Black Irish
February 3, 2010
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IMDB rating: 6.50 Plot: This tale chronicles the trials and tribulations of Cole McKay, 15, an obedient son who yearns for the attentions of his emotionally remote father. Cole is by turns nurtured and abandoned by the rest of his family; his sister Kathleen, older derelict brother Jack, and rigid mother Margaret. As the tale unfolds each family member undergoes a crisis of their own, their individual arcs interweaving until a heart-wrenching climax. |
Actors: Angarano Michael,Gleeson Brendan,Guiry Tom,Rispoli Michael,Curtin Finn,Arpino Ken,Better Wilson,Capra Francis,Cartier Mark S.,Connolly Christopher,Darrigo Peter,Davis Steven Paul,Doherty Shawn,Drama,
Am I related to the first British inhabitants?
My friend who’s studying anthropology seems to think that me being very pale, dark haired and grey eyed (very pale blue with a bright orange ring around the iris) is an indication that I’m genetically related to the first recorded Britons (Black Irish). Is this true? Who were these people? Do you know people with these features?
Short of either tracing your family history back that far or DNA profiling there’s no way to know.
A | Jan 31, 2010
As far as I’m aware, the ‘original’ inhabitants of the British Isles were the picts, who were here before the Celts. The term ‘black Irish’ normally means those Irish who were descended from the Spanish Armada who were shipwrecked and ended up living in Ireland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Irish
http://genealogy.suite101.com/article.cf m/who_are_the_black_irish_
Jude | Jan 31, 2010
Not necessarily. I am very pale, dark haired, with the eyes you described and I have no knowledge of being related to the first Britons.
MB | Jan 31, 2010
The first humans came to Britain 500,000 years ago, so it is unlikely you are related to them. The Black Irish get their name from (possibly) from their hair or eye coloring.
Actually, the only way to know your heritage is to do the research.
There are lots of people here in MN with your coloring and their ancestors came from several countries in Europe.
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba70/feat1. shtml
http://www.ireland-information.com/artic les/blackirish.htm
Joyce B | Jan 31, 2010
Your eyes sound unusual no matter where your ancestors came from!
The ancestors of a large amount modern native British and irish people do seem to have come from northern Spain in migrations beginning post ice age and carry on through the neolithic, with other groups coming in from central Europe. They had ‘Medietteranean’ type skulls (long) and probably were dark haired.
This type is particularly common in western ireland, where even black hair is frequently found (with not only pale skin but even olive skin,and dark eyes too) and this is also where dna testing has shown the most ‘aboriginal’ genes. The ‘Armada’ thing is just a myth to explain all the dark-haired people; in fact probably less than 100 men probably reached Irish shores. However, it may be a folk memory of people coming from that direction, and Spain is in fact mentioned as a place of ancestors in Irish mythology.
brother_in_magic | Feb 01, 2010
‘The first recorded Britons’ would be very hard to tie down. Stone-Age hunter gatherers, the mystical beings of Irish creation-myth, or the inhabitants of Rome’s new province of Britannia? Take your pick. Its probably easier to accept that people across Europe share your colouring, and without further investigation you could be related to any of these.
Fran H | Feb 01, 2010
Wow! Read some books. The first recorded "Britons" were the Palaeolithic, the Mesolithic, then the Neolithic people, followed by the Beaker People. No where in any of the histories, anthropology, or archaeology, or DNA traces has there ever been a mention of "Black Irish". See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistoric _settlement_of_the_British_Isles or a good history book. The Beaker People are the first to be identified as a unique people with culture, etc.
For "Black Irish", see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Irish
Since the "Black Irish" refers to haircolor, there is no way to know if they were first on the island or not; that does not show up in DNA. However, it is known that peoples settled in England BEFORE they did in Ireland (or Scotland).
For more on early inhabitants, see: http://web.udl.es/usuaris/m0163949/prehi sto.htm
The concept of "Black Irish" is mainly fictional. There is DNA evidence (matched by early histories) that the Celts came from the Iberian Penninsula; but for the records, those peoples are the ones who brought redhair to the Irish, originanting in the Baltic/Italian penninsula area.
For more, read these books: