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All being said on here i'm still perplexed about those of us who are caucasian British bloodline (irish, welsh, english) who can easily tan just where did we get that genetic expression ability from?
Great Britain is a collection of islands. Many thousands of years of immigrants, invaders, and accidental tourists make up the populace. Even if your bloodline is mostly Celtic there will still be traces of Eastern European, perhaps Mediterranean.
I am British, with an Irish father from Belfast (orangeman) who had black curly hair and sapphire blue eyes. While he had naturally pale skin, he could tan well.
I remember a British documentary years ago that said Black Irish were the people taken to Ireland from Scotland and England by William of Orange. And that "Black" simply meant they had darker hair and eyes, than the residents of Ireland at that time. Here is a piece from Wiki about this:
"In the early seventeenth century the English, partly in response to an uprising based in Ulster, settled large numbers of English and Scottish Protestants in the province, a process known as the Plantation of Ulster.[3] This changed Ulster from the most Catholic and Gaelic of the four Irish provinces[4] to the most Protestant and British." History of the Orange Institution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is what I think is the most accurate and probable origin of the term.
The Black Irish are Irish people with dark looks. One of my black friends noticed a photo of my great aunts and said he didn't know I had black people in my family. They were quite dark looking but we put the dark looks down to our Welsh, Scottish and Irish ancestors. There's always been people with dark looks in Britain and Ireland I don't believe the nonsense about the Spanish Armada.
I don't understand why some people like to say there "is no such thing as Black Irish." I'm not sure what that means. If (some) Irish genomes can be traced to the Basque and can explain the dark eyes and olive complexion, why is this an issue? Additionally, I've read that some people feel "Black Irish" or "Black Dutch" is an American Term, but I've never thought so. Why is this term so controversial?
I don't understand why some people like to say there "is no such thing as Black Irish." I'm not sure what that means. If (some) Irish genomes can be traced to the Basque and can explain the dark eyes and olive complexion, why is this an issue? Additionally, I've read that some people feel "Black Irish" or "Black Dutch" is an American Term, but I've never thought so. Why is this term so controversial?
They are trying to clear up the ignorance on "black" being misunderstood as sub-Saharan African. Because black Irish refers to Europeans with black hair.
I don't understand why some people like to say there "is no such thing as Black Irish." I'm not sure what that means. If (some) Irish genomes can be traced to the Basque and can explain the dark eyes and olive complexion, why is this an issue? Additionally, I've read that some people feel "Black Irish" or "Black Dutch" is an American Term, but I've never thought so. Why is this term so controversial?
The fact of the matter is that the term is only used in America and this is where it originated from. Irish people don't use the term because people with dark hair and dark eyes are not an isolated population but mixed in with all the other characteristics that Irish people portray. It is a random combination like blond hair and blue eyes in a family or red hair and green eyes. It is not uncommon to see one family with all these combinations.
People don't seem to understand that in any population you have a range of colouring. Who would fit the term of "Black Irish"? I presume someone like Colin Farrell. If Colin Farrell had his dna tested and like most Irish his ancestry is majority Irish his dna would be the same as someone like Saoirse Ronan who has a more fair colouring.
It's not like these so called "Black Irish" have different features than other Irish people. It is just a nonsensical term. Why isn't there "Black English" or "Black Norwegians"?
Anyway the more standard characteristics of "Black Irish" that I've read about is black hair, pale skin and blue eyes.
The fact of the matter is that the term is only used in America and this is where it originated from. Irish people don't use the term because people with dark hair and dark eyes are not an isolated population but mixed in with all the other characteristics that Irish people portray. It is a random combination like blond hair and blue eyes in a family or red hair and green eyes. It is not uncommon to see one family with all these combinations.
People don't seem to understand that in any population you have a range of colouring. Who would fit the term of "Black Irish"? I presume someone like Colin Farrell. If Colin Farrell had his dna tested and like most Irish his ancestry is majority Irish his dna would be the same as someone like Saoirse Ronan who has a more fair colouring.
It's not like these so called "Black Irish" have different features than other Irish people. It is just a nonsensical term. Why isn't there "Black English" or "Black Norwegians"?
Anyway the more standard characteristics of "Black Irish" that I've read about is black hair, pale skin and blue eyes.
The fact of the matter is that the term is only used in America and this is where it originated from. Irish people don't use the term because people with dark hair and dark eyes are not an isolated population but mixed in with all the other characteristics that Irish people portray. It is a random combination like blond hair and blue eyes in a family or red hair and green eyes. It is not uncommon to see one family with all these combinations.
People don't seem to understand that in any population you have a range of colouring. Who would fit the term of "Black Irish"? I presume someone like Colin Farrell. If Colin Farrell had his dna tested and like most Irish his ancestry is majority Irish his dna would be the same as someone like Saoirse Ronan who has a more fair colouring.
It's not like these so called "Black Irish" have different features than other Irish people. It is just a nonsensical term. Why isn't there "Black English" or "Black Norwegians"?
Anyway the more standard characteristics of "Black Irish" that I've read about is black hair, pale skin and blue eyes.
I think the Black Irish are related to the Black Dutch and the Black German.
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