A/N So yeah, my Siena save file was corrupted for some reason when I finally got around to buying most of the DLC for EU4. Since I had no way to continue my previous AAR, I decided to take a break for awhile and plan my next story before diving back into EU4. I finally decided on goals for my next AAR, the goals being the unification of Ireland and delivering the English a good ass-kicking. Expect to see alliances with the Scots and the French later into the story as I'll need their help.
Okay, so the first bit is just a prologue and beginning blurb for the story. The italicized section is my own writing while the bold is a summary of Irish history I found online. If there is any mistakes in either part, please do inform me and I will edit it.
The first settlement of Ireland took place sometime around 6000 BC by hunters and fishers along the island's eastern coast. The Gaels, a Celtic-speaking people from western Europe, found their way to the island sometime between about 600 and 150 BC and subdued the previous inhabitants.
About the time of Christ the island was organized into five kingdoms, the traditional "Five Fifths of Ireland". By AD 400 seven independent kingdoms had evolved. The kings of these kingdoms often allied their armies to raid neighboring Roman Britain and the Continent. On one of these raids a lad of 16 was captured, returned to Ireland and sold into slavery. During his enslavement the boy turned to religion and some six years later at the age of 22 escaped. The young man studied theology in the Roman church and in 432 returned to Ireland, and began a lifelong quest of converting the Irish to Christianity. This was none other than Ireland's patron, Saint Patrick.
In the 9th and 10th centuries, Ireland came under fierce attacks from the Vikings. Monasteries suffered great atrocities at the hands of these aggressors. In 853 the Danes invaded the island and were followed by Danish settlers who gradually assimilated with the local population and adopted Christianity. When the four ecclesiastical provinces (Ulster in the north-east, Leinster in south-eastern Ireland with control of the ancient kingdom of Meath, Munster in the southwest, and Connaught or Connacht in the north-west) were created in 1152, both Gaelic and Danish elements helped form a united Church. This reform, and others advocated by the Irish church were frowned on by some, including Pope Adrian IV, an Englishman. In 1155 he conferred on Henry II of England the lordship of Ireland with hopes of curing some of Ireland's perceived ecclesiastical ills. In 1168 the English invaded the island and soon thereafter began invoking reforms, many dealing with the granting of land, and many of which violated the traditional political and social structure.
From the latter twelfth century to about 1400, many Norman's from England moved to Ireland and settled the eastern areas, particularly around Dublin. Some assimilated but strife persisted between the native Irish and the colonists. In 1367 a law was enacted to keep the two populations separate.
In the year of Our Lord 1444, the world is in turmoil. The English are slowly being driven out of France, having wasted a century fighting for a crown still held by the Valois dynasty. In the Balkans, the Eastern Roman Empire is but a dying shadow of its former glory as Ottoman expansion eats away at the corpse. When the call came from the Holy See for another crusade, the only major power to answer the call was Hungary. While they fought valiantly to free the Othodox Christians living under Islamic rule, the Hungarians were soon knocked down and shoved aside by the Ottoman dynasty.
However, these events mostly seemed to be a world away to theshow that would soon begin in Eire. For the past six centuries or so, the Emerald Isle has been a land of violence as the natives fought against incursions by the horrifying Vikings and the great houses of England. Now the land lays divided into five sections, four of which are governed by Irish kings. However, the lands surrounding are imprisoned by the English scourge, its people subjected to the brutal rule of the manical Henry VI of the House of Lancaster.
Eire cannot remain in this state. No true Irish king would allow such a English-dominated balance of power to exist. It is only a question of when these events become too much and push men to prove their right to live, to create, and to rule!
The kingdom of Tyrone, ruled by the O'Neill family of Irish lords, was settled into the north-eastern parts of Ireland. It held dominion over the city of Ulster and the surrounding lands with borders connecting to its rival Connaught to the south-west and the English-held province of Meath to the south. Whenever King Eoghan II of Tyrone looked upon the lands held by foreign invaders, his very soul burned with hatred. After thirty-one years of blessed life, he could no longer stand the sights before him. That night, plans began to be drawn to end the tragedy before him.
The first order of business was secure an alliance with the kingdom of Scotland to the north. While the two were separated by the clear waters of the Irish Sea, Eoghan knew he would need deterrent to the English attacking his kingdom too early in his gambles. The Scots soon returned the treaty with a signature agreeing to the arrangement. Along with his offer of alliance to Scotland, Eoghan also sent out to Valois king of France an offer of a betrothal between his son and one of the kings daughters. It was accepted as well, leading to a potential alliance in the future. As Eoghan's advisers breathed a sigh of relief, his mind began to fill with plans.
