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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The current Americans are protestant, or their ancestors were? The ancestors could have been Catholic, but over the generations, the people converted to Protestant.

This was common outside the Northeast. Ronald Reagan was raised Protestant in small-town Illinois (his mother's religion). The Reagan line went to England before immigrating to America and he grew up believing his ancestors were "from England" in spite of his Irish surname.

More recently there's Mike Pence. He was raised an Irish Catholic but converted to evangelical Protestantism.

[Anonymous]

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.”

The most annoying? There are lots of people who cling fast and hard to their ethnicity and neither speak the language nor have ever visited the country. But it's easy to call the Irish out in a way you would never dare call anyone else out.

You’re barking up the wrong tree here. I, too, have Irish ancestry. But I would never ever say “I’m Irish.” So no, it’s not some anti-Irish bias. If people of German heritage did this, I’d call them out. But I never hear them do this.

[Anonymous]

I think most of us with Scots Irish or Irish Protestant ancestors just think of ourselves as American, because our ancestors arrived in the 1600s and 1700s and intermarried with English, Scottish, and others over the years.

If you look at the Ancestry profiles for a lot of middle-aged and older white Southerners they are a mix of English/Northern European, Irish, Scottish, and Scandinavian. A not insignificant percentage will have some African ancestry as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think most of us with Scots Irish or Irish Protestant ancestors just think of ourselves as American, because our ancestors arrived in the 1600s and 1700s and intermarried with English, Scottish, and others over the years.

If you look at the Ancestry profiles for a lot of middle-aged and older white Southerners they are a mix of English/Northern European, Irish, Scottish, and Scandinavian. A not insignificant percentage will have some African ancestry as well.

Not Scandinavian. Unless you're referring to the Danes who went to Britain in the 9th century.

[Anonymous]

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.

+2 its hilarious. I actually lived in Ireland during my childhood. Real Irish people consider them as Americans, not Irish or Irish-American!

[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.”

The most annoying? There are lots of people who cling fast and hard to their ethnicity and neither speak the language nor have ever visited the country. But it's easy to call the Irish out in a way you would never dare call anyone else out.

You’re barking up the wrong tree here. I, too, have Irish ancestry. But I would never ever say “I’m Irish.” So no, it’s not some anti-Irish bias. If people of German heritage did this, I’d call them out. But I never hear them do this.

BS. Not everyone who does this is white. And we all know you would never call out someone who wasn't white who does this.

I know no other single ethnic group that claims this with the ferocity or frequency of Irish Americans. Maybe your experience is different, but this is my truth. And it’s made more annoying because I’m just as “Irish” as they are!

[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.”

The most annoying? There are lots of people who cling fast and hard to their ethnicity and neither speak the language nor have ever visited the country. But it's easy to call the Irish out in a way you would never dare call anyone else out.

You’re barking up the wrong tree here. I, too, have Irish ancestry. But I would never ever say “I’m Irish.” So no, it’s not some anti-Irish bias. If people of German heritage did this, I’d call them out. But I never hear them do this.

BS. Not everyone who does this is white. And we all know you would never call out someone who wasn't white who does this.

I know no other single ethnic group that claims this with the ferocity or frequency of Irish Americans. Maybe your experience is different, but this is my truth. And it’s made more annoying because I’m just as “Irish” as they are!

Yes, that is your truth. You must not know a lot of diverse people so this just speaks to your limited interaction with people unlike yourself.

[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.”

The most annoying? There are lots of people who cling fast and hard to their ethnicity and neither speak the language nor have ever visited the country. But it's easy to call the Irish out in a way you would never dare call anyone else out.

You’re barking up the wrong tree here. I, too, have Irish ancestry. But I would never ever say “I’m Irish.” So no, it’s not some anti-Irish bias. If people of German heritage did this, I’d call them out. But I never hear them do this.

BS. Not everyone who does this is white. And we all know you would never call out someone who wasn't white who does this.

I know no other single ethnic group that claims this with the ferocity or frequency of Irish Americans. Maybe your experience is different, but this is my truth. And it’s made more annoying because I’m just as “Irish” as they are!

Yes, that is your truth. You must not know a lot of diverse people so this just speaks to your limited interaction with people unlike yourself.

Ok, sure. I live in NYC but definitely don’t know a lot of diverse people.

