Genealogy

» Steve28 - IRISH AMERICANS????

In response to IRISH AMERICANS???? posted by seanito:
I'm Irish and in Ireland and I can tell you that there is the "black irish". Its an old reference to irish celts who are small, black haired and pale skinned. It was argued that these folk where descendants of those in the Spanish Armada who mixed with the locals when they landed off the west coast of Ireland. But there's the other theory that the black irish, are a throwback to the folk that roamed ireland before the arrival of the Celts in 300 BC. However this theory has since been laid to rest after recent studies show that the celts have been in ireland much longer. Although I would tend to think that the rest of Ireland (i.e not the west) would have mingled more with outsiders like the normans, vikings and anglo saxons, so the "black irish" look could possibly be the true mark of a celt. But as the modern irish celts have distinctive genes from the rest of europe its hard to say that its the mark of the celt.

There's also a Carribean island called Montserrat. It was originally settled by Irish convicts sent by their British captors, and the island eventually became a haven for black African slaves. The irish and their African neighbours inter breeded and a result of which is a black people with irish names! Today the descendants look black, but mostly have irish names and actually celebrate their irishness even today. I've seen a few documentary's about the island and its heritage on Irish TV.

An even more modern reference is more of a slang, which refers to the treatment of the Irish by the British...and it was common, right up until the 70's for the Irish to refer to themselves as the black's of europe, as 2nd class citizens.

Maybe the Jewish media are just using an age old term of reference and applying it to something else to suit their own agenda? Which is what I assume you're suggesting. They certainly didn't invent the term. Its been banded about here since as far back when time began. (I'm allowed to blemish it with exageration - I'm Irish!!)

I daresay its a term that has filtered down many of the irish that emigrated to the States and as the previous poster points out - her mum used the term to describe herself. She could have very well picked up the term from elders in her own clan.

With the welcome influx of immigrants into Ireland from Africa, eastern europe, and other places in the last 10 years, I daresay the term will be applied to to their children and their childrens children. And why not, its never been a term of insult, as far as I know its always been a warm term of endearment normally applied to the self rather than others.

-- posted by Steve28