Hibernia is the Roman Latin name for the island of Ireland.

Never part of Roman Empire

Hibernia was never formally incorporated into the Roman Empire.

Popular belief is that the Romans neither invaded nor particularly influenced Ireland. It is certain that Irish tribal expeditions harried the Roman provinces of Britannia (Britain) and Gaul (France).

Written records are brief yet suggestive. No Roman roads have been found, and no records of an invasion have been discovered. Yet in the Southeast of Ireland, where native material is rare, Roman-style cemeteries and large quantities of Roman finds are found.

Elsewhere in Ireland Roman material is rare and found completely independent of the native La Tene material.

Pre-Roman settlements

Prior to the Romans, the tribes of Britain, Gaul and Ireland had mutually warred, traded and settled. In the Southwest of Ireland archaeology shows that there had been settlement from Britain around 0CE. Ptolemy in 100 CE records tribal names identical to tribes in Gaul and Britain. The early medieval people had Latin and British loan words and a strong tradition of British origin.

Evidence of Roman visits

The Irish myth of Tuathal, tells of an Irish Chieftan, who was in Britain around the time of Agricola and returned to seize power in the Irish Midlands with a trained army. Tacitus tells us that Agricola had with him an Irish Chieftan for exactly such a task. Juvenal tells us that, Roman 'arms had been taken beyond the shores of Ireland'. Excavations at sites linked to the tale of Tuathal have produced Roman material of the late 1st or early 2nd centuries AD. Perhaps Tuathal was that Irish Chieftan referred to above who returned with Roman trained troops, power and technology.

Tara, the midland ritual complex, Clogher, a northern hillfort, and Cashel, in the south have produced early and late Roman material, the first two having produced no native finds. The place name Cashel has its origin in the Latin castellum. All become capitals of new kingdoms and all believe that their origins derive from Britain.

At Drumanagh, 25 km of Dublin, a large (20 Ha) site has recently been found to be Roman. Consisting of a peninsula defended by three rows of parallel ditches on the landward side, the site appears to be a port or bridgehead. Access to the finds and the site has been prohibited for over 10 years due to a court case about ownership. It is a scandal.

Other Roman influences can be seen such as the penannular brooch, used to fasten Irish cloaks from 4th-11th century, which derives from a style of Romano-British brooch, or the early medieval Irish sword which derived from the Roman Spatha? and even the rapid adoption of Christianity.

Interaction with Roman Britain

Everyone accepts that Caesar 'invaded' Britain. Yet his army left few discoverable traces, stayed only a couple of years, and failed to incorporate Britain into the Roman Empire. It is only through the survival of Caesar's book, The Gallic War, that we know of the Roman invasion of Britain in 54 BC.

The few other remaining texts from that period, combined with the archaeology suggest that interaction between Romanised Britain and Ireland occurred. But without the miraculous discovery of a lost Roman text, or some dramatic archaeological finds, the details will remain debated.

Modern usage

Hibernia is a word which is rarely used today with regard to Ireland, however it is occasionally used for various names of organisations and things, for instance: Ancient Order of Hibernians, Hibernia College , Hibernian Football Club, the realm Hibernia in the MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot and HMS Hibernia. Other modern derivatives, from Latin, include Respublica Hibernica (Irish Republic) and Universitas Hiberniae Nationalis (National University of Ireland).

See also:

• Ireland