Romans in Ireland?

[Chilperic]

P.s. I am assuming that the 'evidence' you infer is later Irish legend. That might support an hypothesis but it does not constitute evidence, as not everyone, by a long chalk, would accept it as valid. As I have said before, the archaeology shows dramatic change in Ireland from the fourth century onwards, which makes the legends very difficult indeed to project into the pre-Christian period. Certainly Irish scholars such as O Croinin would raise eyebrows at the idea.

That means, to my mind, that one cannot say, by any rigorous historical standards " Did the Romans ever 'sponsor' a campaign of conquest by a disaffected Hibernian king or clan leader...The evidence would say Yes."

We might suggest that such a sponsored invasion might fit within the broad pattern of Imperial relations with people beyond the frontier; we might say that it might have left a trace in a later legend. We cannot say that any of that constitutes proof of the sponsorship of an invasion.

Even the new fort doesn't alter the general position that contacts between the Irish world and the Empire were in broad perspective, limited, even in the 4th century. Roman finds remain scarce and as I said before trade from the Roman world, even when reaching the eastern shores of the Irish Sea in reasonable numbers in the fifth and early sixth centuries, is rarely (not never, but rarely) found on the western shore.

Guy