 Hebernia, the land of winter as the Roman historian Tacitus wrote, known as Ireland today, is curious in the fact that it was never conquered by the mighty and bloodthirsty Roman Empire. But why was this the case? Although it is true that some Roman writers and commanders did not seem overly bothered about conquering Hebernia, this does not tell the full story. One potential reason why Rome never conquered Ireland was due to Boudicca's revolt against the conquering Roman Empire. The story begins in 60 AD, when a Roman general named Gaius Seutonius, Paulinus, took 20,000 Roman soldiers and marched on the sacred Welsh island of Monet, known today as Anglesey, acting at the behest of the mad Roman emperor Nero. Paulinus sought to obliterate the refuge for fugitives, as Anglesey served as somewhat of a mecca of Druidism in ancient Britain. What resulted was a slaughter. The Druids apparently met, then vading Romans with chants and prayers, startling the Romans for a second, before their commander ordered them to attack. After slaying the Druids of Anglesey, Ireland was less than 70 miles from Paulinus, just across the Irish Sea, and the thought surely crossed his mind to continue to push further west. After all, the nature of Roman commanders was to conquer more and more territory for the glory of Rome. That is one key way that Roman generals made the name for themselves. Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul raised his pedigree back in Rome for instance. At the point where Paulinus may have been dreaming of further conquest across the sea, he received word that the Celtic Queen of the British and Scenic tribe had capitalised on his campaign in Wales and revolted against Roman rule. As we would say in Scotland, she had an empty and she made the most of it. Paulinus and his troops immediately returned to Easter in England, around the Norfolk area, to suppress Bidicard's revolt leaving any thought of Ireland behind them. 20 years later, a Roman general and governor of Britannia, who had previously been under Paulinus' command, called Julius Agricola, set his sights on Ireland once again, during the Roman invasion of Anglesey. He arrogantly remarked that Ireland could be conquered by a single legion and a few auxiliaries. Agricola was set to cross the sea with an exiled Irish prince, according to Tacitus, the son-in-law of Agricola. And there is some evidence that Rome had a small presence on the eastern coast of Ireland for a time. This may have been in the form of a Roman bridgehead on the east coast of Ireland in Dromenar, which is just north of Dublin, despite there potentially being a small Roman military presence in Ireland and certainly a commercial presence over the years. Hibernia was never annexed into the Roman Empire, unlike large parts of Britain and Europe. Bidicard's legendary revolt may be part of the reason why. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below on the relationship between Ireland and the Roman Empire. Thanks for watching. Please subscribe and hit the bell to turn on notifications. You can also support this work through buymeacoffee.com and Patreon. All the links are in the description below. Thanks again. Speak to you next time.