This is the story of so many hidden Americans. My dad’s family have a similar story that began when Europeans came to America and mixed with natives & the 1619 slaves and continued intermixing and hiding their heritage. I can’t even begin to imagine the sacrifices and hardships they endured. So proud of these strong ancestors many of us come from.

My stepmother's family is Black Irish. Some of them are Caucasian looking with red hair, while others are darker complexion with red hair. The Irish blood runs so deep, my baby sister has red hair and so does her kids!! I was told that my stepmother's great grandmother was a slave and her great grandfather was Irish.

My grandfather was from Moravia and he and a black woman had a son .And on that sons grave stone it says he was the Son of oscar and mary and that Moravian left His half black son all of his property and he was a well off half black farmer and also a free man .He was born in 1853 to Oscar and Mary .And the last of the property he left was not sold until the early two thousands .But today all of it is either owned by the rail road or a federal highway that comes through that land .Much of it was sold to a housing development and many of his sons and daughters built houses on that land and their grand children are still there

My great great great grandfather was a German Judge. He came to Texas in 1841 with two of his sons, one who became a Confederate soldier. The son married a black woman and brought her back to Texas after fighting for the Confederacy and had seven sons with her. My father is the descendant of one of those sons. Every even year (before the pandemic) we have a family reunion in Germany and every odd year in La Grange, Texas (where Judge Willrich settled). So far, I am the only black descendant that has attended one of the reunions. My siblings won't go. I and an Anglo German cousin were born 5 days apart and live fairly close to each other. We've socialized together on several occasions. The Germans keep excellent records and I have my family history going all the way back to 1595, the family coat of arms, and the names of all my Willrich grandfathers. It's a very interesting history.

My father in-law was black-Irish he was from Atlanta Georgia came to Hawaii sometime during World war ll and married a mix Hawaiian Filipino. He had nappy red hair , turquoise blue eyes and golden skin , he’s long gone but he was a beautiful kind man . He never left Hawaii had 8 children today many grand great and great great here In The islands . We were always told he was born on an old plantation in Georgia

I've always been fond of the Irish..My wife and I (whom are African American) got married at the Ashford castle in Ireland 3weeks ago.They treated us like royalty. A very fine group of people not a lick of Racism whatsoever. I

They did what they needed to do in a racist society and overcome it. Nothing wrong with that. What a outstanding story.

I have waited a long time to see something written about the Irish and the African slaves in America.Lest we forget that a very large percentage of slave owners in the south were Irish.They we’re in object poverty when they left Ireland for the U.S. Many Irish slave owners committed atrocious acts upon their enslaved subjects. Thanks for the history lesson.

I love this video. I've been doing alot of research into my dark Irish skin. I've found alot of black Irish history. And not all are descendents of slaves. The black Irish also originated and inhabited ancient Ireland. Black royalty and clans. Slaves of none. Thier dna still shows itself in parts of Ireland in what are also known as the black Irish. People who have dark skin dark hair mixed features. Also the surnames of these families mine included are traceable to such facts. Very interesting. Alot of history is hidden and fabricated. And nobody reads books anymore. Wikipedia seems to be the fact finder of these times. I wouldn't trust a word on that site yet alone relay its editable information as fact. As alot of youtubers and viewers do. Excellent video thankyou 💯

This doc interests me; not just because I am a documentary lover; but paternally the family origins are African & Irish. Donegal, Ireland, Bundoran, a cemetery, a road & a pub were named after the family. I’ve been researching family ancestry for a while now & while it is a bittersweet journey because of what my African & African-American ancestors endured; I still want to know more about that part of my ancestry. I am looking forward this series.

It's crazy how much history schools hide, I would never have learned this. My last name is Gilmore and I've always been curious.

You know who is half black and half Irish? Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy. Who else likes Thin Lizzy here?

Slaves were not immigrants. They didn’t choose to come and “work” in this country. Also, the father owned slaves? How does the narrator refer to this as love? I’m confused. Maybe I missed something.

It's easy to judge but when you are not Living under the direct minds of normalized psychopaths you have no idea of truth and how to make your impact for better. I, too am a , descendant of an Irish immigrant. I went to a family reunion of the children of the first immigrant and what a marvelous experience. They have much of the history thankfully. Also in Georgia...is where he came to USA. Irish and African Americans and Nigerian have always shared a history. Lots of words are the same I am told. Thank you for this. Now I want to know more.

My great great grandmother was Irish married a black man after leaving her Irish husband. I am in the process of researching all as I’ve noticed some discrepancies in the records

Such a Powerful self liberating story of triumphs, thriving and how to be overcoming against all odds. Thank you for sharing. 🌹

WoW This literally sent chills up and down my spine. 😳 ( That commanding narrater too) Yet it doesn't surprise me whatsoever.There must have been THOUSANDS of passing for white stories unfortunately due to the era. You have to give credit to the patriarch for loving his children enough to release them to the North/world so they wouldn't have to endure slavery of the time.Wow their ancestors must be stumped. Or maybe not that atleast 2 great men of the family came from a black woman!

