| Total population |
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| Regions with significant populations |
| Throughout Great Britain, especially Glasgow, London, Warrington, Luton, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, Dundee and Birmingham. |
| Languages |
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| Related ethnic groups |
Irish people in Great Britain are members of the Irish diaspora who reside in Great Britain, the largest island and principal territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Irish have a long history in Great Britain, owing to the close proximity of the islands of Ireland and Great Britain, and the various political entities that have ruled them. Ireland was a feudal Lordship of the Kings of England between 1171 and 1541; a Kingdom in personal union with the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Great Britain between 1542 and 1801; and politically united with Great Britain as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland between 1801 and 1922. Today, Ireland is divided between the independent Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland, which is administered by the UK.
Today, millions of residents of Great Britain are either from the island of Ireland or have Irish ancestry. It is estimated that as many as six million people living in the UK have an Irish grandparent.[3]
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Irish people have been the largest minority group in Britain for centuries, regularly migrating across the Irish Sea. From the earliest recorded history to the present, there has been a continuous movement of people between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain due to their proximity. This tide has ebbed and flowed in response to politics, economics and social conditions of both places.
During the Dark Ages, significant Irish settlement of western Britain took place, with dynasties such as the Uí Liatháin and groups such as the Scoti, Laigin, Déisi and Dál Riata, settling and colonising places such as Cornwall, south-west Wales and western Scotland.
Prior to and concurrent with the Gregorian mission of 596 AD, Irish Christians such as Columba (521-97), Buriana, Diuma, Ceollach, Saint Machar, Saint Cathan, Saint Blane, Jaruman, Wyllow, Kessog, St Govan, Donnán of Eigg, Foillan and Saint Fursey had successfully begun the conversion of the British, Picts and early English peoples.
Some English monarchs, such as Oswiu of Northumbria (c. 612 – 15 February 670), Aldfrith (died 704 or 705) and Harold Godwinson (died 1066) were either raised in or sought refuge in Ireland, as did Welsh rulers such as Gruffydd ap Cynan. Alfred the Great may have spent some of his childhood in Ireland, a factor in his relationship with the Irish woman, Modwenna.
Irish people who made Britain their home in the later medieval era included Princess of Leinster, Aoife MacMurrough (1145–88) the poet Muireadhach Albanach (fl. 1213), the lawyer William of Drogheada (d. 1245), Máel Muire Ó Lachtáin (died 1249), Malachias Hibernicus (fl. 1279-1300), Gilbert Ó Tigernaig (died 1323), Diarmait MacCairbre (executed 1490) and Germyn Lynch (fl. 1441–1483) all of whom made successful careers in Britain.
Some of the more notable natives of Ireland who settled in Britain between the 16th and 19th centuries were:
The most significant exodus followed the worst of a series of potato crop failures in the 1840s - the Great Famine. It is estimated that more than one million people died, and almost the same again emigrated. A further wave of emigration to England also took place between the 1930s and 1960s by Irish escaping poor economic conditions following the establishment of the Irish Free State. This was furthered by the severe labour shortage in Britain during the mid-twentieth century, which depended largely on Irish immigrants to work in the areas of construction and domestic labour. The extent of the Irish contribution to Britain's construction industry in the 20th century may be gauged from Sir William MacAlpine's 1998 assertion that the contribution of the Irish to the success of his industry had been 'immeasurable'.
Ireland's population fell from more than 8 million to just 6.5 million from 1841-51. A century later it had dropped to 4.3 million. By the late 19th century, emigration was heaviest from Ireland's most rural southern and western counties. Cork, Kerry, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Tipperary and Limerick alone provided nearly half of Ireland's emigrants. Some of this movement was temporary, made up of seasonal harvest labourers working in Britain and returning home for winter and spring. By the mid-1930s, Great Britain was the choice of many who had to leave Ireland. Britain's wartime economy (1939–45) and post-war boom attracted many Irish people to expanding towns such as London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Luton.
According to the UK 2001 Census, white Irish-born residents make up 1.2% of those living in England and Wales.[4] In 1997, the Irish Government in its White Paper on Foreign Policy claimed that there were around two million Irish citizens living in Britain, the majority of them British-born. The 2001 Census also showed that Irish people are more likely to be employed in managerial or professional occupations than those classed as "White British".[5]
As a result of the 2008–2011 Irish financial crisis, emigration from Ireland has risen significantly.[6] Data published in June 2011 showed that Irish emigration to Britain had risen by 25 per cent to 13,920 in 2010.[7]
The term 'London Irish' relates to people born in London of Irish descent.[8] London has Great Britain's biggest Irish population and the Irish community in London has been traditionally based in the (affectionately known) 'County Kilburn' area of northwest London. With urban gentrification and higher housing costs, the vast majority of London's working-class Irish-Catholic community have moved further out from Kilburn to Cricklewood. The Camden Town area of London, as well as Shepherds Bush, were also known for their large Irish communities.
