Black people in Ireland

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Since the mid-18th century there were small numbers of black people resident in Ireland, mainly concentrated in the major towns, especially Dublin. Many of those in the 18th century were servants of wealthy families. Slavery as such did not exist in Britain or Ireland at this date, although the legal position remained unclear until a judgement of 1772. Others were people of colour who were tradesmen, soldiers, traveling artists or musicians. Never very numerous, most of them were assimilated into the larger population by the second third of the 19th century.

1 Recent Immigration

[edit] Recent Immigration

The present black Irish population is overwhelmingly of recent immigrant origin, arriving from the mid-1990s onwards from West African countries such as Nigeria, Niger and Chad.

The increase of Ireland's non-white population is due in part to the laws which had governed Irish citizenship since the creation of the Republic of Ireland in 1922. These laws, which granted citizenship jus soli, allowed a great number of people (especially black Africans, Southeast Asians and white Eastern Europeans) to remain in the state based on their Irish-born citizen children.

As the Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland changed the qualifications for Irish citizenship in 2004, it is possible that Ireland will not see a similar major influx of black people in the near future. However, as citizens of any European Union country are able to settle in Ireland without restriction, numbers may increase.

[edit] List of Irish black people

The following list includes people who are black or multiracial. Some are Irish by birth, others by descent or naturalization. The list also includes groups with some members who fit this description.