Irish people

Lore & Background

The Irish have their own unique customs, language, music, dance, sports, cuisine and mythology. Although Irish (Gaeilge) was their main language in the past, today most Irish people speak English as their first language. Historically, the Irish nation was made up of kin groups or clans, and the Irish also had their own religion, law code, alphabet and style of dress. After Ireland's conversion to Christianity, Irish missionaries and scholars exerted great influence on Western Europe, and the Irish came to be seen as a nation of 'saints and scholars'. The 6th-century Irish monk and missionary Columbanus is regarded as one of the 'fathers of Europe', followed by saints Cillian and Fergal. The scientist Robert Boyle is considered the 'father of chemistry', and Robert Mallet one of the 'fathers of seismology'. Irish literature has produced famous writers in both Irish- and English-language traditions, such as Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin, Dáibhí Ó Bruadair, Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, W. B. Yeats, Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, Máirtín Ó Cadhain, Eavan Boland, and Seamus Heaney. Notable Irish explorers include Brendan the Navigator, Sir Robert McClure, Sir Alexander Armstrong, Sir Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean. By some accounts, the first European child born in North America had Irish descent on both sides. Many presidents of the United States have had some Irish ancestry.

Reader's Guide

The population of Ireland is about 6.9 million, but it is estimated that 50 to 80 million people around the world have varying degrees of Irish ancestry. Historically, emigration from Ireland has been the result of conflict, famine and economic issues. People of Irish descent are found mainly in English-speaking countries, especially Great Britain, the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. There are also significant numbers in Argentina, Mexico, Brazil and Germany. The United States has the most people of Irish descent, while in Australia those of Irish descent are a higher percentage of the population than in any other country outside Ireland. Many Icelanders have Irish and Scottish Gaelic ancestors due to transportation there as slaves by the Vikings during their settlement of Iceland. Irish Travellers are an ethnic people of Ireland. A DNA study found they originally descended from the general Irish population, however, they are now very distinct from it. The emergence of Travellers as a distinct group occurred long before the Great Famine, a genetic analysis shows. The research suggests that Traveller origins may in fact date as far back as 420 years to 1597.

Did You Know?

• The world's highest frequencies of the R-L21 Y-chromosome haplotype and lactase persistence are found among people in Ireland.
• Irish people have the least amount of ancestry from the Anglo-Saxons in the British Isles at around 10%.
• A 2017 genetic study shows that the Irish population can be divided into ten geographic genetic clusters.
• The term 'Black Irish' is sometimes used outside Ireland to refer to Irish people with black hair and dark eyes, but there is little evidence for the Spanish Armada theory.

A Persistent Heritage Identity

Irish ancestry remains one of the most widely claimed family lineages in Canada. In the 2021 census, 12.1 percent of the 36.3 million residents listed Irish among their ethnic or cultural origins, placing it third overall. It trails only the broad "Canadian" identity at 15.6 percent and English heritage at 14.7 percent, and it sits level with Scottish origins at the identical 12.1 percent mark. This standing shows that Irish roots are far from a fading or niche claim; they are a central element of how many Canadians narrate their family history. The identity also nests within the wider European panethnic grouping, which collectively accounts for 52.5 percent of all origin responses. Because 36 percent of respondents reported more than one ethnic origin, a substantial share of those claiming Irish heritage simultaneously identify with French, English, Scottish, or other lineages. The Irish figure therefore represents one layer in a broader ancestral mosaic rather than a standalone, exclusive category.

Roots in the Great Migration

From the first census of independent Canada in 1871 through 1921, Irish ancestry was one of just four origin groups—alongside French, English, and Scottish—that dominated the national ethnic landscape. While the French community expanded almost entirely through natural increase among descendants of 17th- and 18th-century settlers, the three British Isles groups, including the Irish, grew through both natural increase and sustained waves of immigration. This influx, commonly called the Great Migration of Canada, began in the early-to-mid 19th century and continued well into the early 20th century, reaching its peak during the record immigration years of the 1900s and 1910s. The result was a country in which Irish, English, and Scottish lineages formed a substantial share of the population, with Continental European communities growing rapidly behind them. By 1921, the ethnic French plurality had eroded to 27.1 percent, while the combined British Isles presence had become the defining demographic feature of the nation.

The Mechanics of Self-Reported Identity

The Irish figure in Canadian census data is shaped as much by methodology as by demographics. The relevant question asks respondents to name the ethnic or cultural origins of their ancestors, not their own personal identity, meaning a person born in Toronto with great-grandparents from the Irish islands is tallied in the Irish category just as readily as someone with a single Irish grandparent. Because the data rely entirely on self-declaration, the resulting numbers may not map precisely onto biological ancestry. Respondents could list as few as one origin or as many as eight, and the census tallied each listed origin separately, so a person who wrote "French Canadian" was counted once under French and once under Canadian. With 36 percent of all respondents reporting multiple origins, the Irish 12.1 percent figure overlaps with other categories. Statistics Canada itself notes that understanding of the question varied from one respondent to the next, making the Irish count a cultural self-identification rather than a fixed genealogical measurement.

Irish Heritage in a Shifting Demosaic

The enduring prominence of Irish ancestry in Canadian identity exists against a backdrop of rapid demographic transformation. In 2021, 23 percent of the population identified as immigrants—the highest share recorded since the country was formed—and 26.5 percent belonged to a visible minority group, up from under two percent in 1961. The sources of new immigration have shifted dramatically: before the early 1970s, most newcomers came from Europe, the same region that supplied the original Irish, English, and Scottish settlers. Since then, the largest flows have come from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, with India, China, and the Philippines ranking as the top three countries of origin in 2021. Yet the 2020 General Social Survey found that 92 percent of adult Canadians still regard ethnic diversity as a core national value, and projections suggest that by 2041, racialized Canadians will make up 40 percent of the population. Irish heritage, while no longer the dominant narrative it was in the early 20th century, remains a visible thread in this increasingly plural tapestry.