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→Hair, skin and eye color statistics in Ireland circa 1940s: Article uses British English. Amended text doesn't appear to be direct quote
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A similar theory was examined in the early 1980s by Bob Quinn with his trilogy of documentary films entitled ''[[Atlantean (documentary series)|Atlantean]]''. He argued for the existence of a west Atlantic continuum of people, and linked the region of [[Connemara]], in Ireland's West, with Iberian and Berber types who supposedly travelled from across the sea over a period spanning several thousand years.
A similar theory was examined in the early 1980s by Bob Quinn with his trilogy of documentary films entitled ''[[Atlantean (documentary series)|Atlantean]]''. He argued for the existence of a west Atlantic continuum of people, and linked the region of [[Connemara]], in Ireland's West, with Iberian and Berber types who supposedly travelled from across the sea over a period spanning several thousand years.


==Hair, skin and eye color statistics in Ireland circa 1940s==
==Hair, skin and eye colour statistics in Ireland circa 1940s==
C. Wesley Dupertuis conducted a survey of Irish people in the 1940s under the guidance of the Department of Anthropology of [[Harvard University]], and gathered the following data:<ref name="www3.interscience.wiley.com">{{Cite journal |title=Stature, head form, and pigmentation of adult male Irish |author=Hooton EA |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=26 |issue=1 |month=March |year=1940 |pages=229–249 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.1330260131 |url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/110521660/ABSTRACT}}</ref>
C. Wesley Dupertuis conducted a survey of Irish people in the 1940s under the guidance of the Department of Anthropology of [[Harvard University]], and gathered the following data:<ref name="www3.interscience.wiley.com">{{Cite journal |title=Stature, head form, and pigmentation of adult male Irish |author=Hooton EA |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=26 |issue=1 |month=March |year=1940 |pages=229–249 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.1330260131 |url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/110521660/ABSTRACT}}</ref>


At the time, the hair color of the Irish was predominantly [[brown hair|brown]]. Less than 15% had [[black hair|black]] or ashen hair; 50% had dark brown hair.<ref name="www3.interscience.wiley.com"/> Medium brown hues made up another 15%. Persons with [[blond]] and light brown hair accounted for close to 5%, while approximately 10% had [[auburn hair|auburn]] or [[red hair]]. Both golden and dark brown shades could be seen in the southwestern counties of [[Ireland]], but fairest hair in general is most common in the Central Plain.<ref>[http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/geography/physical_landscape.html "The Physical Landforms and Landscape of Ireland"], Wesley Johnston</ref> [[Ulster]] had been evidenced to have the highest frequencies of red and blond hair, with the lowest found in [[Wexford]] and [[Waterford]].
At the time, the hair colour of the Irish was predominantly [[brown hair|brown]]. Less than 15% had [[black hair|black]] or ashen hair; 50% had dark brown hair.<ref name="www3.interscience.wiley.com"/> Medium brown hues made up another 15%. Persons with [[blonde]] and light brown hair accounted for close to 5%, while approximately 10% had [[auburn hair|auburn]] or [[red hair]]. Both golden and dark brown shades could be seen in the southwestern counties of [[Ireland]], but fairest hair in general is most common in the Central Plain.<ref>[http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/geography/physical_landscape.html "The Physical Landforms and Landscape of Ireland"], Wesley Johnston</ref> [[Ulster]] had been evidenced to have the highest frequencies of red and blonde hair, with the lowest found in [[Wexford]] and [[Waterford]].


