If you're of Irish Protestant ancestry, do you consider yourself Irish American?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My Fathers Family moved to Ireland around 1520 from England. Unlike my Father my mothers side is true Irish always in Ireland.

My whole Irish mothers side considers my fathers side English. They have only been in country 500 years. Not true Irish.

And religion don’t matter my father converted to Catholic (big deal back then)

How did u find that out.

I think my grandfather was actually from and English family but moved here from Dublin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh god, people who are hung up on their Irish ancestry are the most annoying ethnic group in America. A typical conversation with them:

Them: “I’m Irish.”
Me: “oh, cool. You don’t have an accent. When did you come over?”

Them: “I was born here.”
Me: “oh. When did your parents emigrate?”

Them: “well, actually they were born here, too.”
Me: “oh. So, your grandparents came over from Ireland?”

Them: “….no.”
Me: “ah.”

You think that is annoying but I think it is one of the most charming characteristics of those of Irish decent. Having one great, great, great, great grandparent from Ireland is enough to get you into the club. It is hard to believe that you would be bothered by this.

+1

My great-grandparents were all born in Ireland and although I'm not Irish, it is noticeable to me how many certain Irish turns of speech and customs my family has retained. There's no question in my mind that my Irish ancestry has played a role in how I've developed as a person.

Same. My siblings and I got off the airplane in Dublin and after walking a few moments through the airport, my brother asked if anyone else felt like they had just landed in a family reunion. Everyone was eerily familiar. That feeling did not go away no matte where we went. It was such a strange feeling.

That happened to my Italian family.

[Anonymous]

I think it largely depends on where you are from. My first generation, Italian great uncle, married a first generation, Irish woman and it took them three months to tell both families l. And both were Catholic.
They lived in an area that most cultural groups, mostly immigrants, had large networks.
My dad is first gen Irish and mom 2nd gen Italian. I recognize that I am American, and very proud of that fact, but I hold tight to my cultural connections in a variety of ways. I’m not sure why it should bother OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh god, people who are hung up on their Irish ancestry are the most annoying ethnic group in America. A typical conversation with them:

Them: “I’m Irish.”
Me: “oh, cool. You don’t have an accent. When did you come over?”

Them: “I was born here.”
Me: “oh. When did your parents emigrate?”

Them: “well, actually they were born here, too.”
Me: “oh. So, your grandparents came over from Ireland?”

Them: “….no.”
Me: “ah.”

+1
Absolutely incorrigible. Single-handedly the most annoying identity group in the United States.

Nah, its it the italians that are worst

"it's not sauce, its GRAVY"

"capiCOUL" "gabaGHOUL"

Okay, I 100% cosign that Italian-Americans are awful as well. I award them the #2 spot in annoying American sub-ethnicities. I have a lot of friends from Italy and they are utterly bewildered by the fist-pumping "Guido" culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh god, people who are hung up on their Irish ancestry are the most annoying ethnic group in America. A typical conversation with them:

Them: “I’m Irish.”
Me: “oh, cool. You don’t have an accent. When did you come over?”

Them: “I was born here.”
Me: “oh. When did your parents emigrate?”

Them: “well, actually they were born here, too.”
Me: “oh. So, your grandparents came over from Ireland?”

Them: “….no.”
Me: “ah.”

You’re an idiot. There is a difference between Irish ethnicity and nationality. I suppose you only consider Kurds as either Turks or Iraqis. The US is full of different from different ethnicities. Do you deny descendants of American slaves claims to Africa? How about Poles who retained their Polish identity when the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was wiped off the map of Europe for 125 years?

Are you saying an American whose great grandparents were born in Ireland and who says they are Irish is actually ethnically Irish?

African-Americans are racially different. They have African genes. I doubt they claim to be ethnically African though.

According to my DNA testing, I am 96% Irish. All of my great-grandparents were born in Ireland.

Conan O'Brien is 100% Irish, but he was born in the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_1SrUquSmU

So neither of us is Irish, ethnically speaking?

