Just occurred to me. Spud is a Quaker. That is, in the argot, “Black Irish” – no, that’s what it means, non-Catholic, or Protestant, Irish.
One of the grand cleansings of modern times is of the Black Irish out of Eire.
Or, you know, neither of us want ‘im.
Contrast with “Black Catholics” on the Outer Isles. As far as I can see it refers to their Jansenist inheritance i.e. that they are a bunch of joy-fearing Puritans like many of the Protestants there. At least on Sundays. (The Protestants, that is.)
Of course the fact that they are Jansenists gives the lie to the proposition that their Roman Catholicism survived the Reformation. The RC church in much of Scotland had tumbled down to paganism before the Reformation – that’s why the Reformation had an easy task and why there was relatively little bloodshed.
Reconversion to Papistry was effected by brave Jansenist missionaries from Ireland. Brave in a bad cause, you may say, but brave nonetheless.
P.S. That’s not the use of “Black Irish” I’m familiar with. Are you quite sure?
You are very wrong Tim.
“Black Irish” were, obviously, the first inhabitants of the British Isles, immigrants from Africa with a super-advanced civilization until the white man came and tore them down.
Netflix would not lie to me!
There was an outpost of Wakanda on the east coast. Over the years it became known as Wexford. Then it was all torn down by that white supremacist Cromwell, who had managed to get his hands on their particle beam technology.
I’m a bit of a mongrel myself and don’t see how ancestral slurs improve the conversation.
Eh? “Black Irish” refers to darker-skinned Irish Celts. The popular myth is that they are descended from shipwrecked Spnish Armada sailors. More likely, they are descended from Iberian celts who migrated up the coasts of western Europe thousands of years ago.
It’s not a dichotomy either or. There’s very good historical evidence for the Armada origin. As you said, the shipwrecked Spicks could just have been topping up existing melanin levels from previous influxes.
Tom how could a good Benedictine education give yiu the inpression that Bkack Irish was to do with religion? It’s to do with the dark eyed, dark haired Collens who look like their Spanish or North African great, great, etc mammys.
“The Black North is an expression sometimes used to describe Northern Ireland. Typically it refers to the majority presence of Protestants (whose main denominations include Church of Ireland, Presbyterian Church of Ireland and Methodist Church in Ireland) in some of the six counties that comprise Northern Ireland. Early references that include this expression include an article by Belfast socialist William Walker in response to a piece by James Connolly (Walker, 1911). The origin of the term is obscure. It may be related to the Royal Black Institution. The phrase is sometimes used in a pejorative way when referring to people from Northern Ireland, though literally it carries with it mildly mocking, or (when used by Northerners to describe themselves), perhaps ironic connotations.”
‘purging’was something rev Ian paisley snr said wld happen to a utd Ireland. Pre independence proddies were something like 10 % post it dropped to 4 %. Dunno how much is birth rate and such.
“The Black Irish” and “the Black North” are two very different expressions with very different meanings…
And “Blackmouth” is another – used to refer to the Dissenters who were neither Catholic nor Protestant (i.e. not Anglican). Most Dissenters were Presbyterian, and most were in the north.
I think black Irish just means dark-haired and maybe swarthy. Same way when Charles (not yet) II was on the run in the Civil War his “Wanted” description said he was a “tall black man.”
Also, by one remove, *HE’S* part of the oppressive protestant ascendancy. HE’S TO BLAME for everything Ireland suffered! REPARATIONS!!!!!