Studies have indicated the Irish are "almost uniquely pale skinned when unexposed, untanned parts of the body, are observed"<ref>[http://www.theapricity.com/snpa/chapter-X2.htm (Chapter X, section 2) - Ireland], Society for Nordish Physical Anthropology, The Apricity Forum: A European Cultural Community</ref> and "40% of the entire group are freckled to some extent".{{fact|date=November 2012}} Moreover, "in the proportion of pure light eyes", data shows that "Ireland competes successfully with the blondest regions of Scandinavia", as approximately 42% of the Irish population have pure blue eyes. Another 30% have been found to possess light-mixed eyes and "less than 1 half of 1% have pure brown".<ref name="www3.interscience.wiley.com"/>
Studies have indicated the Irish are "almost uniquely pale skinned when unexposed, untanned parts of the body, are observed"<ref>[http://www.theapricity.com/snpa/chapter-X2.htm (Chapter X, section 2) - Ireland], Society for Nordish Physical Anthropology, The Apricity Forum: A European Cultural Community</ref> and "40% of the entire group are freckled to some extent".{{fact|date=November 2012}} Moreover, "in the proportion of pure light eyes", data shows that "Ireland competes successfully with the blondest regions of Scandinavia", as approximately 42% of the Irish population have pure blue eyes. Another 30% have been found to possess light-mixed eyes and "less than 1 half of 1% have pure brown".<ref name="www3.interscience.wiley.com"/>

Revision as of 18:30, 7 May 2013

For the film by this name, see Black Irish (film). For black people in Ireland, see Black people in Ireland.

Black Irish is an ambiguous term sometimes used as a reference to a dark-haired phenotype appearing in people of Irish origin. Opinions vary in regard to what is perceived as the usual physical characteristics of the so-called Black Irish: e.g., dark hair, brown eyes and medium skin tone; or dark hair, blue or green eyes and fair skin tone.[1] Unbeknownst to some who have used this term at one time or another, dark hair in people of Irish descent is common, although darker skin complexions appear less frequently.[2]

Prehistory

The first clear evidence of human habitation in Ireland has been carbon dated to about 7000 BC.[3] Legends, such as those described in the Book of Invasions, refer to a number of pre-historical ethnic groups, including the Fomorians, Nemedians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha Dé Danann, and Milesians. Despite the lack of empirical data linking them to the Irish, one or more of these races have been mentioned in non-scientific ancestral studies. For example, in Dennis O'Mullally's History of O'Mullally and Lally clan the author points to the "Fir Bolg" as "the aboriginal people of Ireland, smaller in stature than the Gaels, with jet-black hair and dark eyes, contrasting with unusually white skin".[4]

Common attributions

Spanish Armada

The genetic evidence is that the survivors of the Spanish Armada probably left no legacy, as the Irish have only minute amounts of Neolithic Italic Y chromosome genetic markers, such as G and J, which are present in trace levels throughout Spain. These results may be spurious as the Atlantic Modal Haplotype R1b is present in most Western European males including most Spanish and Irish males.[5]

Iberian connection

Genetic research shows a strong similarity between the Y chromosome haplotypes of males from north-western Spain and Portugal and Irish men with Gaelic surnames.[6] There is a significant difference between peoples of the west and the east of Ireland. Genetic marker R1b reaches frequencies as high as 98% in north-western Ireland and 95% in south-western Ireland,[7] but drops to 73% in north-eastern Ireland and 85% in south-eastern Ireland. Additionally, R1b averages between 90% and 95% in Y chromosomes of the Basques of northern Spain (and south-western France), considerably greater than levels of the same haplogroup found amongst the remaining Spanish genepool, where it varies from region to region in a range from 42% to 75%, but mostly with percentages in the 50s and 60s.[5][7][8][9][10]

In books published in 2006, (Blood of the Isles by Bryan Sykes and The Origins of the British - A Genetic Detective Story by Stephen Oppenheimer), both authors propose that ancient inhabitants of Ireland can be traced back to the Iberian Peninsula, as a result of a series of migrations that took place during the Mesolithic and to a lesser extent the Neolithic Age. The Ice Age caused the depopulation of the British Isles. After glaciers retreated, the islands were populated by migrations from the Iberian Peninsula. These migrations laid the foundations for present-day populations in the British Isles, contributing three-quarters of the ancestral population, according to Oppenheimer. Later migrations of Anglo-Saxons, and Normans appear to be much less significant in terms of genetic additions than previously thought.[11][12] Oppenheimer maintains there is a great lineal commonality between the Irish and British people. He also advances the controversial claim that a language closely related to Basque was long ago spoken by their shared ancestors.[13][14]

A similar theory was examined in the early 1980s by Bob Quinn with his trilogy of documentary films entitled Atlantean. He argued for the existence of a west Atlantic continuum of people, and linked the region of Connemara, in Ireland's West, with Iberian and Berber types who supposedly travelled from across the sea over a period spanning several thousand years.