You're Irish-American, which is a beautiful thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh god, people who are hung up on their Irish ancestry are the most annoying ethnic group in America. A typical conversation with them:

Them: “I’m Irish.”
Me: “oh, cool. You don’t have an accent. When did you come over?”

Them: “I was born here.”
Me: “oh. When did your parents emigrate?”

Them: “well, actually they were born here, too.”
Me: “oh. So, your grandparents came over from Ireland?”

Them: “….no.”
Me: “ah.”

You’re an idiot. There is a difference between Irish ethnicity and nationality. I suppose you only consider Kurds as either Turks or Iraqis. The US is full of different from different ethnicities. Do you deny descendants of American slaves claims to Africa? How about Poles who retained their Polish identity when the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was wiped off the map of Europe for 125 years?

Are you saying an American whose great grandparents were born in Ireland and who says they are Irish is actually ethnically Irish?

African-Americans are racially different. They have African genes. I doubt they claim to be ethnically African though.

According to my DNA testing, I am 96% Irish. All of my great-grandparents were born in Ireland.

Conan O'Brien is 100% Irish, but he was born in the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_1SrUquSmU

So neither of us is Irish, ethnically speaking?

If you only define ethnicity as the origin of your ancestors, as seems to be the approach in the US, then you are Irish. If you adopt the definition that includes common language, culture, values, etc then you are not Irish.

If someone has Irish nationality, they are legally Irish, but that doesn’t make them ethnically Irish either by descent or common culture etc. Someone can immigrate to Ireland from Korea and obtain Irish nationality and not be ethnically Irish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh god, people who are hung up on their Irish ancestry are the most annoying ethnic group in America. A typical conversation with them:

Them: “I’m Irish.”
Me: “oh, cool. You don’t have an accent. When did you come over?”

Them: “I was born here.”
Me: “oh. When did your parents emigrate?”

Them: “well, actually they were born here, too.”
Me: “oh. So, your grandparents came over from Ireland?”

Them: “….no.”
Me: “ah.”

You’re an idiot. There is a difference between Irish ethnicity and nationality. I suppose you only consider Kurds as either Turks or Iraqis. The US is full of different from different ethnicities. Do you deny descendants of American slaves claims to Africa? How about Poles who retained their Polish identity when the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was wiped off the map of Europe for 125 years?

Are you saying an American whose great grandparents were born in Ireland and who says they are Irish is actually ethnically Irish?

African-Americans are racially different. They have African genes. I doubt they claim to be ethnically African though.

According to my DNA testing, I am 96% Irish. All of my great-grandparents were born in Ireland.

Conan O'Brien is 100% Irish, but he was born in the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_1SrUquSmU

So neither of us is Irish, ethnically speaking?

If you only define ethnicity as the origin of your ancestors, as seems to be the approach in the US, then you are Irish. If you adopt the definition that includes common language, culture, values, etc then you are not Irish.

If someone has Irish nationality, they are legally Irish, but that doesn’t make them ethnically Irish either by descent or common culture etc. Someone can immigrate to Ireland from Korea and obtain Irish nationality and not be ethnically Irish.

Irish and irish-Americans share common language, culture, religion, values, etc. There isn't some vast difference between the two groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh god, people who are hung up on their Irish ancestry are the most annoying ethnic group in America. A typical conversation with them:

Them: “I’m Irish.”
Me: “oh, cool. You don’t have an accent. When did you come over?”

Them: “I was born here.”
Me: “oh. When did your parents emigrate?”

Them: “well, actually they were born here, too.”
Me: “oh. So, your grandparents came over from Ireland?”

Them: “….no.”
Me: “ah.”

You’re an idiot. There is a difference between Irish ethnicity and nationality. I suppose you only consider Kurds as either Turks or Iraqis. The US is full of different from different ethnicities. Do you deny descendants of American slaves claims to Africa? How about Poles who retained their Polish identity when the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was wiped off the map of Europe for 125 years?

Are you saying an American whose great grandparents were born in Ireland and who says they are Irish is actually ethnically Irish?

