings in the Irish Parliament at Drogheda in 1494. In his position as Lord Deputy of Ireland, as appointed by King Henry VII of England, Poynings called together an assembly of the parliament. Coming in the aftermath of the divisive Wars of the Roses, Poynings' intention was to make Ireland once again obedient to the English monarchy.

1366 Statutes of Kilkenny

The Statutes of Kilkenny were a series of thirty-five acts passed at Kilkenny, aiming to curb the decline of the Hiberno-Norman Lordship of Ireland. By the middle decades of the 13th century, the Hiberno-Norman presence in Ireland was perceived to be under threat, mostly due to the dissolution of English laws and customs among English settlers. These English settlers were described as "more Irish than the Irish themselves", referring to them taking up Irish law, custom, costume and language. The statutes tried to prevent this "middle nation", which was neither true English nor Irish, by reasserting English culture among the English settlers. While the Statutes were sweeping in scope and aim, the English never had the resources to fully implement them. Clarence was forced to leave Ireland the following year, and Hiberno-Norman Ireland continued to gain a primarily Irish cultural identity.

1297 The first representative Irish Parliament meets in Dublin

The Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. It comprised two chambers: the House of Commons (directly elected, albeit on a very restricted franchise) and the House of Lords (members of the Irish peerage and the bishops). The main purpose of parliament was to approve taxes that were then levied by and for the Lordship of Ireland. In 1541 the parliament voted to create the Kingdom of Ireland. The earliest known Irish Parliament met at Castledermot in 1264 some months earlier than the first English Parliament. Among its most famous meeting places were Dublin Castle, the Bluecoat School, Chichester House and, its final permanent home, the Irish Parliament House in College Green.

1216 Great Charter of Ireland

The Great Charter of Ireland (also known as the Magna Charta Hiberniae) was an issue of the English Magna Carta (Great Charter of Liberties) and it secured rights for the Anglo-Norman magnates in Ireland. King Henry III of England's Charter of 1216 was issued for Ireland in November 1216 but not transmitted to Ireland until February 1217. The Charter was reissued in 1217 as in England. It was in effect the application of the Magna Carta to Ireland, with appropriate substitutions (such as "Dublin" for "London", and "Irish Church" for "Church of England"). The only known copy of the Charter was once to be found in the Red Book of the Dublin Court of Exchequer. The Red Book was destroyed in the explosion at the Four Courts in Dublin, in 1922, but the Charter had been recorded by H. F. Berry in Early Statutes of Ireland (1907).