Cobh Forum: Telling others of you Irish ancestry

Just say that you have Irish ancestors. Say that you are proud of them and are back home to research them.

You will be welcomed.

Yes I really don't understand it when an American person says that they are 'Irish' either. I completely understand if you have Irish ancestors and want to look them up, but I've met quite a few Americans who seem to think that it's an amazingly great thing to have an Irish ancestor and that somehow it gives you automatic entry to some sort of Irish brethern club which only seems to exist in the heads of American people! So maybe when your friend said not to say that you are 'Irish' when you come to visit Ireland, what he probably meant is that you probably won't get the joyous response that you were hoping for but will probably get more of a 'I really don't care' response instead.

Thats not wanting to throw water on your fire, like somebody else said you can get lots of help with finding your ancestors but nobody here is going to be very excited at the fact that you're 'Irish' and is more likely to be thinking 'oh no not another one!'.

What you are told is rubbish. If you have irish ancestry and are proud of it there is nothing wrong in referring to it in the land of your ancestors. For those who cannot understand why american people want so much to identify with the country of their ancestry, it is because it is an ingrained part of their family history which often only goes back two or three generations in the US.

i think you friend may have been thinking of people (usually American's) that shout from the rooftops when they get here that their Great Great Granny once removed had a husband, who had a great grreat grandfather who had lived in Ireland, and they expect people to fall at their feet and praise them - more likely they will just get a "throw your eyes up to heaven" gesture.

No harm in saying that you have Irish ancesters and you want to do some reasearch - lots of people do that and get all the help they need, as long as you don't come over saying you own the town, and you are more Irish than the people living there.

Somebody finally get's it!! Thank You Irish Rover. I wonder if the other two posters need a little bit of a history lesson?? The United states is only 6oo years old. 1492 to be is excat when this country was discovered. It wasn't till then did we start receiving immigrants from Europe. We didn't even become a nation until the late 1700's. When we got the influx of Irish, British, and Italians it wasn't for a hundred years after that. So you see some of us aren't far removed from there heritage no mater what European country they are from. Americans of Irish decent are proud of there heritage for that was instilled in them from birth. There grand-parents, or great grand parents that came over to America from Ireland were proud people, for they even swept the streets in Ireland in shirts and ties. No matter how poor. These great people came to our land to prosper, for your land was devastated. They found wealth and happiness in a demoracy that afforded them the opportunity, yet they never let go of their roots nor did they let us forget about the old country. Yes we are Americans, and proud of that too, but thanks to our ancestors we will never forget where we came from. I guess that's why Americans of Irish decent will never let go and come to Ireland to find the original Murphy's or Callan's or McKeon's. When I take my trip I'll be stopping in Keshcarrigan Co Letrim for I already know where my ancestary is from. I don't have to tell anyone I'm Irish.

During our visit in 2006, when we were asked what made us choose Ireland the answer was easy - my Grandfather came from Galway. Once I mentioned that, any "walls" that may have been there quickly tumbled away. Quite a few times I heard "you can be an Irish citizen" to which I replied - I already am! So, yes I am Irish and proud of it and will shout it from the rooftops! :-)

I have the opposite problem.....I'm fourth-generation Irish-American, but when I visit Ireland, I am usually taken for a native! Starting from when I get off the plane, and am told that I'm standing in the wrong customs line (non-EU)....

This is a funny topic I actually have some experience with. I visited Ireland a while back when I was in the US Navy. This was a huge treat for me as I grew up in a "proud to be" Irish family, both sides complete with surnames. When I got there I definitely shouted from the roof tops my Irish ancestry (turns out between 3-5 generations past). So there I was in the pub telling everyone that could hear me that I was Irish...sure son, have another pint:)

No one was ever rude to me and it seemed at first the locals were amused with my proclamation. It then dawned on me that I wasn't the first Irish American to visit Ireland and surely wont be the last.

I had an amazing time in Ireland and it didn't have anything to do with my ancestors.

That’s it exactly my family tree is very short.. I am only the 3rd or 4th generation born in America, and you are right, it is an ingrained part of my family history.