Editing Howth (section)

==History==
[[File:Howth postcard circa 1890–1900.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Nineteenth century postcard of Howth]]
On the grounds of Howth Castle is a 3000 year old [[dolmen|dolmen tomb]] known as [[Aideen's Grave]]. According to legend it is the resting place of the mythological figure [[Aideen]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Aideen's Grave, Deerpark, Howth, Dublin. |url=https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000183391 |publisher=[[National Library of Ireland]]}}</ref> This legend is the subject of the poem 'Aideen's Grave' by [[Samuel Ferguson]].<ref>{{cite book |title=A Book of Irish Verse |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |page=60}}</ref>

In ancient history [[Ptolemy|Ptolemy's]] second-century map of Ireland shows Howth as an island named ''Edri Deserta'' (sometimes rendered as ''Edros'').<ref>{{cite journal
 | title =Archaeology Ireland Vol. 31, No. 2 (Summer 2017), pp. 12-14 (3 pages) DRUMANAGH—AN EXCITING PROSPECT
 | journal =Archaeology Ireland
 | volume =31
 | issue =2
 | pages =12–14
 | date =1 July 2017 
 | jstor =90014316
 | last1 =Boyle
 | first1 =Paddy
 }}</ref>

===11th to 16th centuries===
After [[Brian Ború]], the [[High King]] of Ireland, defeated the Norse in 1014, many Norse fled to Howth to regroup and remained a force until their final defeat in Fingal in the middle of the 11th century. Howth still remained under the control of Irish and localised Norse forces until the invasion of Ireland by the Anglo-Normans in 1169.

Without the support of either the Irish or Scandinavian powers, Howth was isolated and fell to the Normans in 1177. One of the victorious Normans, Armoricus (or Almeric) Tristram, was granted much of the land between the village and Sutton. According to the historian Samuel Lewis:

<blockquote>In 1177, Sir Amorey Tristram and Sir John de Courcy landed here at the head of a large military force, and totally defeated the Danish inhabitants in a sanguinary battle at the bridge of Evora, over a mountain stream which falls into the sea near the Baily lighthouse. This victory secured to Sir Amorey the lordship of Howth, of which his descendants have continued in possession to the present day, under the name of [[Saint Lawrence|St. Laurence]], which Almaric, third baron, assumed in fulfilment of a vow previously to his victory over the Danes near Clontarf, in a battle fought on the festival of that saint. The territory of Howth was confirmed to Almaric de St. Laurence by King John....<ref>Samuel Lewis, [https://archive.org/stream/b22012333_0002#page/10/mode/1up ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland''], Volume 2, p. 10, S. Lewis & Co., London (1837)</ref></blockquote>

Tristam built his first castle overlooking the harbour and the St. Lawrence link remained until 2019 (see [[Earl of Howth]]). The original title of Baron of Howth was granted to Almeric St. Lawrence by [[Henry II of England]] in 1181, for one [[Knight's fee]].

Howth was a minor trading port from at least the 14th century, with both health and duty collection officials supervising from Dublin, although the harbour was not built until the early 19th century.

A popular tale concerns the clan leader and sometime pirate [[Grace O'Malley|Gráinne O'Malley]], who was rebuffed in 1576 while attempting a courtesy visit to [[Howth Castle]], home of the [[Earl of Howth]]. In retaliation, she abducted the Earl's grandson and heir, and as ransom, she exacted a promise that unanticipated guests would never be turned away again. She also made the Earl promise that the gates of Deer Park (the Earl's demesne) would never be closed to the public again, and the gates are still open to this day, and an extra place is set for unexpected guests during formal dinners in the dining room.

===19th century===
[[File:George IV footsteps Howth.jpg|thumb|left|Imprint of [[George IV]]'s footsteps on the West Pier]]

In the early 19th century, Howth was chosen as the location for the harbour for the mail packet (postal service) ship. Construction began in 1807.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=131}} One of the arguments used against Howth by the advocates of [[Dún Laoghaire]] was that coaches might be raided in ''the badlands of [[Sutton, Dublin|Sutton]]'' (at the time Sutton was open countryside).{{ref|fewer-walk}} However, due to [[silting]], the harbour needed frequent [[dredging]] to accommodate the packet and the service was relocated to Dún Laoghaire in 1809, after £350,000 had been spent on Howth.{{sfn|Bennett|2005|p=131}} English King [[George IV]] visited the harbour in August 1821, which is remembered today by an imprint of his shoes (see left picture) carved by a local stonemason on the West Pier.<ref name=it-sea-here-an-irishman-s-diary-on-howth>{{Cite news|title=Sea here – An Irishman's Diary on Howth|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/sea-here-an-irishman-s-diary-on-howth-1.3536486|last=Oram|first=Hugh|date=20 June 2018|access-date=29 July 2020|work=[[Irish Times]]|archive-date=1 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201160450/https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/sea-here-an-irishman-s-diary-on-howth-1.3536486|url-status=live}}</ref>