Sending a diplomat to begin forging papers, Eoghan concentrated the rest of his efforts on the Papacy. While never quite the religious zealot some of his contemporaries were, the king knew the power of the faith and what it could drive men to do. As such, he began to improve his communication with the Papacy and gave the clergy in his lands greater rights in an attempt to garner favor with the Pope. His hopes were that when the time came, the Holy Father would give his blessings onto Eoghan's plans.
As the year passed into 1445, Eoghan began to expand his military's size. Originally standing at three thousand men, two-thirds of which were infantry, the king knew he would need to outnumber the army of Connaught to better the odds in his favor. With that, the order was given to raise another two infantry regiments of a thousand men each. This move would be costly, but Eoghan hoped to end combat in any war he fought swiftly so as to avoid greater losses.
Finally, on November 13th, 1445, the time came for Eoghan to move forward with his plans. With a set of papers giving him claim to the province of Connaught, Eoghan led his army over the border and on a warpath. However, while Connaught had lowered their army to only two thousand infantry, the people of Tyrone found themselves betrayed by the Scots. Soon, the seas ran crimson with Irish blood as Scotland's navy came close to destroying Tyrone's trade fleet of three ships. Though the ships were saved, the battle and betrayal showed yhis war would soon prove hard won.
However, hope soon appeared when the French sent a request for an alliance. Eoghan's foresight had paid off and the offer was accepted. Soon, the Irish king ensured the French made good on the deal by calling them to war against the Scots. Their assistance would prevent an invasion, giving Tyrone time to end the war in Connaught.
On the 7th of December, Tyrone proved its might on land as it destroyed Connaught's forces. With this show of strength came several offers of alliances from both Italian and German states. While most were ignored, ones from the states of Savoy and Burgundy caught Eoghan's attention. While Burgundy was quickly accepted, the king had to decide if the Italians were worth any possible trouble. Savoy could prove a useful comrade if they built up their navy and fought the English fleets in the next few years, plus the distance between their countries meant the Irish wouldn't need to expect to be brought into any wars. With these advantages in mind, Eoghan signed the agreement from his siege base at Connaught and sent away the courier as Christmas passed and the year of 1446 began.
Eoghan watched from his siege as the war grew from a minor conflict between petty Irish kingdoms to include the forces of Aragon and Novgorod on the side of Connaught and France and its vassals on Tyrone's. However, one of the interesting developments was the joining of Leinster on the enemy side. While he had thought Connaught and Leinster had been rivals before, Eoghan actually saw the new enemy as a blessing. If he could occupy Connaught quickly enough, he could move to attack Leinster and vassalize or even conquer it.
As a Tyronian group of three thousand men, a thousand of which were quickly hired mercenaries, fought off an Scottish invasion force of two thousand, an Italian engineer presented himself before Eoghan. The man claimed to know much of war and how to quicken a siege as a way to advertize his service to the king. Thinking it over, the king decided to hire the man on as the siege was taking a long while.
With the Italian's help, the siege was finally finished in March, fulfilling one of Eoghan's goals for the war. Now, he moved on to Leinster's holding and prepared to unite most of Eire under his rule. Another siege began as Eoghan sat down and waited out his enemies.
Finally, in November, Leinster fell and Eoghan was ready to head to the tables to negotiate. France had already driven Aragon out by taking away the province of Rousillion for one of its vassals while Novgorod had not paid a large role in war and was thus left out of the talks. With an invasion by France now possible, Scotland was wisely gave into Tyrone's demands, paying a penalty of twelve ducats to Tyone in recompense for their betrayal and allowing Connaught and Leinster to annexed to the growing kingdom. With his goals accomplished and his people in celebration, Eoghan sat back and contemplated his next move.
Given the choices of becoming rivals with Munster or England, Eoghan made the choice to antagonize the English over his fellow Irish men. Instead of attacking Munster, the king sought to establish a peaceful means of annexation through future vassalization of the nation. With this mind, he set about marrying one of his daughters to the heir apparent of Munster, hoping to achieve an alliance with the smaller nation.
After the war ended, a troubling event presented itself to Eoghan. Scotland believed it could still cling to dying feelings of friendship with Tyrone and had sent an offer of alliance. While the added strength would be good, the king worried over if such an agreement would anger his people. Deciding to contemplate it for a few days, Eoghan finally sent the letter back with his signature. Along with it came a warning that the next time the Scots betrayed their alliance, Tyrone would not stand for it and would set fire to both the lowlands and the highlands.
As his kingdom settled into peace, Eoghan began to once again grow use to the reign of a peacetime king. He gave the order to expand the three ship trade fleet with two more barques, bringing the total number of ships in his fleet up to seven if transport cogs were counted. His army was sent to Ulster to heal and recover while the nation waited for the next war to come. This was how 1446 ended, with Tyrone trying to bring their enemy Munster under their control and hold back the English.