Why do so many people around the world claim to be of Irish descent?

Answer 1

Because everyone loves us around the world.

Answer 2

Probably because there are seventy million people worldwide who can claim Irish descent, according to Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland.
According to surveys carried out in 1994 by the Department of Peace Studies, Bradford University , seven per cent of people born in Britain have at least one Irish parent and one quarter of Britons have an Irish relative.
The Irish are the second-largest ethnic group in the United States 11% of the US population compared to 16% in 1990.
You can see the figures for each state in the US of the people who claimed Irish ancestry in the census for 2000. In Massachusetts alone 22.5 percent (1,426,453) claimed Irish ancestry.

Answer 3

Its because the Irish have been immigrating from since the last potato famine. Plus the fact that Irish families are typically huge so adding these two things together, you get a lot of people from Irish descendants. Americans go a little overboard however but this is because they have no history and need to 'belong' to a culture so they trace their roots back to their ancestors European country of origin.

I was born and live in Ireland so my claim is pretty strong :)

Answer 4

The 'Potato Famine' of the 1900's drove many Irish to move abroad (especially America) or die of starvation. Although the shortage of food was mostly brought about by the English ruling class's refusal to distribute home grown food to the Irish and instead ship it abroad.
Generations of poverty and persecution by the same ruling classes (although not always foreign) also drove people to leave.
Also being largely Catholic, large families/no contraception were/are encouraged.

More complicated than my explanation, but it touches on some of the main points.

Slim (half Irish, living in England)

Answer 5

A lot of extremely dull people realise that there is nothing special about them, so they find the most tenuous of links to being Irish in an attempt to make themselves sound interesting.

The majority of people in the UK can find Irish ancestry if they looked - because there was a massive influx of Irish people moving across. In the vast majority of cases (including my own), any ancestors who were genuinely Irish died long before these "plastic Irish" were even conceived.

Answer 6

Because its considered cool.

The ones who make me laugh are the Americans who have one great great great great great uncle twice removed (ie very little Irish blood in them) who came from Ireland so claim they are "Irish Americans" and support the IRA. Its really sad.

I had this argument with a stupid Yank once - he was going round bragging about how his great great grandfather was Irish and so he saw HIMSELF as "Irish" and the Irish as "his people" and was in support of the IRA.

I told him that MY great great grandparents were Irish too but I don't see myself as Irish (I'm Welsh) and I think the IRA are scum.

nickelback - don't be a tw*t - Lewis is a Welsh name not an Irish name!!! Duh, why are some Americans so ignorant??

Answer 7

Because the Irish really likes sex with multiply partners. Somany people around the world are irish descent...Plus at one time their country was a crappy place to live, so alot of them went were ever their hearts took them. Some went to europe, some went to africa, but alot of them came to america. When they got to these places they had lots and lots of sex.

Answer 8

People may be claiming their from Irish decent because they actually are. Irish is a very common heritage.

Answer 9

Because they probabaly are, those irish did like the whole travelling thing, and still do

Answer 10

Cos Irish is just the best nationality to be, we are the greatest of people!

Answer 11

because most of us are.... just look at the person's last name and if it sounds irish or if u know nething about irish background u iwll know if they r telling the truth! mine is Lewis and that's irish