[Anonymous]

I consider myself Scots Irish based on family lore. Ancestry backed this up - 61 percent Scottish! Family came over in the 1700s.

I would not say Irish because I connect that with Irish Catholic.

[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.”

The most annoying? There are lots of people who cling fast and hard to their ethnicity and neither speak the language nor have ever visited the country. But it's easy to call the Irish out in a way you would never dare call anyone else out.

You’re barking up the wrong tree here. I, too, have Irish ancestry. But I would never ever say “I’m Irish.” So no, it’s not some anti-Irish bias. If people of German heritage did this, I’d call them out. But I never hear them do this.

BS. Not everyone who does this is white. And we all know you would never call out someone who wasn't white who does this.

I know no other single ethnic group that claims this with the ferocity or frequency of Irish Americans. Maybe your experience is different, but this is my truth. And it’s made more annoying because I’m just as “Irish” as they are!

Yes, that is your truth. You must not know a lot of diverse people so this just speaks to your limited interaction with people unlike yourself.

Ok, sure. I live in NYC but definitely don’t know a lot of diverse people.

Ok, tell us, how many generations are allowed to pass before you start calling this out? What are the rules exactly since you are gatekeeping? Because I know lots of people who don't speak a language and don't have grandparents from their ethnicity who very much think of themselves as proud hyphenated American. Curious that you don't even if you live in NYC, even though you're not from there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most of us with Scots Irish or Irish Protestant ancestors just think of ourselves as American, because our ancestors arrived in the 1600s and 1700s and intermarried with English, Scottish, and others over the years.

If you look at the Ancestry profiles for a lot of middle-aged and older white Southerners they are a mix of English/Northern European, Irish, Scottish, and Scandinavian. A not insignificant percentage will have some African ancestry as well.

Not Scandinavian. Unless you're referring to the Danes who went to Britain in the 9th century.

DP, but yes. I am southern scots irish, confirmed by ancestry.com, but I also have ten percent scandianvian. It is almost certainly from the ones that migrated to Britain centuries before my family came to America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I consider myself Scots Irish based on family lore. Ancestry backed this up - 61 percent Scottish! Family came over in the 1700s.

I would not say Irish because I connect that with Irish Catholic.

And yes my entire family has lived in the southern piedmont region since the 1700s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think most of us with Scots Irish or Irish Protestant ancestors just think of ourselves as American, because our ancestors arrived in the 1600s and 1700s and intermarried with English, Scottish, and others over the years.

If you look at the Ancestry profiles for a lot of middle-aged and older white Southerners they are a mix of English/Northern European, Irish, Scottish, and Scandinavian. A not insignificant percentage will have some African ancestry as well.

This. My Irish ancestor came to New England (as an indentured servant) in the 1690s. I'm quite sure he was Catholic when he arrived, but that didn't last.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most of us with Scots Irish or Irish Protestant ancestors just think of ourselves as American, because our ancestors arrived in the 1600s and 1700s and intermarried with English, Scottish, and others over the years.

If you look at the Ancestry profiles for a lot of middle-aged and older white Southerners they are a mix of English/Northern European, Irish, Scottish, and Scandinavian. A not insignificant percentage will have some African ancestry as well.

This. My Irish ancestor came to New England (as an indentured servant) in the 1690s. I'm quite sure he was Catholic when he arrived, but that didn't last.

And yes, if you ask me my ethnicity, I will say: Swedish, English, Irish. But I don't consider any of them part of my identity, and on my census form I put "American."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most of us with Scots Irish or Irish Protestant ancestors just think of ourselves as American, because our ancestors arrived in the 1600s and 1700s and intermarried with English, Scottish, and others over the years.

If you look at the Ancestry profiles for a lot of middle-aged and older white Southerners they are a mix of English/Northern European, Irish, Scottish, and Scandinavian. A not insignificant percentage will have some African ancestry as well.

Not Scandinavian. Unless you're referring to the Danes who went to Britain in the 9th century.

DP, but yes. I am southern scots irish, confirmed by ancestry.com, but I also have ten percent scandianvian. It is almost certainly from the ones that migrated to Britain centuries before my family came to America.

Yes, I’m just referring to the profiles on sites like 23&Me and Ancestry. Not suggesting that a bunch of Danes and Swedes ended up in North Carolina and Georgia.