In 2001, there were 674,786 people in England (1.4 per cent of the population) who had been born in Ireland. This is the greatest concentration of Irish-born—as distinct from persons of Irish ancestry—abroad anywhere in the world and was equivalent to 12.1% of the population of the island of Ireland (5.6 million) in 2001.
Sports teams with links to the Irish community also exist in England, although this is not as marked as in Scotland. In football, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester United have a tradition of representing the Irish communities in their area although unlike many clubs in Scotland they were not formed on the basis of representing the Irish community. For example, Arsenal has featured ethnically Irish players such as Terry Neill, Pat Rice, Niall Quinn, David O'Leary and Graham Barrett. Aston Villa has featured many Irish players such as Steve Staunton, Paul McGrath, Richard Dunne and former managers David O'Leary and Martin O'Neill. Aston Villa has a large Irish following in the West Midlands which has the highest proportion of Irish people in the UK. Despite being formed by members of a Methodist church, Everton F.C. was originally known as Liverpool's Irish Catholic team as juxtaposed to Liverpool F.C. which was formed by a prominent Orangeman, and did not field an Irish Catholic player until Ronnie Whelan in 1981. Everton has notably produced Wayne Rooney who is of Irish descent; as were prominent Liverpool players who were Everton fans in their youth such as Jamie Carragher and Steve McManaman. Today however, this is no longer the case as neither Liverpool F.C. nor Everton carry signs of sectarian identity and many families are split in support of the clubs. With the managership of Sir Matt Busby, Manchester United also emerged as a club with a considerable Irish following both in Great Britain and in Ireland itself as well as having notable Irish stars like George Best, Norman Whiteside, Mal Donaghy, Denis Irwin, Roy Keane, and recently John O'Shea. In Rugby league, Dewsbury Celtic represented the large Irish community in Dewsbury, and St Helens RLFC represent communities in Merseyside. The rugby union club London Irish represents the community in London. There is also a GAA Londáin (London in Irish) team representing the GAA clubs in London, that plays in the Connacht province (in Gaelic football) and Ulster (in hurling); see London GAA. London Notable London Irish artists include The Quiet Men: five painters whose work engages in the Irish immigrant experience in London. The Five painters are Brian Whelan, Bernard Canavan, Danny Carmody, Dermot Holland and John Duffin.
Liverpool traditionally is known as having the strongest Irish heritage of any British city, with the possible exception of Glasgow. The Irish have played a major role in Liverpool's population and social fabric for a good part of the city's eight-hundred year history. Most Liverpudlians are of at least partial Irish ancestry. The Irish influence is heard in the local Liverpool dialect, often called Scouse, and seen in the faces and names of the populace. At least three of Liverpool's most famous citizens, The Beatles, had some Irish ancestry. George Harrison was of maternal Irish-Catholic derivation. Bandmate Sir Paul McCartney had one Irish grandfather and an Irish great-grandfather. John Lennon's paternal grand-parents were Irish immigrants. Liverpool's Irish heritage is further highlighted by it being the only English city to have a significant Orange Order membership, indicating immigration from the Irish Presbyterian and Church of Ireland communities.
Birmingham has a large Irish community, dating back to the industrial revolution, it is estimated that Birmingham has the largest Irish population per capita in the UK. Digbeth is the traditional Irish area in Birmingham. During the 1950s Sparkbrook and Sparkhill were the main Irish areas. Today many Irish people live in areas such as Hall Green and Solihull. Birmingham has the UK's largest St Patricks Day's Parade (and the world's third biggest) and Britain's only 'Irish Quarter', with many traditional Irish pubs and the Birmingham Irish centre. Irish people have always moved to Birmingham for work especially for the construction, factory and industrial work which the city had to offer. Many Irish people moved to Birmingham to build canals, roads and railways in the city's industrial past. It is estimated a significant percentage of people from Birmingham have Irish ancestry. St Chad's Cathedral is one of only two of the minor Basilicas in the UK. It is very important as the first Catholic church built in Britain after the English Reformation, and was designed by the architect Pugin.
