Irish people in Great Britain

This article is about Irish people in Great Britain, regardless of race or ethnicity. For the United Kingdom census classification, see White Irish.
Irish people in Great Britain
Distribution of those who identify as "White Irish" in the 2011 census by local authority.
Total population
  • 6,000,000 with at least 25% recent Irish ancestry[1]
    (10% of the British population)
Regions with significant populations
Throughout Great Britain, especially Glasgow, London, West Midlands (Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Solihull), North West England (Liverpool, Birkenhead, Salford, Bootle, Manchester, Stockport, Bolton, Chester, Barrow-in-Furness, St. Helens, Whitehaven, Cleator Moor, Heywood, Rochdale, Runcorn, Widnes, Ellesmere Port, Skelmersdale), West Yorkshire (Bradford, Keighley, Dewsbury, Batley, Huddersfield), North East England (Newcastle Upon Tyne, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Jarrow, Gateshead, South Shields), Swansea, Luton, Portsmouth, Coatbridge, Edinburgh and Dundee
Languages
British English · Hiberno-English · Irish · Shelta · Scots (including Ulster-Scots) ·
Religion
Christianity
Roman Catholic (majority), Protestant (minority)
Related ethnic groups
Irish people, Overseas Irish, Irish-Americans, Irish Australians, Irish New Zealanders, Ulster-Scots
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Irish people in Great Britain or British Irish are immigrants from the island of Ireland living in Great Britain as well as their British-born descendants.

Irish migration to Great Britain has occurred from the earliest recorded history to the present. There has been a continuous movement of people between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain due to their proximity. This tide has ebbed and flowed in response to politics, economics and social conditions of both places.

Today, millions of residents of Great Britain are either from Ireland or are entitled to an Irish passport due to having a parent or grandparent who was born in Ireland.[1]It is estimated that as many as six million people living in the UK have at least one Irish grandparent (around 10% of the UK population).[2]

The Irish diaspora (Irish: Diaspóra na nGael) refers to Irish people and their descendants who live outside Ireland. This article refers to those who reside in Great Britain, the largest island and principal territory of the United Kingdom.

  1. ^ W.M. Walker, "Irish Immigrants in Scotland: Their Priests, Politics and Parochial Life." Historical Journal 15#4 (1972): 649-67. online.
  2. ^ Bowcott, Owen (13 September 2006). "More Britons applying for Irish passports". Theguardian.com.