Hair, skin and eye colour statistics in Ireland circa 1940s

C. Wesley Dupertuis conducted a survey of Irish people in the 1940s under the guidance of the Department of Anthropology of Harvard University, and gathered the following data:[15]

At the time, the hair colour of the Irish was predominantly brown. Less than 15% had black or ashen hair; 50% had dark brown hair.[15] Medium brown hues made up another 15%. Persons with blonde and light brown hair accounted for close to 5%, while approximately 10% had auburn or red hair. Both golden and dark brown shades could be seen in the southwestern counties of Ireland, but fairest hair in general is most common in the Central Plain.[16] Ulster had been evidenced to have the highest frequencies of red and blonde hair, with the lowest found in Wexford and Waterford.

Studies have indicated the Irish are "almost uniquely pale skinned when unexposed, untanned parts of the body, are observed"[17] and "40% of the entire group are freckled to some extent".[citation needed] Moreover, "in the proportion of pure light eyes", data shows that "Ireland competes successfully with the blondest regions of Scandinavia", as approximately 42% of the Irish population have pure blue eyes. Another 30% have been found to possess light-mixed eyes and "less than 1 half of 1% have pure brown".[15]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Who were the Black Irish? www.irishcentral.com. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
  2. ^ Rees, J.L. (1999). Pigmentation, melanocortins and red hair. `Do freckles and red hair help Irishmen catch leprechauns?' Quarterly Journal of Medicine, 92, p.125-131. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
  3. ^ "Carmel McCaffrey & Leo Eaton, 2002, 'In Search of Ancient Ireland: the Origins of the Irish From Neolithic Times to the Coming of the English'". Amazon.com. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Dennis O'Mullally, 1941, 'History of O'Mullally and Lally Clan, or The history of an Irish family through the ages intertwined with that of the Irish nation '". Amazon.com. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  5. ^ a b J. D. McDonald, "World Haplogroup Maps", University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana
  6. ^ USA. "Brian McEvoy, et al., "The Longue Durée of Genetic Ancestry: Multiple Genetic Marker Systems and Celtic Origins on the Atlantic Facade of Europe", ''American Journal of Human Genetics'', October 2004". Pubmedcentral.gov. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Haplogroup R1b3 (Atlantic Modal Haplotype) Part I". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  8. ^ "WALES | Genes link Celts to Basques". BBC News. 3 April 2001. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  9. ^ ""High-Resolution Phylogenetic Analysis of Southeastern Europe Traces Major Episodes of Paternal Gene Flow Among Slavic Populations" - Pericic et al. 22 (10): 1964 - ''Molecular Biology and Evolution''". Mbe.oxfordjournals.org. 8 June 2005. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  10. ^ Reduced genetic structure of the Iberian peninsula revealed by Y-chromosome analysis: implications for population demography, Carlos Flores, Nicole Maca-Meyer, Ana M González, Peter J Oefner, Peidong Shen, Jose A Pérez, Antonio Rojas, Jose M Larruga and Peter A Underhill, European Journal of Human Genetics (2004) 12, 855–863, Nature Publishing Group
  11. ^ Stephen Oppenheimer, "Special report: Myths of British ancestry", Prospect Magazine, October 2006, No. 127.
  12. ^ Myths of British ancestry revisited, Stephen Oppenheimer, Prospect Magazine, June 30 2007.
  13. ^ Nicholas Wade, "A United Kingdom? Maybe", New York Times, 6 Mar 2007, accessed 5 Jul 2010
  14. ^ Science Daily[dead link‍]
  15. ^ a b c Hooton EA (1940). "Stature, head form, and pigmentation of adult male Irish". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 26 (1): 229–249. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330260131. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  16. ^ "The Physical Landforms and Landscape of Ireland", Wesley Johnston
  17. ^ (Chapter X, section 2) - Ireland, Society for Nordish Physical Anthropology, The Apricity Forum: A European Cultural Community

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