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Sean Connery, Katherine Zeta Jones, Bono, Colin Farrell, etc. are not the best people to use for a stereotypical Irish/British Isles look as they are "black Irish" and do in fact have Spanish blood way back from the Moor invasion on the West Coast of Ireland and Wales/Scotland.
My Grandpa was from County Mayo, Ireland but probably looked more Spanish or Portuguese to people with tan skin and dark features.
I am descended from the "black Irish" too. I thought that the Moor invasion was myth and speculation.
You can pick out any face you want from any country to prove a point (either in favor of the stereotypical look or against it). The only way to really settle this would be to pick out random faces from every country -- strip them of distinguishing fashion and hairstyles -- and have folks guess where they are from. I seriously doubt people would be able to tell the average German apart from the average Italian or Irishman.
Yes, brown hair is the most common but with fair skin. The "black irish" are more tan due to having Spanish blood from invasions centuries earlier. It is commonly known in Ireland mainly on the West Coast. I don't hear the term much from Americans.
"In fact, the closest genetic relatives of the Irish in Europe are to be found in the north of Spain in the region known as the Basque Country. "
I just read your link. Did you read it? It states that ALL Irish blood has much in common with blood from the Basque region -- it presents nothing to support the black Irish origin myth. I think that my grandpa described himself as black Irish to account for the fact that even though he was an Irishman, he was tanned with dark hair. I think plenty of Irish people look this way. Plenty of Germans, Brits, and Russians do too. And plenty of Italians, Greeks and Spaniards are blond. Europeans do not look nearly as different from each other as some think.
I know every country has their stereotypical "look" but in reality white Europeans look very similar to each other. Does Bono look Irish? Yes he does -- he looks very Irish. Dark thin features. He's not what a stereotypical Irishman looks like though, and if you didn't know him, you wouldn't at all be surprised to find out he was from Spain, Italy or Germany. How about Sean Connery? Katherine Zeta-Jones?
You really think you'd be able to tell these people are from Russia based on facial features alone?
I clicked on that link and saw one or two photos of actual people, a Samoan person, and one of some religious icons, so it's not the best guessing game example. The man and the woman could look like they're from some Eastern European nation to me. The old lady with the babushka, sure.
I'm just saying though that there is a certain Russian look(common to other Slavic groups as well). If Vladmir Putin was a janitor at my work, I might guess he was Russian. It's the nose really. Just like Serbs and Croats and Bosnians have a certain look. Not saying that all Russians even have a similar look or that you can't find Russian people that could easily pass for Germans or Swedish as well, but if you spend time around people of a certain group you can sort of notice facial similarities.
Black Irish people are basically genes left over from the original Celts prior to mixing with the Scandanavian and Germanic invaders, same with a lot of black hair examples found in Wales or Scotland. But those people you mentioned(Sean Connery for example) don't look Southern Italian or Greek to me.
With American mutts though, who knows... I'm half Polish and then a mix of Scots-Irish, Irish, German, English, Swiss, Native American and possibly Jewish(and who knows what else) in varying degrees and people ask me if I'm Italian or Spanish when I travel(or ask me if I'm "Hispanic" in the US). No one even knows why my dad's side of the family has darker olive skin and black hair, but we don't anything look like tall blond Germanic types or Brits by any means. I can pass for one of my girlfriend's Syrian relatives easier than a German.
I am descended from the "black Irish" too. I thought that the Moor invasion was myth and speculation.
You can pick out any face you want from any country to prove a point (either in favor of the stereotypical look or against it). The only way to really settle this would be to pick out random faces from every country -- strip them of distinguishing fashion and hairstyles -- and have folks guess where they are from. I seriously doubt people would be able to tell the average German apart from the average Italian or Irishman.
Oh lord, are you being serious? Average italians look very southern european, mediterranean looks, germans are central northern europeans, and Irish are insular/atlantic europeans.
Oh lord, are you being serious? Average italians look very southern european, mediterranean looks, germans are central northern europeans, and Irish are insular/atlantic europeans.
I specifically included southern Europeans to further my argument that white Europeans look alike. Yes, there are certain "looks" amongst southern Europeans that are more common than others, but even here -- exceptions abound. My wife is an Italian American, but her flaming red hair would lead most to guess Irish or Scottish. (I'm the Irish one, but when I was growing up in California I was often asked if I am half Mexican because I get a very deep tan in the summer.) By the way, according to family accounts, my wife's great grandfather -- who came from Italy -- was a redhead. My guess is he was from northern Italy, bordering Germany where red hair is not unheard of.
Just did a google search for Italian redheads. It turns out that there are plenty of redheads (as well as blondes and fair skinned people) from southern Italy as well as from the north.
The largest groups of European descent in the USA are German, English, and Irish in the order. There are also large numbers of Italians, Polish, Russians, Scandinavians.
I just read your link. Did you read it? It states that ALL Irish blood has much in common with blood from the Basque region -- it presents nothing to support the black Irish origin myth. I think that my grandpa described himself as black Irish to account for the fact that even though he was an Irishman, he was tanned with dark hair. I think plenty of Irish people look this way. Plenty of Germans, Brits, and Russians do too. And plenty of Italians, Greeks and Spaniards are blond. Europeans do not look nearly as different from each other as some think.
Not really, there are a few lightbrown/dirty blond but the big majority is quite dark haired. The very blond germanic type of people is extremely rare in southern europe.
Wow yes there are so many natural blonde southern europeans..
Quote:
Originally Posted by WestCobb
Just did a google search for Italian redheads. It turns out that there are plenty of redheads (as well as blondes and fair skinned people) from southern Italy as well as from the north.
But crowds just show how rare those people are in southern europe
Last edited by Traveler86; 11-08-2013 at 11:42 AM..
Just did a google search for Italian redheads. It turns out that there are plenty of redheads (as well as blondes and fair skinned people) from southern Italy as well as from the north.
Have you actually been to Southern Italy or Sicily? There might be some, but it's not that common. Most people have darker features down there. I don't remember walking around Napoli seeing very many redhaired freckled types walking around...
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