Irish people
The Irish are an ethnic group who come from or came from the island of Ireland. There are two countries on the island of Ireland: the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Historically, the Irish have been primarily a Celtic people. Many countries, especially English-speaking countries, have people with Irish roots.
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 80–90* million worldwide[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States | 40,000,000+:[4] |
 Great Britain | 14,000,000+:[5] |
 Australia | 7,000,000+:[6] |
 Canada | 4,544,870+:[7] |
 Argentina | 1,000,000[8] |
 Mexico | 600,000[9] |
 New Zealand | 600,000[10] |
 France | 15,000[11] |
| Languages | |
| Irish (Gaelic), English (Irish English dialects), Scots (Ulster Scots dialects), Shelta | |
| Religion | |
| Mainly Christianity (majority Roman Catholicism; minority Protestantism, especially Presbyterianism, Anglicanism, Methodism) see also: Religion in Ireland | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Irish Travellers, Anglo-Irish, Bretons, Cornish, English, Icelanders,[12] Manx, Norse, Scots, Ulster Scots, Welsh | |
* Around 800,000 people born in Ireland reside in Great Britain, with around 14,000,000 people claiming Irish ancestry.[13] | |
In Northern Ireland, there have been violent fights between the Unionists, who identify as British people and are mainly Protestant, and the Nationalists, who identify as Irish and are mainly Catholic. Irish people have a strong culture and beliefs.
Due to problems in Ireland, most importantly a famine between 1845 and 1852, caused by the potatoes in Ireland being destroyed by disease, many Irish moved out of Ireland, including Great Britain, and to other countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia. At present, many more Irish live in the United States than in Ireland, with many of them living in large American cities such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The population of Irish people in the United States is over seven times more populated than that of those who live in the original homeland of Ireland.[14]
References
Further reading
- Irish Immigrant who served in US Civil War
- Cork man survived the Titanic
- Irish Immigrant who served in World War I
- "The children of Irish migrants come home". Elizabeth Doherty. Irelandtoday. 23 December 2015. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