My mother's family is of Irish descent. The phrase "black Irish" was often used to describe Irish of non-Celtic appearance. Meaning dark hair and dark eyes. This was attributed to the Moorish invasion of Ireland.

I clicked on this so fast as it relates to my own family history. I was able to trace the history of my father's last name in my county in North Carolina and learned that the town he grew up in was settled by Irish very early in the 1800's. Slave records exist but only the count and a few with first names. There is family lore that the Irish family treated our ancestors decently. I have relatives with fair skin, freckles and flaming red hair. We know that our ancestors were buried in the back of the white church where the slave owners attended.

This is very interesting, I hope you can bring us more stories of this type. My grandchildren will be mixed race and I would love to be able to relay these stories to them.

Amazing, where would Georgetown be without his contributions 😮😃😄

What an awesome history lesson. This should be an extended PBS or Netflix series❗❗❗❗👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

Long overdue! A great job and continued success in this series !

Amazing story. Thanks!

I found it very upsetting when the narrator of this documentary referred to Black Americans as immigrants and stated that Black people have a shared heritage with the Irish. The Black people, who are referred to in this documentary, did not immigrate to the United States...they where kidnapped from their Kingdoms and enslaved in the Americas. The Irish made a choice to come to the United States. While their treatment was harsh, they do not share the history of enslavement that oppressed and continues to oppress Black people. This documentary is your standard American-white-washing of the truth. Shameful!

Very interesting..I am a Person who traces my family back to Colonists in Ga. I married a Healy ...from NewJersey ...We lived in Ga.Oh and the Healy family are Catholic ...and Mine are protestant.

My family always claimed black irish heritage . My grandmother uncle and first cousin are black haired and eyed with swarthy skin . Full Irish as far back as recorded. My grandmother's siblings did not share her coloring , they were fair .

Come to Montserrat BWI in the Caribbean. We are black Irish as well. The history of our ppl is very interesting as well. We celebrate 2 full weeks of st. Pats with festivals and parades and lectures of how we came to be. Biggest event of the year.

I had been told years ago that I come from black Irish. I never knew what it meant so thank you.

In Macon, Georgia there is a golf ⛳ club names Healy Point.

Sometimes, a person must beat evil at its own game. So, I don't look down upon either of these men for not disclosing their heritage to the world. They accomplished more in secrecy than ever would have if the truth had been revealed.

Thank you I happen to be mixed I have Irish I have French Indian and spanish, people always have to ask me where I'm from, I simply say I'm an American....

Appreciate the comments. This is the story of the Healy family, which was a mixed family of Black and Irish heritage. I think many of you missed the "|" separating Black and Irish. I'd recommend you take a beat to read up on Michael "Hell Roarin'" Healy and his brother Patrick Healy, two unsung American legends who both hid their truest identities in a time of great peril and change in the country, and both of whom made their mark on history.

"Black Irish" is sometimes used outside Ireland to refer to . One theory is that they are descendants of Spanish traders or of the few sailors of the Spanish Armada who were shipwrecked on Ireland's west coast, but there is little evidence for this. Therefore the term is misused here.

Wow. This is amazing. Thank you for this information. Hello, love and prayers from the Republic of Ireland. ✝️🕊☘🇮🇪💚🤍🧡🇺🇲❤🤍💙

I’m 20% Irish according to 23andMe. Can’t wait to watch this.

Great story. My great grandmother also born of a slave and an Irishman. Her last name was McGowan but literally no info on her mother.

The black irish as they are referred to in ireland are irish spanish mix.My ex wifes family are black irish from cork My daughters partner is from an irish family and him and his brother especially his brother look spanish.I can only assume this you tube video is american

I’m Irish, my Mother who passed long ago had black hair, brown eyes and sallow skin. Her Grandparents on her Fathers side came from the West of Ireland( West Cork). The Spanish Armada which arrived off the West Coast of Ireland in 1588 had over 130 ships many of which sank in stormy seas but some made landfall along the West Coast of Ireland. The French fleets in 1796 and 1798 who came to defend Ireland against the British also suffered a similar fate. Although many sailors from both Armadas drowned or were captured by the British some survived and settled in communities in the West of Ireland. Interestingly for me, my DNA analysis showed that I am 85% Celtic and 15% Spanish. I am aware that there were examples of Slaves from Africa that were landed in the Caribbean Islands and some acquired Irish names from their owners but I always understood that the term ‘ Black Irish’ in Ireland itself came from the Spanish & French Sailors/Soldiers who survived capture/incarceration and settled in Ireland. Also in Ireland we also historically used the term ‘Blackened’ eg he’s blackened the family’s reputation’ …. or he had a ’Black Heart’ This is not related to race or racial slurs and was usually used to describe a scoundrel or vagabond who was up to no good. 🤔🤔🤔

Very common Blacks and Irish people lived,worked,and had families

Thank you ,such History.!!! Sharing right now💜

I wish my dad, who was proud of his Irish heritage, was not a racist. If he was still alive and I could tell him anything, it's that everybody has the same struggles, heartaches and dreams. We are all beautiful children of God. I hope someday to find and watch the whole documentary.

