While the rest of the world was more or less involved in the Second World War, Ireland dealt with "the Emergency". Which sometimes makes reading about Irish history that little bit more complicated. Here are some specifically Irish terms you might encounter ...
12th of July - anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.
1690 - year of the Battle of the Boyne.
1798 - the rebellion of 1798, led by Wolfe Tone.
1916 - the Easter Rising, led by Patrick Pearse and James Connolly.
Anglo-Irish War - 1919 to 1921; (guerilla) war for the independence of Ireland, ending with "the Treaty".
Anti-Treaty Forces - Republican troops in the Civil War, fighting against "Free-Staters".
Apprentice Boys - Protestant defenders of Derry, slammed the town gates shut when Jacobite forces approached in 1688.
Battle of the Boyne - minor battle of the Williamite War in 1690, the only battle where both King James and King William were present.
Belfast Blitz - 1941 bombing of Belfast by German planes during the Second World War (the "Emergency").
Big Fellow - Michael Collins.
Bloody Sunday - either the massacre of unarmed civilians by crown forces in Croke Park (Dublin, 1920) or the massacre of unarmed civilians by British paratroopers in Derry (1972).
Blueshirts - fringe political group in the 1930s pursuing fascist ideals, later merged into Fine Gael.
Civil War - the confrontation between Free Staters and Republicans (1922 to 1923).
Cromwell - Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector; still vilified due to his Irish campaign (1649 to 1650).
Croppies - rebels of 1798.
Dev - Eamon de Valera.
Easter Rising - the ill-fated armed insurrection of 1916.
Emergency - Second World War, during which quasi-neutral Ireland declared a "state of emergency".
Flight of the Earls - the flight of Hugh O'Neill and Rory O'Donnell (Earls of tyrone and Tyrconnell respectively) from Ireland in 1607, clearing the way for the "Plantation of Ulster".
Free State - Ireland self-ruled but nominally under British control.
Free Staters - supporters of the Free State (as opposed to "Anti-Treaty Forces").
Gentleman in Black Velvet - a mole that caused King William's horse to stumble, throwing him off and thus hastening his demise.
High King - overlord of Ireland (which was ruled by several dozens of local "kings", glorified tribal chieftains).
Irish Brigade - any military unit in foreign service made up from Irishmen, most often applied to Irish-influenced units in the American Civil War. Also the (rather grandiose) name of a unit raised by Roger Casement in Germany during the First World War.
Jacobites - supporters of King James ("Jacobus Rex") against King William.
Liberator - Daniel O'Connell.
Long Fellow - Eamon de Valera.
Plantations - the enforced settlement of colonists on Irish soil; contrary to public belief, the first plantations were undertaken by the Catholic Queen Mary ("Bloody Mary") in 1549, the area was Laois and Offaly.
Rising - the Easter Rising of 1916.
Siege of Derry - the Jacobite encirclement of Derry during 1689.
Strongbow - Richard Fitz Gilbert, mercenary commander hired by Diarmaid Mac Murchú, managed to start the Norman conquest of Ireland before dying of a minor injury in 1176.
Treaty, the - more than often the document signed in 1921 by Michael Collins and other Republicans, establishing the partition of Ireland and the Free State.
Treaty of Limerick - official end to the Williamite War in 1691.
Troubles - the civil war in Northern Ireland.
Uncrowned King of Ireland - Charles Steward Parnell.
War of Independence - Anglo-Irish War.
Wild Geese - Irish mercenaries in the pay of (Catholic) European rulers.
