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At least for the U.S.A., I think flanking the Catholic Irish and Protestant/Anglican Brits (English) under one category does a disservice to the strong history of Irish immigration to this country, and how they were treated as second class citizens. The Irish have always stood out as the anti-thesis to mainstream WASP culture in the U.S., and struggled because of it.
Also, by putting those two together it hides the fact that the number one ancestry in the U.S. is not British (as the Irish did not even consider themselves as such when they came over here), but German. After Germans, it is black/Africans, then Irish, then Mexican...the English are fifth. This is much different than both Canada and Australia.
That is exactly what happend in Australia as well, people like Ned Kelly and Peter Lalor are still today branded as "heroes" in Australian history, because they are Irish people who stood up against the English establishment.
This wiki quote summaries the "legend of Ned Kelly" quite well.
"In the time since his execution, Kelly has been mythologised among some into a "Robin Hood" character, a political revolutionary and a figure of Irish Catholic and working-class resistance to the establishment and British colonial ties.
German the #2 foreign language in Tennessee and Alabama?? Are some of these Amish settlers -- or executives at the Automotive factories in those states ?
Maybe some of the Germans in Alabama could be among the NASA rocket scientists, as well as personnel of the Volkswagen factory there.
That still doesn't explain how the map could show French as the #2 foreign language of West Virginia, or Russian the #2 language of Oregon. I seriously doubt that. For both states, I would have guessed instead maybe Chinese, Korean, or Tagalog /Filipino.
Maybe some of the Germans in Alabama could be among the NASA rocket scientists, as well as personnel of the Volkswagen factory there.
That still doesn't explain how the map could show French as the #2 foreign language of West Virginia, or Russian the #2 language of Oregon. I seriously doubt that. For both states, I would have guessed instead maybe Chinese, Korean, or Tagalog /Filipino.
I don't know about West Virginia, but Russians have a historic presence in Oregon. Thuough, Vietnamese is probably not far behind or has already dethroned Russian as Oregon's third most spoken language (after English and Spanish.)
In Newfoundland, Irish (as well as English) is undercounted as many simply identify as Canadian. 22% of Newfoundland's population reports Irish origin and 36% are Catholic - though the vast majority of Newfoundland Catholics are of Irish descent.
That is exactly what happend in Australia as well, people like Ned Kelly and Peter Lalor are still today branded as "heroes" in Australian history, because they are Irish people who stood up against the English establishment.
This wiki quote summaries the "legend of Ned Kelly" quite well.
"In the time since his execution, Kelly has been mythologised among some into a "Robin Hood" character, a political revolutionary and a figure of Irish Catholic and working-class resistance to the establishment and British colonial ties.
I didn't realise Irish people were defined by their religion
You betcha, and a lot of Irish-Americans who are Catholic aren't embarrassed of calling themselves Catholic. Overwhelming majority of Americans of Irish descent came from what is today the Republic of Ireland.
No but they are obsessed with what their ancestry is. Alot of them do not like England. I nearly had a fit when I said that I was from the UK and they said come on you are from Ireland.
You betcha, and a lot of Irish-Americans who are Catholic aren't embarrassed of calling themselves Catholic. Overwhelming majority of Americans of Irish descent came from what is today the Republic of Ireland.
Well obviously I have cousins there but it doesn't define a person.
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