Okay, imagine you have a big family, and your family lives in a house. Now, let's say another family, from a different place, comes to live in your house and tells your family what to do. This other family is the British, and the house is Ireland, where people called the Irish live.
So, a long time ago, in the 16th century, the British came to Ireland and started taking control. They said they wanted to help the Irish become more like them, but really they were there to make Ireland part of the British Empire.
The British started making rules and laws that the Irish had to follow. They took away the Irish language and forced the people to speak English. They also took away the Irish land and gave it to British people. This made the Irish people very unhappy.
Over time, the Irish started to get fed up with the British rule. They wanted to have their own say in how things were run in Ireland. They started to speak up about their rights and started fighting to gain independence from British rule.
One important event in this fight for independence was called the Easter Rising, which happened in 1916. A group of Irish rebels fought against the British and tried to take over important buildings in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. Unfortunately, the British army was stronger, and the rebels were defeated.
But the Easter Rising sparked a lot of anger and support for Irish independence. More and more people joined the fight, and eventually, in 1922, Ireland was divided into two parts. The southern part became an independent country called the Irish Free State, which later became the Republic of Ireland. The northern part, called Northern Ireland, stayed under British rule.
In Northern Ireland, a lot of people identify as being British and want to stay part of the United Kingdom. But there are also many people who identify as Irish and want Northern Ireland to be part of the Republic of Ireland. This has caused a lot of tension and conflict between different groups in Northern Ireland.
So, to sum up, British rule in Ireland was when the British came to Ireland and took control. They made rules and laws that the Irish had to follow, which made the Irish unhappy. Eventually, the Irish fought for their independence and now there are two parts of Ireland, one that is independent and one that is still under British rule.