Iron Age in Ireland is traditionally associated with people known as the Celts. The Celts were commonly thought to have colonised Ireland in a series of invasions. The first Celtic-speaking tribes are believed to have arrived on the island about 600 B.C. in what is referred to as the Hallstatt era. Other colonists followed them, the main thrust arriving in the later La Tene era sometime between the third and first centuries B.C. They came from neighboring Britain, Gaul and Iberia: tribes from two main stems of the Continental Celts—the Belgae originating in northern Gaul and the Gael from southern Gaul and the northern seaboard of the Iberian Peninsula. Historically four separate Celtic incursions into are deemed to have occurred in Ireland, The Priteni were the first to colonize the island, followed by the Belgae who invaded Ireland from northern Gaul and Britain. Later, Laighin tribes from Armorica (present-day Brittany) are believed to have invaded Ireland and Britain more or less simultaneously. Lastly, the Milesians (Gaels) reached Ireland from either northern Iberia or southern Gaul. The Priteni tribes (Ireland and Britain were known to the early Greeks as the Pritenic Islands) are believed to have arrived some time after 700 B.C. Their origin as Celts is questionable; according to some sources they were more likely to have been the descendants of the earlier Neolithic indigenous inhabitants of the island. Probably, they were a mixture of both. The second wave, the Euerni, belonging to the Belgae people of northern Gaul, began arriving about the sixth century B.C. They called their new home Eueriio, which would later evolve through the old Irish Eriu to Eire to Ireland. The third wave of colonization is believed to have taken place sometime about 300 B.C. They were the Laginians or, according to their own tradition, Gauls who came to Ireland from Armorica. Their name association with Laighi, the ancient name for Leinster, suggests that this was where they first settled. Another branch of the same people was the Galioin (or Gailenga) who settled in an area north of Dublin and Meath The last major Celtic settlement in Ireland is believed to have taken place sometime between 150–50 B.C. These people have been identified as the Milesians (Sons of Mil, or Gaels) who, according to tradition, fled Roman incursions into northern Iberia and southern Gaul. These were Iron Age Celts and their dominance over the island was to last well over a thousand years. The Gaels, the last wave of Celts, were said to have divided the island into five or more kingdoms after conquering it. However, most academics favour a theory that emphasises the diffusion of culture from the neolithic to bronze age overseas as opposed to a military colonisation. Finds such as Clonycavan Man are given as evidence for this theory. FULL ZOOOOMAGE RECOMENDED. Have a nice day.