Irish-Scots

Not to be confused with Scotch-Irish American or Ulster Scots people.
Irish-Scots
Total population
49,428 Irish-born (as stated in the 2001 Census)
1,500,000 Irish ancestry (estimate)
Regions with significant populations
Coatbridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Fife
Languages
English (Irish/Scottish), Scots, Irish
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant
Related ethnic groups
Scottish, Irish; Welsh, Manx, Cornish, Bretons, Scots-Irish, Ulster Scots

Irish-Scots are people in Scotland who are of immediate or traceably distinct Irish ancestry. Although migration between Ireland and Scotland has an established history (both ways) owing to their close proximity, Irish migration to Scotland increased in the nineteenth century, and was particularly strong following the Great Famine. In this period, the Irish typically settled in the cities such as Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow, towns like Coatbridge and industrial areas such as Fife.

In the United Kingdom Census 2001, almost 50,000 people, fewer than 1% of the population in Scotland, identified their ethnicity as being full or partial Irish descent.[1] With centuries of heavy Irish immigration to Scotland, it is generally believed to be over 1.5 million people. The low ethnic Irish figure declared could be attributed to confusion between ethnicity and nationality. The same census states the number of Catholics in Scotland as approximately only 804,000 or 15.9% of the population, with the vast majority being of Irish background. The term Irish-Scots should not be confused with Ulster-Scots people (sometimes known as Scots-Irish), a term used to denote those in the Irish province of Ulster who are descended from Scots who settled there in large numbers during the Ulster Plantation and subsequently.

Famous Irish-Scots include socialist revolutionary James Connolly, author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, footballers Aiden McGeady, Ray Houghton, Owen Coyle and James McCarthy, politician George Galloway, actors Sean Connery, Brian Cox, Peter Capaldi, Gerard Butler, musicians Gerry Rafferty, Maggie Reilly, Jimme O'Neill, Claire Grogan, Fran Healy and comedians Billy Connolly and Frankie Boyle.

Background

Attitudes to the waves of immigration from Ireland to Scotland were mixed, as evidenced by the following quotations:

The Glasgow Courier, 1830
Report from the Scottish Census of 1871

Difficulties also arose due to differences between the largely Catholic immigrants and the predominantly Protestant native Scots population. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, before the Irish began arriving in large numbers it was reported that, in Glasgow, there were only thirty-nine Catholics, but forty-three anti-Catholic clubs (dead link see ).

In the UK census of 2001, the new category "Irish" was added to the list of ethnic background. In Scotland, results showed that 49,428 (0.98%), fewer than 1% of the population, self-described as being of Irish background. This may have been due to a lack of familiarity with the idea of ethnicity as the Catholic population (as a rough indication) comprises 15% of the Scottish population.

The Irish-Scots were instrumental in the formation of Hibernian F.C. in Edinburgh in 1875.[2] There followed in 1888 in Glasgow, Celtic Football Club, and later Dundee United F.C. (originally known as Dundee Hibernian), as well as numerous smaller teams. These teams were originally formed to provide recreational facilities for the Irish immigrants.

Scots and Irish

The terms Scots and Irish, while they have a settled meaning today, are not always readily distinguished. Sellar & Yeatman's spoof history 1066 and All That highlighted the confusion that these words can cause when used to refer to the past :

The Scots (originally Irish, but by now Scots) were at this time inhabiting Ireland, having driven the Irish (Picts) out of Scotland; while the Picts (originally Scots) were now Irish (living in brackets) and vice versa. It is essential to keep these distinctions clearly in mind (and verce visa).

See also

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 31, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.