British People of Irish Descent

British People Of Irish Descent

Irish people in Great Britain are members of the Irish diaspora who reside in Great Britain, the largest island and principal territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Irish have a long history in Great Britain, owing to the close proximity of the islands of Ireland and Great Britain, and the various political entities that have ruled them. Ireland was a feudal Lordship of the Kings of England between 1171 and 1541; a Kingdom in personal union with the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Great Britain between 1542 and 1801; and politically united with Great Britain as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland between 1801 and 1922. Today, Ireland is divided between the independent Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of, and is administered by, the UK.

Today, millions of residents of Great Britain are either from the island of Ireland or have Irish ancestry. It is estimated that as many as six million people living in the UK have an Irish grandparent.

Read more about British People Of Irish Descent:  History, Medieval Era, Early Modern Times, 19th Century Onwards, Terminology, 2001 Census, Places With Significant Irish Population, Culture and Influence, Notable Britons With Irish Ancestry

Famous quotes containing the words british, people, irish and/or descent:

    “Quite frankly, if you bed people of belowstairs class, they go to the papers.”
    —Jane Clark, British millionaire politician’s wife. As quoted in Newsweek magazine, p. 15 (June 13, 1994)

    “What it comes down to is this: the grocer, the butcher, the baker, the merchant, the landlord, the druggist, the liquor dealer, the policeman, the doctor, the city father and the politician—these are the people who make money out of prostitution, these are the real reapers of the wages of sin.”
    —Polly Adler (1900–1962)

    “I was the rector’s son, born to the anglican order,
    Banned for ever from the candles of the Irish poor;
    The Chichesters knelt in marble at the end of a transept
    With ruffs about their necks, their portion sure.”
    —Louis MacNeice (1907–1963)

    “Genealogy. An account of one’s descent from an ancestor who did not particularly care to trace his own.”
    —Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)