Manchester has strong and long established Irish connections. It has been estimated that around 35% of Manchester's population has some Irish ancestry. As in Liverpool, city residents of Irish heritage have been influential in the music industry. All four members of The Smiths had Irish roots, as do the Gallagher brothers of the band Oasis. Gary Mounfield (Mani), bass player of the Stone Roses had an Irish mother . [4] Manchester holds an annual Irish Festival each March, including one of the UK's largest St Patrick's Day parades.
There are long standing migration links between Scotland and the Province of Ulster, especially between County Donegal, County Antrim and County Down with the west coast of Scotland. Considering the Dal Riada kingdoms and the gaelicization of Scotland in the early Middle Ages, it is difficult to determine how many Scots have genetic ancestry from Ireland historically or how many were Picts who adopted Irish lifestyles, although the general consensus is that both happened as Pictish culture vanished by the 11th century. In 2001, around 55,000 people in Scotland (1.1 per cent of the Scottish population) had been born in Ireland, while people of Irish (either Protestant or Catholic) heritage make up 20% of the Scottish population. Scotland has a greater number of persons born in Northern Ireland and County Donegal (0.66 per cent) than in the rest of the Republic of Ireland (0.43%). Despite having lower than average numbers of Irish people resident the Lanarkshire town of Coatbridge is more than 50% Catholic.[9] The town is populated by the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th generation children of Irish immigrants, especially immigrants from County Donegal. In 2006 more than 28% of adults in Coatbridge had surnames with Irish origins.[10] Coatbridge holds the largest St. Patrick's Day Festival in Scotland.
Famous Scots of Irish-Catholic ancestry include actors Sir Sean Connery, Brian Cox and Robbie Coltrane; comedians Billy Connolly and Frankie Boyle; singers Susan Boyle, Fran Healy and David Byrne; historians Prof. Tom Devine and Prof. Michael Lynch; footballers like Jimmy McGrory and Ray Houghton; politicians like James Connolly (the trade unionist and Easter Rising leader), Jim Murphy (the current British Shadow Defence Secretary), and solcialist political figure Tommy Sheridan; television presenter Lorraine Kelly; businessmen like Sir Thomas Lipton; and writers Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dr. A. J. Cronin, John Byrne and Andrew O'Hagan.
Support for particular football teams often reflects Catholic or Protestant heritage. Celtic F.C. are overwhelmingly supported by people from a Catholic background though not exclusively. Hibernian F.C. and Dundee United F.C. were formed as clubs representing Irish Catholics, however there is little vestige of these founding values today. Teams such as Dundee F.C. (though founded before Dundee United on entirely secular grounds), Heart of Midlothian F.C. and Lanarkshire teams such as Motherwell FC and Airdrie United are contentiously perceived by some as Protestant clubs with Rangers F.C being the overwhelmingly Protestant supported club in Scotland and the only to retain an overt Protestant identity today despite signing a number of high profile Catholic players since the 1980s.
Today a very small minority of the Irish Catholic community in Scotland take part in Irish republican marches (mainly in Strathclyde) though these marches do not have exclusively Catholics in attendance with many Protestants and others of various faiths or none involved, and the Orange Order has a large membership in Scotland, predominantly in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. As well as Scotland's own parades, many Scottish bands parade in Northern Ireland on or around July 12.
Starting in the 4th century AD, Irish raiders settled Wales extensively, their impact being so great that many Gaelic words were introduced into the Welsh language.[11] Many Irish emigrants came to Wales as a result of the famine of 1845-52. They were often very poor, and seen as carrying "famine fever" (typhus), but over time they acquired a notable presence—in the thousands, particularly in the Welsh coal mining towns in and around Swansea and Newport. In 2001 there were 20,569 people in Wales (0.7% of the population) who had been born in Ireland.
Probably one of the most famous Welsh nationals of Irish-Catholic ancestry is screen actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.
The 2001 UK census was the first which allowed British citizens to express an Irish ethnicity. In all previous British censuses, figures for the Irish community were based on Irish birthplace. The percentage claiming White Irish ethnicity in England and Wales was 1.2 per cent, with the highest concentration found in the London Borough of Brent, where they made up 6.9 per cent of the population,[12] while the figure for Scotland was 0.98 per cent.[13] The Irish have been the largest source of immigrants to Britain for over 200 years and as many as six million people in the UK are estimated to have at least one Irish grandparent.[3] As many as one in four Britons may claim some degree of Irish ancestry although there is no reliable hard data on the question.[2]
See also mainland UK list: Lists of U.K. locations with large Irish populations
There are many people in Great Britain with Irish ancestry and they are found mainly in the following towns and cities:
Saint Patrick's Day is widely celebrated throughout Great Britain, owing to many British people's ancestral links with Ireland as well as the general popularity of the event. Birmingham has a particularly large parade.
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