Irish poet and writer [[William Butler Yeats]] was a resident of Howth in the 19th century. There is a [[blue plaque]] dedicated to Yeats at Balscadden House on Balscadden Road which was his cottage home from 1880 to 1883. The plaque contains the [[couplet]] “I have spread my dreams under your feet/ Tread softly because you tread on my dreams” from his poem '[[Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven]]' (1899).<ref>{{cite web |title=Take on Nature: The poet, the rock and the Rocker at Howth Head |url=https://www.irishnews.com/lifestyle/2020/08/29/news/take-on-nature-the-poet-the-rock-and-the-rocker-at-howth-head-2049204/ |publisher=Irish News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/rocky-path-to-the-lighthouse-1.68308|title=Rocky path to the lighthouse|website=The Irish Times|access-date=21 March 2021|archive-date=23 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923040437/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/rocky-path-to-the-lighthouse-1.68308|url-status=live}}</ref> Howth would feature in Yeats writings. The first time is the 1893 essay 'Village Ghosts' recounting the paranormal folklore of the village and the second is in the poem 'Beautiful Lofty Things' (1938); "[[Maud Gonne]] at Howth station waiting a train".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yeats |first1=W.B. |title=Selected Poems |date=2015 |publisher=Alma Classics |page=122}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Yeats |first1=W.B. |title=Beautiful Lofty Things |url=https://www.poetryireland.ie/publications/poetry-ireland-review/online-archive/view/beautiful-lofty-things |website=Poetry Ireland}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Fifteen years in the making at Howth |publisher=Irish Independent |url=https://www.independent.ie/life/home-garden/homes/fifteen-years-in-the-making-at-howth-39117596.html}}</ref>

===20th century to present===
On 26 July 1914, 900 rifles were landed at Howth by [[Erskine Childers (author)|Erskine Childers]] for the [[Irish Volunteers]]. Many were used against the [[United Kingdom|British]] in the [[Easter Rising]] and in the subsequent [[Anglo-Irish War]]. Among the members of the Howth branches of the [[Irish Volunteers]] and [[Cumann na mBan]] who participated in this event were the well-known writers [[Padraic Colum]] and [[Mary Colum]]. Members of both the Howth Volunteers and [[Baldoyle]] section of the [[Irish Citizen Army]] participated in the [[Easter Rising]] in Dublin city and in [[Fingal]]. A strong local branch of [[Sinn Féin]] developed in the area and there was considerable local involvement in both the [[Irish War of Independence]] and [[Irish Civil War]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Road to Independence: Howth, Sutton and Badoyle Play Their Part|last=O'Connor|first=Philip|publisher=Howth Free Press|year=2016|isbn=978-0955316333|location=Dublin|pages=310}}</ref>

[[File:Howth harbour.doyler79.2011.jpg|right|upright=2.5|thumb |Panoramic view of Howth harbour, 2011]]
The harbour was radically rebuilt by the Office of Public Works in the late 20th century (a documentary was done on the much-delayed project in 1986), with distinct fishing and leisure areas formed, and the installation of a modern ice-making facility. A new lifeboat house was later constructed, and Howth is today home to units of both the [[Royal National Lifeboat Institution|RNLI]] (lifeboat service) and the Irish Coastguard.

In 2019, Howth Castle and its demesne, including Ireland's Eye, were sold to Tetrarch Investment group, with an element of the site close to the demesne gate immediately sold on again for development, to Glenveagh Properties.<ref name="Irish Ind 2019">{{cite news |last1=O'Connor |first1=Fearghal |title='My home was my castle' - 842 year era is over as Howth Castle and Demesne is sold |url=https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/my-home-was-my-castle-842-year-era-is-over-as-howth-castle-and-demesne-is-sold-38168768.html |access-date=2 June 2019 |work=Irish Independent |date=2 June 2019 |archive-date=3 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603113000/https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/my-home-was-my-castle-842-year-era-is-over-as-howth-castle-and-demesne-is-sold-38168768.html |url-status=live }}</ref>