Black Irish

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For the cocktail sometimes called a "Black Irish", see bolded entry in White Russian (cocktail) or for people of African descent in Ireland, see Black people in Ireland

Black Irish is a traditional term believed to have originated in the United States that commonly ascribes to a dark brown or black hair phenotype appearing in Caucasian persons of Irish descent. This can be distinguished in contrast to the (lighter) brown, blond or red hair color variant, the latter stereotypically perceived by many to solely personify the look of typical Irish folk. The term itself is rather ambiguous and not frequently used in everyday conversation. As such, the description of those it depicts has been known to vary to a degree in that some have differing views on which physical characteristics (e.g., dark hair, brown eyes, medium skin tone or dark hair, blue eyes, pale skin tone) better define the appearance of the so-called Black Irish.

Inspired by a myth that claims the darker features to be of Iberian derivation, some have looked to science for answers, often citing genetic studies pertaining to those with Irish (and/or British) ancestry. This is seen as a means of determining what genotypic and environmental factors have contributed to the divergence between the more or less prevalent types found among Irish people.

Contents

[edit] Origin

A variety of historical ethnic groups have settled in Ireland, with archeological records displaying evidence of human habitation as far back as 7000 B.C.[1] Legends such as those described in the Book of Invasions refer to a number of races including the Fomorians, Nemedians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha Dé Danann, and Milesians. Despite the fact that there is no empirical evidence linking them to the Irish, one or more of these groups have been acknowledged in previous and current ancestral studies. Worthy of mention is Dennis O'Mullally's The History of O'Mullally and Lally Clan,[2] wherein the author comments on the aforementioned Fir Bolg as "the aboriginal people of Ireland, smaller in stature than the Gaels, with jet-black hair and dark eyes, contrasting with unusually white skin."[1] Again, such observations lack proper scientific backing, but recent advances in genetics continue to offer more clues.

Although the term Black Irish is sometimes accompanied by a claim suggesting the physical traits to be the result of Iberian admixture originating with survivors of the Spanish Armada, the genetic contributions of the latter were likely to have been insignificant, as most Armada survivors were killed on the beaches, and much of the remainder eventually escaped from Ireland. It is believed that a grouping of Spanish soldiers ended up serving as armed retainers to the Irish chiefs Brian O'Rourke, Sorley Boy MacDonnell, and Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. Consequently, these soldiers may have lived in Ireland long enough to father children, but did not constitute a very large number. The evidence is that the survivors of the Spanish Armada probably left no genetic legacy as the Irish lack any Neolithic Near Eastern Y chromosome genetic markers such as E3b and J, both of which are present in low, but significant, levels throughout Spain (with the exception of the Basque Country).[2]

[edit] Basque/Iberian connection

Genetic research shows a strong similarity between the Y chromosome haplotypes of males from northwestern Spain and Irish males with Gaelic surnames,[3] with a notable difference between the west and the east of Ireland, in that much of those from the west owe less of their DNA to Anglo Saxon and Scandinavian populations. Genetic marker R1b reaches frequencies as high as 98% in northwestern Ireland and 95% in southwestern Ireland, [3] but only 73% in northeastern Ireland and 85% in southeastern Ireland. Additionally, R1b averages between 89% and 95% in Y chromosomes of the Basques (of northern Spain and southwestern France), [4][5][6][7] considerably greater than levels of the same haplogroup found amongst the remaining Spanish genepool.[8].

In recently published books (Blood of the Isles by Bryan Sykes and Origins of Britons by Stephen Oppenheimer), the authors (both acclaimed geneticists) argue that ancient inhabitants of Ireland can be traced back to the Iberian Peninsula, as a result of a series of migrations that took place during the Mesolithic and Neolithic Age. These movements theoretically laid the foundations for present-day populations in the British Isles.[9][10][11] According to journalist Nicholas Wade, Oppenheimer maintains there is a great lineal commonality between the Irish and British people, as reported in the March 6, 2007 edition of the New York Times. The Oxford medical biologist also points out that a language closely related to Basque was long ago spoken by their shared ancestors.[12] [13]

The Armada myth is thought to have been a corruption of a story based on the Milesians (not to be confused with the ancient Greek people of the same name), the purported descendants of Míl Espáine (Latin Miles Hispaniae, "Soldier of Hispania", later pseudo-Latinised as "Milesius"), speculated to represent Celtic-speaking peoples from the northwestern Iberian peninsula who began to migrate to Ireland and Britain in the fifth century B.C.E.

