Any reason why Rome would invade Ireland?

I know that Ireland didn't have the resources necessary for Rome to stir an interest in it. But could there be any other posible reasons for it? What would be the general effects of an occupied, or partly occupied Ireland have on its future? Thank you for replying.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
If an Emperor got bored and wanted a military victory as part of his legacy. Or if the Republic had survived and eventually conquered Britain, some proconsul might have wanted a triumph when he got back to Rome and could figure that Ireland was as good a place as any to get one.
 
Revenge? A pirate raid that causes enough damage or capturing/killing someone important enough to slight Romes honour?
 
Well, there was a semi-permanent roman presence on Ireland, and coastal clans were probably clientelised.

If Brittania is secure enough (that would probably ask for at least clientelisation of Caledonia after Mons Graupius), and that fights in Ireland threaten clients or a situation more or less favourable to Rome's interests, then an expedition could lead to a more closely ruled eastern Ireland.

The more plausible effect would be an expedition equivalent to Caesar's in Britain : making a point rather than conquest. I don't think it would have lasting effects, but would fill the OP.

It's really less plausible, but you could have a rule from Britannia or a possible Northern Britain province (rather than a Scotia province). I don't think it would last long though : at best as much than Roman rule on Dortmund, aka less than fifty years. Then return to clients.
 
They did launch a number of punitive expeditions against other foes so why not against Ireland?

It would be less for honour than for making a double political point : both towards Scots that Rome wouldn't tolerate that, and for Brittons that they can't stop dreaming about Roman grasp weakening.

Still, such raid seems unlikely : Eastern Ireland was more or less under Roman political influence, with reguliar military presence.
Whoever would try that would have been noticed at some point, at least if Rome is able to deal with : if it's not the case, it's likely that Rome can't send an expedition.
 
Umm... During the Reformation, Ireland goes Protestant (?because England stays RC?) and the Pope declares a crusade against Ireland, having a Rome (i.e. Papal) led invasion of English, Spanish, French and German forces?

Does that count?
 
Agricola, very, nearly, almost invaded. He amassed a huge fleet in his Fortress Stronghold in northern Wales after a king from Hibernia arrived asking if he could restore him to his throne and he would be Romes loyal subject, mirroring the later Norman invasion.

In 81, Agricola "crossed in the first ship" and defeated peoples unknown to the Romans until then. Tacitus, in Chapter 24 of Agricola,[6] does not tell us what body of water he crossed, although most scholars believe it was the Clyde or Forth, and some translators even add the name of their preferred river to the text; however, the rest of the chapter exclusively concerns Ireland, so southwest Scotland is perhaps to be preferred.[7] The text of the Agricola has been emended here to record the Romans "crossing into trackless wastes", referring to the wilds of the Galloway peninsula.[8] Agricola fortified the coast facing Ireland, and Tacitus recalls that his father-in-law often claimed the island could be conquered with a single legion and auxiliaries. He had given refuge to an exiled Irish king whom he hoped he might use as the excuse for conquest. This conquest never happened, but some historians believe the crossing referred to was in fact a small-scale exploratory or punitive expedition to Ireland,[9] though no Roman camps have been identified to confirm such a suggestion. Irish legend provides a striking parallel. Tuathal Teachtmhar, a legendary High King, is said to have been exiled from Ireland as a boy, and to have returned from Britain at the head of an army to claim the throne. The traditional date of his return is 76–80, and archaeology has found Roman or Romano-British artefacts in several sites associated with Tuathal.[10]
 
I believe he was recalled before he could go through with it (that along with finishing his pacification of Caledonia) by Domitian.
 
how about a romanobrython exodus to ireland when the germanics invade? perhaps a sanctuary wherein a small but influential group leaving their mark on the island before their eventual assimilation?
 
Could happen any time some emperor or general is looking for a bit of glory.

It's keeping them there that's the hard part.
 
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