Irish people

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Irish people
(Éireannaigh)


Bono • Aidan of Lindisfarne • Brian Boru • Daniel O'Connell • Lady Morgan • Catherine Hayes
Hugh Ó Neill • George Bernard Shaw • Oscar Wilde • Katharine Tynan • Jonathan Swift • James Joyce
Robbie Keane • Liam Neeson • Jonathan Rhys-Meyers • Pierce Brosnan • Enya • Arthur Guinness
Total population
estimated 80,000,000
Regions with significant populations
Ireland (Republic of) 3,900,660
United States 36,495,800 [1]
United Kingdom 14,000,000 [2]
Canada 4,354,155 [3]
Australia 1,900,000 [4]
Argentina 500,000 [5]
Mexico 300,000-600,000 [6]
Other Regions
Languages

Irish, English, Ulster Scots, Shelta

Religion

Roman Catholicism (majority), Presbyterianism, Anglicanism, Methodism

Related ethnic groups

Bretons, Cornish, Manx, Scottish, Ulster-Scots, English, Welsh

Footnotes
* Around 800,000 Irish born people reside in Britain, with around 14,000,000 people claiming Irish ancestry.[7]

The Irish people (Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaedhil) are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years (according to archaeological studies), with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded[8] have legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians the last group supposedly representing the "pure" Gaelic ancestry, and still serving as a term for the Irish race today. The main groups that interacted with the Irish in the Middle Ages include the Scottish people and the Vikings, with the Icelanders especially having some Irish descent. The Anglo-Norman invasion of the High Middle Ages, the English plantations and the subsequent English rule of the country introduced the Normans and Flemish into Ireland. Welsh, Picts, Bretons, and small parties of Gauls and even Anglo-Saxons are known in Ireland from much earlier times.

There have been many notable Irish people throughout history. The 6th century Irish monk and missionary Columbanus is regarded as one of the "fathers of Europe",[9] followed by Kilian of Würzburg and Vergilius of Salzburg. The scientist Robert Boyle is considered the "father of chemistry". Famous Irish explorers include Brendan the Navigator, Ernest Shackleton, and Tom Crean. By some accounts, the first European child born in North America had Irish descent on both sides;[10] while an Irishman was also the first to set foot on American soil in Columbus' expedition of 1492.[11]

Until the end of the early modern period, the majority of educated Irish were proficient at both speaking and writing in Latin and Greek.[12] Notable Irish writers in the English language include Bram Stoker, Jonathan Swift, James Joyce, Flann O'Brien, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett, Patrick Kavanagh and Seamus Heaney. Some of the 20th century writers in the Irish language include Brian O'Nolan (aka Flann O'Brien), Máirtín Ó Cadhain, Pádraic Ó Conaire, Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig Sayers, Muiris Ó Súilleabháin and Máirtín Ó Direáin.

Large populations of people of Irish ethnicity live in many western countries, particularly in English-speaking countries. Historically, emigration has been caused by politics, famine and economic issues. An estimated 80 million people make up the Irish diaspora today, which includes Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, New Zealand, Mexico, France, Germany and Brazil. The largest number of people of Irish descent live in the United States—about ten times more than in Ireland itself.

Origins and antecedents

In its summary of their article 'Who were the Celts?' the National Museum Wales note "It is possible that future genetic studies of ancient and modern human DNA may help to inform our understanding of the subject. However, early studies have, so far, tended to produce implausible conclusions from very small numbers of people and using outdated assumptions about linguistics and archaeology."[13]

Prehistoric and legendary ancestors

During the past 8,000 years of inhabitation, Ireland has witnessed many different peoples arrive on its shores. The ancient peoples of Ireland—such as the creators of the Céide Fields and Newgrange—are almost unknown. Neither their languages nor terms they used to describe themselves have survived. As late as the middle centuries of the 1st millennium the inhabitants of Ireland did not appear to have a collective name for themselves. Ireland itself was known by a number of different names, including Banba, Scotia, Fódla, Ériu by the islanders, Hibernia and Scotia to the Romans, and Ierne to the Greeks.

Likewise, the terms for people from Ireland—all from Roman sources—in the late Roman era were varied. They included Attacotti, Scoti, and Gael. This last word, derived from the Welsh gwyddel (meaning raiders), was eventually adopted by the Irish for themselves. However, as a term it is on a par with Viking, as it describes an activity (raiding, piracy) and its proponents, not their actual ethnic affiliations.

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History of Ireland