I am of a Black and Irish family. Very proud.

I will not attempt to define what the true definition of What "Black Irish "" is.I defer to the many commenters in this space.I believe the video uses the term loosely. An IRISH immigrant has children with a BLACK enslaved woman. SO the children inherited BLACK &IRISH ancestry.What I really find astounding is that no one seems to truly understand and address the human tragedy of American institutionalized Slavery. The brutality of such a system is one thing. But the waste of so much human potential genius of nearly a 250 year span.I believe that 5% of the enslaved population at any given time could have contributed so much more to the greatness of America other than their free labor. Imagine if the IRISH IMMIGRANTS who arrived after the Potato famine were not discriminated against so terribly for at least 4 generations before they were granted the acceptable level of Whiteness. Thank God at least the IRISH immigrants were allowed to retain their original cultural heritage and institutions from Ireland and transplanted it on American soil. An ancient and glorious culture that continued to evolve after thousands of painstaking years.What if the Healy children had remained in Georgia should be at the center of discussion. What if the two Healy Brothers could not pass for White. I don't know if the two Healy brothers had any children or descendants. But I would surmise that if they did,thank God they had the opportunity to use their talents to lay the foundation for the next generation Many persons who were enslaved from cradle to grave,unfortunately never had the opportunity. But our society whether consciously or subconsciously do not think of American enslaved people as rational thinking intelligent human beings. Human beings who also had the ability to feel pain and experience sadness as well as joy.Instead at that time they were considered no different than a cow,chicken, pig or horse. A subspecies who were thought to only have the ability to mimic speech and nothing else. In some ways we are still grappling with this legacy today.

My stepsister had a grandmother they called high yellow. You could tell she had black heritage

The term Irish originally means Irish people with black hair or sallow skin in Ireland due to their links with the Iberian peninsular

My family is Healy but no idea of relation down the line. We had a Healy that became chief of police in Chicago during Capones time and his son who became a two star general in the Army saving the special forces from Gen Abrams. He commanded 5th group in Vietnam. He used his position to take as many refugees as he could out of the way of the doom they would face when we left. Helped craft ways to get as many out as he could. He later commanded the JFKSWSC at Ft Bragg now Liberty. He helped rescue folks from Iran in 79. And Israel at some points and Korea. We have family that are Christian Muslim Jewish and Buddism. White (northern European, Ireland/Scotland/Scan), Asian (Vietnam China Korean) and Persian.

Oh ,I forgotten to say those Black Irish people all have very light eye colours ,no one have brown or very dark eyes colours at all .This my first time hearing of mix or Afro -Irish people.This is Amazing to know 🤎🖤🌹🌹🌹🌷🌷🧡

Thank you for the historical context.

Great story!! Thank you

The production is on-point for sure !!

The term black Irish originally meant dark hair and more swathy Caucasian skin not African black skinned people. However when Irish slaves were brought to the America's during Cromwells reign of terror. The Irish and Scottish were then bred with African slaves This created in the Americas a supply of Afican slaves that could be sold at higher prices and lower cost than importing them.. Irish were prisoners of war and did not command a price or profit on the slave blocks. This practice continued until laws were passed to stop it as it was effecting/crashing the African slave trade market. This is one if the reasons why in America you see African-American lines with red hair. This was a cruel time in history for Irish and Africans alike. 1640's before we were USA.

Omg this is my family! Proud to be Healy!

I am Irish thanks not enough of this heritage is exposed it appears to be unspoken about in general and not recorded the to any great extent and kept hidden for reasons for which I can only guess both positive and negative depending on what side of the red line one stands..

You left out James Healy the first Catholic bishop to come from Georgia.

I thought the term " Black Irish" referred to people in Ireland who were descended from Spain?? In the American South it is actually not uncommon for Whites to have Black admixture. In South Carolina it is estimated that 1/4 of Whites in the state have some Black admixture.

THANK YOU

My Dad said I was of Black Irish ancestry on his side of the family.

Fascinating!

I did enjoy this. It was only possible because of the father’s Catholic heritage. If you take the time, you’ll see just how essential to the formation of the of our country is as a result of the Catholic Church’s contribution to our great country. Take the time.