African-Americans are racially different. They have African genes. I doubt they claim to be ethnically African though.

According to my DNA testing, I am 96% Irish. All of my great-grandparents were born in Ireland.

Conan O'Brien is 100% Irish, but he was born in the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_1SrUquSmU

So neither of us is Irish, ethnically speaking?

If you only define ethnicity as the origin of your ancestors, as seems to be the approach in the US, then you are Irish. If you adopt the definition that includes common language, culture, values, etc then you are not Irish.

If someone has Irish nationality, they are legally Irish, but that doesn’t make them ethnically Irish either by descent or common culture etc. Someone can immigrate to Ireland from Korea and obtain Irish nationality and not be ethnically Irish.

Irish and irish-Americans share common language, culture, religion, values, etc. There isn't some vast difference between the two groups.

I suppose. On that basis, you could be ethically English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh god, people who are hung up on their Irish ancestry are the most annoying ethnic group in America. A typical conversation with them:

Them: “I’m Irish.”
Me: “oh, cool. You don’t have an accent. When did you come over?”

Them: “I was born here.”
Me: “oh. When did your parents emigrate?”

Them: “well, actually they were born here, too.”
Me: “oh. So, your grandparents came over from Ireland?”

Them: “….no.”
Me: “ah.”

You’re an idiot. There is a difference between Irish ethnicity and nationality. I suppose you only consider Kurds as either Turks or Iraqis. The US is full of different from different ethnicities. Do you deny descendants of American slaves claims to Africa? How about Poles who retained their Polish identity when the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was wiped off the map of Europe for 125 years?

Are you saying an American whose great grandparents were born in Ireland and who says they are Irish is actually ethnically Irish?

African-Americans are racially different. They have African genes. I doubt they claim to be ethnically African though.

According to my DNA testing, I am 96% Irish. All of my great-grandparents were born in Ireland.

Conan O'Brien is 100% Irish, but he was born in the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_1SrUquSmU

So neither of us is Irish, ethnically speaking?

If you only define ethnicity as the origin of your ancestors, as seems to be the approach in the US, then you are Irish. If you adopt the definition that includes common language, culture, values, etc then you are not Irish.

If someone has Irish nationality, they are legally Irish, but that doesn’t make them ethnically Irish either by descent or common culture etc. Someone can immigrate to Ireland from Korea and obtain Irish nationality and not be ethnically Irish.

Irish and irish-Americans share common language, culture, religion, values, etc. There isn't some vast difference between the two groups.

I suppose. On that basis, you could be ethically English.

Not so. Irish=/=English

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh god, people who are hung up on their Irish ancestry are the most annoying ethnic group in America. A typical conversation with them:

Them: “I’m Irish.”
Me: “oh, cool. You don’t have an accent. When did you come over?”

Them: “I was born here.”
Me: “oh. When did your parents emigrate?”

Them: “well, actually they were born here, too.”
Me: “oh. So, your grandparents came over from Ireland?”

Them: “….no.”
Me: “ah.”

You’re an idiot. There is a difference between Irish ethnicity and nationality. I suppose you only consider Kurds as either Turks or Iraqis. The US is full of different from different ethnicities. Do you deny descendants of American slaves claims to Africa? How about Poles who retained their Polish identity when the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was wiped off the map of Europe for 125 years?

Are you saying an American whose great grandparents were born in Ireland and who says they are Irish is actually ethnically Irish?

African-Americans are racially different. They have African genes. I doubt they claim to be ethnically African though.

According to my DNA testing, I am 96% Irish. All of my great-grandparents were born in Ireland.

Conan O'Brien is 100% Irish, but he was born in the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_1SrUquSmU

So neither of us is Irish, ethnically speaking?

If you only define ethnicity as the origin of your ancestors, as seems to be the approach in the US, then you are Irish. If you adopt the definition that includes common language, culture, values, etc then you are not Irish.

