NO! You are NOT Irish! You aren’t a child of Erin, you don’t have the “Luck of the Irish”, and you can’t blame that temper of yours on Irish roots. When Americans are asked what their ethnicity is, millions of us list Irish first. Why is that? Where did this misconception come from? So, if you aren’t Irish, then what are you? In this video, I’ll explain my point, and a little about the migrations of Irish immigrants to America and why so many of us have been told incorrectly all our lives that we are Irish. By the way, you’re not Cherokee either, so be sure to see our video about that topic as well.
Before I get too deep in this video, I guess I need to state the obvious. Of course, some of you ARE Irish. Some of you, or your close ancestors were born there. Some of you have done your family trees and discovered your Irish ancestors names and maybe even where in Ireland that they came from. This video is not aimed at you, it is aimed at those that have been told that they are Irish, assumed it, or simply just wanted to be Irish. Hopefully by the end of this video you will have a deeper understanding of what you are and where your ancestors came from.
To better understand the chances of you having Irish roots, you not only need to know the story of your ancestors, but also when and where the Irish came to America. For the first century of settlement in the New World, hardly any Irish immigrated to America.
The next wave of Irish immigration was the time of the dreaded Irish Potato Famine. During the mid 1840s until the early 1850s hundreds of thousands of Irish left the shamrock shores of Ireland and immigrated all over the world, many of them to America, especially to the Boston area. By the mid 1850s the population of Boston was estimated to be about 25% Irish, with 85% of them being born in Ireland.
Another wave of Irish immigration happened in the 1880s due to economically hard times in Ireland. Many of these immigrants took jobs building the railroads that were quickly connecting the country. And some became coal miners, often in Western Pennsylvania, and other regions in Appalachia.
When I was a boy I asked my mom, where are we from, what are we? The first thing she mentioned was Irish, and I declared Saint Patrick’s Day as my favorite holiday. However, as I got older and did my research, I confirmed that I was Irish, but it was on my father’s side, not my mothers. Why did she think that she had Irish roots?
The fact is, my mother is mostly Scots-Irish, as is my father for that matter. However, the family stories that were passed down said that we were Irish, not Scots-Irish, why is that? What is the difference between Scots-Irish, and “regular Irish”?
I’ll sum up the Scots-Irish as fast as I possibly can. Beginning in the early 1600s, for many reasons, Great Britain, under the leadership of Kings James I, began to relocate many Lowland Scots, and some English that lived along the tumultuous border of Scotland and England. These people were mostly Protestant and had a warrior culture due almost continuous fighting in the region that they were from. They were relocated to Northern Ireland and became known as the Ulster Scots.
In the early 1700s this group of people were heavily recruited to settle in the back country of the British Colonies to serve as a buffer between the native tribes and the English settlements. Their hardy and warrior culture made them a perfect fit for their new home. Like every other ethnic group, the Scots-Irish did spread out all over the map, but they concentrated into Appalachia.
For centuries the Irish have been discriminated against in the British Empire. Their often refusal to assimilate into British society has caused them to be exploited and even enslaved. Many of us have never been told how the Irish were often thought of as a subspecies of humans and how businesses used to display “NINA signs” which were “Help Wanted, No Irish Need Apply”.
For some reason we as humans are attracted to what is often called the “Lost Cause”. It’s similar to why it’s said that many people want to relate to the Confederate States, Native American Tribes, Poor Hillbillies, or even the Civil Rights Movement for some. We have a longing and a desire to relate to those who struggled and overcame, more than we do to those that had it easier.
Links to videos talked about in this video:
NO! You're NOT Cherokee!: • NO! You are NOT Cherok...
Ireland History Playlist: • IRELAND
Visit to Home of My Irish Ancestors: • VISIT TO HOMETOWN OF M...
Our two videos about the Scots-Irish: • THE SCOTS-IRISH, A BRI... &. kzfaq.infoUDKvPmIrvpI?...
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