The black Irish are Irish and Spanish mixed ,Not black and Irish mixed.

My grandmother is a descended from this Plantation her name is Ruth Larkin

My Maternal side of the family is similar to this! My mother's grandfather came from Ireland.

Oh my goodness! The "full Healy Family narrative" in America. I never knew! All of these narratives MUST BE TOLD! They MUST BE! WOW! JVS 7 May 2022

Pretty informative!

A Black African Princess founded Ireland.

Wow, this is my history. My grand father was an Irishman.

I’m a Shaman and I talk to the dead and more. I have Irish in my lineage.

Amazing story thanks Friend .

I served in the Army with an officer named Michael Healy. I wonder if he knows of this story?

THANKS YOU GOODNESS 🌟❤️🖤💚🤎 FAMILY DAPHNE COTTON ALWAYS 💜 WOW!

What about the O'Bamas?

I remember hearing stories of my Kentucky family on my Dad's family side that we had Irish blood in our African American family. Our family is hot headed wonder where that came from 😆

My brother is black irish so was my great grandmonther. However this came from ancient times when the spanish first at war then traded with the irish. This told by relatives on my granfather's side the Doherty's from Cork in Ireland.

These are the wonderful stories we need to hear in History Class but that's too much like right :/

Historically the term "black Irish" referred to Irish with black hair and dark eyes. Probably having at least one Spanish ancestor.

You have these stories all through the south

That was interesting.

The Black Irish were from the survivors of the Spanish Armada of 1588 who were ship wrecked off the Irish South coast during a huge storm as they were on their way to invade England. The Irish were sympathetic to these swarthy skinned Moorish sailors and sheltered them. This was the origen of Irish people like my grandmother, who were olived skinned, pitch black hair and blue eyes. These are the "Black Irish"... nothing to do with slaves.

amazing!!!!!!

Very Impressive Family...

What happen to the other children??

This happened all over the entire world

I’m native Irish and I’m brow skin with dark eyes I’ve been to Spain and and Portugal quite a few Times and the people tough I was one of them they would start speaking Spanish to me and when I would say I can’t speak Spanish they would look at me strange and say something in Spanish god only Noe’s what they were saying but ye very true it’s happened to me all the time even here at home if u dint no me u would think that I was quite strange not unless mamma was a playing around with a Spanish sailor 😆😂only kidding but I am quite browned off I’m off to Spain soon to go to a wedding it won’t surprise me if it happens again 🤔

My father is a Black Irish

No, no right to “steal” a heritage. The Black Irish, Bono, being one of them, are a result of Spaniards being blown up to Ireland during storms, or trade, then “marrying” the local Irish women.

Hi. I'm David Collignon born in Boston . Iwas orphaned by a margaret Healy, from brockton in 1960. I've been searching for family for decades. I'm curious if there are any Healy's alive to check d.n.a.

It's gut-wrenching that they had to hide who they really were in order to work, be educated and free. If they were found out, they would have been lynched or sold into slavery. This gives me so many mixed emotions about our country.

From the writings of my ancestors who were from the North very advanced for their time abolitionists and nobody was hated more than the Irish so to be a black Irish in America at that period in time would have been horrible

Hey, that was my freshman dorm! Actually, I think there was another brother who was a priest as well.

Denial is a mental problem

What happened to the other siblings??????

Now my father was a black Irish That's why, I carry the last Name Sproles= Irish

Georgetown University also owned slaves....Slaves built Georgetown University

Excellent!!!!!

My family history is Nigerian and Irish. My family history is super crazy and amazing. They survived the massacre too, my great grandmother and her family were was hidden in her bosses basement and escaped to Chicago where she met and married the only black mafia “deputy” at the time. She rebuilt all she lost and so much more. I like this bit of history, it is relevant but the wording is a little questionable. Peace to you all Yahuah first!

This would be such a great movie!

I've always found it interesting how so many Africans, Indigenous people mixed by choice w the Irish even after the formation of the Klu Klux Klan when it was the Irish Clan who created it developed it and are the sustainers if it to this day which like religion has many different sects but all hate the same people. Ironically I was w an Irish man for 20 yrs n when I finally left him n allowed him to keep all we obtained through my hard work and due diligence he began a campaign smear against me n Everything that I am . Still 20 yrs later he still spewing lies. That's what you get when you teach n raise up one who instinctively inward is your enemy.

The documentary?

I feel like I have to make this clear to people but black Irish refers to native Irish people who look Mediterranean or are white with black hair, eyes, etc. NOT the Spanish Armada.. idk where people got that rumor from but 0 Spaniards settled in Ireland during that time and if they did you wouldn't even notice.. the Mediterranean looking Irish are descended from the Fir Bolg people who were one of the five ancient invaders of Ireland who came from Celtic Iberia thousands of years ago.