If someone has Irish nationality, they are legally Irish, but that doesn’t make them ethnically Irish either by descent or common culture etc. Someone can immigrate to Ireland from Korea and obtain Irish nationality and not be ethnically Irish.

I agree and would only add that taking this approach, the word "Irish" needs to be used as an adjective:

I am of Irish ethnicity
vs.
I am an Irish citizen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh god, people who are hung up on their Irish ancestry are the most annoying ethnic group in America. A typical conversation with them:

Them: “I’m Irish.”
Me: “oh, cool. You don’t have an accent. When did you come over?”

Them: “I was born here.”
Me: “oh. When did your parents emigrate?”

Them: “well, actually they were born here, too.”
Me: “oh. So, your grandparents came over from Ireland?”

Them: “….no.”
Me: “ah.”

You’re an idiot. There is a difference between Irish ethnicity and nationality. I suppose you only consider Kurds as either Turks or Iraqis. The US is full of different from different ethnicities. Do you deny descendants of American slaves claims to Africa? How about Poles who retained their Polish identity when the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was wiped off the map of Europe for 125 years?

Are you saying an American whose great grandparents were born in Ireland and who says they are Irish is actually ethnically Irish?

African-Americans are racially different. They have African genes. I doubt they claim to be ethnically African though.

According to my DNA testing, I am 96% Irish. All of my great-grandparents were born in Ireland.

Conan O'Brien is 100% Irish, but he was born in the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_1SrUquSmU

So neither of us is Irish, ethnically speaking?

If you only define ethnicity as the origin of your ancestors, as seems to be the approach in the US, then you are Irish. If you adopt the definition that includes common language, culture, values, etc then you are not Irish.

If someone has Irish nationality, they are legally Irish, but that doesn’t make them ethnically Irish either by descent or common culture etc. Someone can immigrate to Ireland from Korea and obtain Irish nationality and not be ethnically Irish.

Irish and irish-Americans share common language, culture, religion, values, etc. There isn't some vast difference between the two groups.

I suppose. On that basis, you could be ethically English.

I probably share more in common with the English than I do many other Americans who speak different languages, have different values, religions, and customs. If Americans don't have these things in common then what are people allowed to claim as their ethnicity if they were born here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My Fathers Family moved to Ireland around 1520 from England. Unlike my Father my mothers side is true Irish always in Ireland.

My whole Irish mothers side considers my fathers side English. They have only been in country 500 years. Not true Irish.

And religion don’t matter my father converted to Catholic (big deal back then)

So something like your father's 12x great grandparents moved to Ireland and account for a teeny % of his ancestry? I bet your mother's family have a few Norse genes mixed in which they rather conveniently don't know about.

My mothers family still own two farms for over 1,000 years. They were their pre St. Patrick.

My father interesting came over with King Henry the VII who had a castle in Northern Island he worked at. That castle still there as a tourist exhibit and my relative has a statue on the grounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh god, people who are hung up on their Irish ancestry are the most annoying ethnic group in America. A typical conversation with them:

Them: “I’m Irish.”
Me: “oh, cool. You don’t have an accent. When did you come over?”

Them: “I was born here.”
Me: “oh. When did your parents emigrate?”

Them: “well, actually they were born here, too.”
Me: “oh. So, your grandparents came over from Ireland?”

Them: “….no.”
Me: “ah.”

You’re an idiot. There is a difference between Irish ethnicity and nationality. I suppose you only consider Kurds as either Turks or Iraqis. The US is full of different from different ethnicities. Do you deny descendants of American slaves claims to Africa? How about Poles who retained their Polish identity when the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was wiped off the map of Europe for 125 years?

Are you saying an American whose great grandparents were born in Ireland and who says they are Irish is actually ethnically Irish?

African-Americans are racially different. They have African genes. I doubt they claim to be ethnically African though.

According to my DNA testing, I am 96% Irish. All of my great-grandparents were born in Ireland.

Conan O'Brien is 100% Irish, but he was born in the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_1SrUquSmU

So neither of us is Irish, ethnically speaking?

