Astronomy in Ireland from earliest times to the eighteenth century

Abstract

Evidence that the builders of Irish passage graves and stone circles may have possessed some knowledge of basic celestial cycles is discussed. The introduction of Celtic culture to Ireland circa 600 B.C. is next described and an account of the astronomical learning of the Celts provided based on classical documentation and Irish vernacular sources. Following on the coming of Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century, the necessity to construct Easter tables led Irish monks to such related activities as establishing collections of computi, compiling Annals and undertaking studies of available astronomical material. In particular, through exposure to Helenistic writings, they understood celestial motions in terms of the Ptolemaic model and were recognised authorities in Europe in the eighth and ninth centuries on astronomical matters. The influence of the Viking and Norman invasions in disrupting the intellectual life of the country is then outlined and the circumstances relating to the creation of conditions leading to the brilliant flowering of Irish astronomy in the eighteenth century are elucidated.