[edit] Statistics

In a statistical survey of the Irish carried out by Mr. C. Wesley Dupertuis in the 1940s under the endorsement and guidance of The Division of Anthropology of Harvard University, based on some 10,000 adult males, the following information was gathered and so documented.[4]

The hair color of the Irish is predominantly brown. Less than 3% have black or ashen hair, and 40% have dark brown hair. Medium brown hues make up another 35%. Persons with blond and light brown hair account for close to 15%, while approximately 10% have red hair. Both golden and dark brown shades can be seen in the southwestern counties of Ireland, but fairest hair in general is most common in the Great Plain. Ulster has been evidenced to have the highest frequencies of red hair with the lowest found in Wexford and Waterford.

In further examining pigmentation characteristics (both as a whole and regionally), studies have indicated the Irish are 'almost uniquely pale skinned when unexposed, untanned parts of the body, are observed' and '40% of the entire group are freckled to some extent.' Moreover, 'in the proportion of pure light eyes', data shows that 'Ireland competes successfully with the blondest regions of Scandinavia,' as approximately 42% of the Irish population have blue eyes. Another 30% have been found to possess light-mixed eyes and 'less than ½ of 1% have pure brown.'

The results of this survey have been condensed and arranged in the Harvard Anthropometric Laboratory under the close supervision of Professor Earnest A. Hooton with the cooperation of both governments in Ireland.

[edit] Other uses

A lesser-known point of origin refers to the potato famine of 1845-1851, which turned the blighted potatoes black and as a result drove thousands of Irish to America's shores. [14]

Yet another source has been used to denote the offspring of Irish laborers and African slaves in the Caribbean. Montserrat, by far, experienced the highest concentration of Irish immigrants, as it was forcibly settled by the English crown using indentured servants from Ireland. These Irish servants were eventually replaced by West African slaves who took on the surnames of the prior inhabitants, much as African slaves in the United States assumed the names of their owners. [15]

In the United States, whites with Native American, African American, or other non-white ancestry may historically have called themselves "Black Irish," "Black Dutch," or "Black German" as a reflection of their coloring. [16]

A prominent theme of ethnology in the 19th century alleged by New England racists (conveniently evading the considerable pre-Saxon Celtic element in their own genetic makeup) [17] was that the Irish and other groups thought to derive from the Celts were somehow related to black people and thus considered inferior. Polygenism was a dominant theory, as was phrenology, and both were employed to 'prove' that Irish persons regardless of physical appearance were less developed and more primitive than other 'races' of humanity. Punch cartoons portrayed the Irish with protruding or prognathous jaws, claiming they were closer to apes than men.

John Beddoe (1826-1911), one of the most prominent Victorian ethnologists in the United Kingdom, supported these theories with his work. Beddoe published The Races of Britain: A Contribution to the Anthropology of Western Europe in 1862, which he used in conveying his socially biased perspective that all geniuses were orthognathous (having the front of the skull, almost vertical, not receding above the jaws), as opposed to the Irish and Welsh who are described in the book as being prognathous. The Races of Britain was again republished in 1885, 1905, and once more in 1971.

[edit] See also

[edit] Pop culture references

  • In the pilot to NBC's new television series The Black Donnellys, Joey "Ice Cream", one of the mainstay characters (portrayed by actor Keith Nobbs) narrates the action drama and at one point indirectly refers to himself and unspecified Donnelly brothers as Black Irish. Joey cites a story told by his grandmother asserting that Ireland was originally inhabited by a 'dark haired race of people' whom the invading Celts unsuccessfully attempted to wipe out.
  • Actress Lauren Graham is referred to as Black Irish in a celebrity profile.[18]
  • On an episode of NBC's 30 Rock, talk show host Conan O'Brien (playing himself) calls Jack Donaghy, a supporting character portrayed by Alec Baldwin, a "Black Irish bastard."
  • In the December 2005 issue of Life (magazine), former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan told the publication, "I know what it's like to loathe oneself. To feel that deep self-loathing. It's painful and ugly and [bleeping] unwanted. And it gets in the way. I can dip in there, into the old Black-Irish melancholy."[19]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Carmel McCaffrey & Leo Eaton, 2002, In search of Ancient Ireland: the origins of the Irish from Neolithic times to the coming of the English
  2. ^ History of O'Mullally and Lally clan, or, The history of an Irish family through the ages entertwined with that of the Irish Nation c1941
  3. ^ The Longue Durée of Genetic Ancestry: Multiple Genetic Marker Systems and Celtic Origins on the Atlantic Facade of Europe October 2004
  4. ^ American Journal of Physical Anthropology Volume 26, Issue 1, 1940

[edit] External links

  • A Y Chromosome Census of the British Isles; Cristian Capelli, Nicola Redhead, Julia K. Abernethy, Fiona Gratrix, James F. Wilson, Torolf Moen, Tor Hervig, Martin Richards, Michael P. H. Stumpf, Peter A. Underhill, Paul Bradshaw, Alom Shaha, Mark G. Thomas, Neal Bradman, and David B. Goldstein Current Biology, Volume 13, Issue 11, Pages 979-984 (2003). Retrieved 6 December 2005.
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