If you only define ethnicity as the origin of your ancestors, as seems to be the approach in the US, then you are Irish. If you adopt the definition that includes common language, culture, values, etc then you are not Irish.

If someone has Irish nationality, they are legally Irish, but that doesn’t make them ethnically Irish either by descent or common culture etc. Someone can immigrate to Ireland from Korea and obtain Irish nationality and not be ethnically Irish.

Actually, a "nation" is defined by people sharing common language, history and culture. But we have very few "nation-states" left... like Japan, where the people living in the "state" and also a "nation."

"So, what is a Nation?

A nation is a group of people who see themselves as a cohesive and coherent unit based on shared cultural or historical criteria. Nations are socially constructed units, not given by nature. Their existence, definition, and members can change dramatically based on circumstances. Nations in some ways can be thought of as “imagined communities” that are bound together by notions of unity that can pivot around religion, ethnic identity, language, cultural practice and so forth. The concept and practice of a nation work to establish who belongs and who does not (insider vs. outsider). Such conceptions often ignore political boundaries such that a single nation may “spill over” into multiple states. Furthermore, states ≠ nations: not every nation has a state (e.g., Kurds; Roma; Palestine). Some states may contain all or parts of multiple nations.

And what about a Nation-State?

A Nation-State is the idea of a homogenous nation governed by its own sovereign state—where each state contains one nation. This idea is almost never achieved."
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog128/node/534

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My Fathers Family moved to Ireland around 1520 from England. Unlike my Father my mothers side is true Irish always in Ireland.

My whole Irish mothers side considers my fathers side English. They have only been in country 500 years. Not true Irish.

And religion don’t matter my father converted to Catholic (big deal back then)

So something like your father's 12x great grandparents moved to Ireland and account for a teeny % of his ancestry? I bet your mother's family have a few Norse genes mixed in which they rather conveniently don't know about.

My mothers family still own two farms for over 1,000 years. They were their pre St. Patrick.

My father interesting came over with King Henry the VII who had a castle in Northern Island he worked at. That castle still there as a tourist exhibit and my relative has a statue on the grounds.

The fact the farms are still in the family after 1,000 years is quite incredible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh god, people who are hung up on their Irish ancestry are the most annoying ethnic group in America. A typical conversation with them:

Them: “I’m Irish.”
Me: “oh, cool. You don’t have an accent. When did you come over?”

Them: “I was born here.”
Me: “oh. When did your parents emigrate?”

Them: “well, actually they were born here, too.”
Me: “oh. So, your grandparents came over from Ireland?”

Them: “….no.”
Me: “ah.”

You’re an idiot. There is a difference between Irish ethnicity and nationality. I suppose you only consider Kurds as either Turks or Iraqis. The US is full of different from different ethnicities. Do you deny descendants of American slaves claims to Africa? How about Poles who retained their Polish identity when the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was wiped off the map of Europe for 125 years?

Are you saying an American whose great grandparents were born in Ireland and who says they are Irish is actually ethnically Irish?

African-Americans are racially different. They have African genes. I doubt they claim to be ethnically African though.

According to my DNA testing, I am 96% Irish. All of my great-grandparents were born in Ireland.

Conan O'Brien is 100% Irish, but he was born in the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_1SrUquSmU

So neither of us is Irish, ethnically speaking?

If you only define ethnicity as the origin of your ancestors, as seems to be the approach in the US, then you are Irish. If you adopt the definition that includes common language, culture, values, etc then you are not Irish.

If someone has Irish nationality, they are legally Irish, but that doesn’t make them ethnically Irish either by descent or common culture etc. Someone can immigrate to Ireland from Korea and obtain Irish nationality and not be ethnically Irish.

Irish and irish-Americans share common language, culture, religion, values, etc. There isn't some vast difference between the two groups.

I suppose. On that basis, you could be ethically English.

I probably share more in common with the English than I do many other Americans who speak different languages, have different values, religions, and customs. If Americans don't have these things in common then what are people allowed to claim as their ethnicity if they were born here?

Do you need to claim an ethnicity?