How does intermarriage between blacks and Irish in America affect dark hair colour over in Ireland? The Irish had black hair long before the 1500's. Neither the intermarriage of races nor even the Spanish are of sufficient explanation. The "Black Irish" is probably an urban legend of sorts as the most of Europe have mixed roots (pun not intended) and gives rise to different hair colours and features. My consternation is the fact that people in my area of the world keep saying that natural Irish hair color is red. When I was there the last few times in Ireland, I only saw two red-haired people. The most I saw was the dark colored (brown and black) and then the various blondes. So "Black Irish" has no real meaning by way of race. The only topic I have never really seen is a discussion of how much the Dutch (Friesland and Holland) merchant traders had an effect on the culture in Ireland. They were there in the early 1500's. I have a few in my tree and I believe they reached Fermanagh a couple of times. Regards, Phil

Hi Phil, You are correct. Ireland has had North African, Iberian, Scandanavian, British and European people, both as invaders and invitees, (eg in the Monasteries) over the last 2000 years and surely before that. As for redhaired people, I believe we actually have less than the average for other Northern European Countries. Mike -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, March 26, 2001 7:25 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Spainards in Ireland/Black Irish How does intermarriage between blacks and Irish in America affect dark hair colour over in Ireland? The Irish had black hair long before the 1500's. Neither the intermarriage of races nor even the Spanish are of sufficient explanation. The "Black Irish" is probably an urban legend of sorts as the most of Europe have mixed roots (pun not intended) and gives rise to different hair colours and features. My consternation is the fact that people in my area of the world keep saying that natural Irish hair color is red. When I was there the last few times in Ireland, I only saw two red-haired people. The most I saw was the dark colored (brown and black) and then the various blondes. So "Black Irish" has no real meaning by way of race. The only topic I have never really seen is a discussion of how much the Dutch (Friesland and Holland) merchant traders had an effect on the culture in Ireland. They were there in the early 1500's. I have a few in my tree and I believe they reached Fermanagh a couple of times. Regards, Phil ============================== Ancestry.com Genealogical Databases http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist2.asp Search over 2500 databases with one easy query!