DM's Beatles forums
Solo forums => George Harrison => Topic started by: larainefan on December 04, 2009, 08:33:41 PM
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Yes, I know he was English, but his ancestry was Irish. Do you think he was Black Irish (dark hair and eyes) as opposed to the blue-eyed, red-haired Irish? If I'm remembering correctly his mom's father was from County Wicklow, and his father's family, several generations back, from County Sligo. Black Irish men are sooooo good-looking!
Also, George's favourite tea was Earl Grey, I read somewhere. Does anyone know how he drank that? Plain, or with milk, lemon, sugar?
These are just random questions on my mind today.
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I was really hoping someone would know the answer to these two questions, that's too bad.
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He wasn't black. Is that a big enough answer? A more ludicrous thread I have never seen.!! 4ac
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Black Irish refers to anyone Irish with dark hair and eyes, as opposed to the Irish with more usual coloring of red hair and blue or green eyes, I believe I stated that in my original post. It has nothing to do with 'being black', it is actually a very common term.
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http://www.ireland-information.com/articles/blackirish.htm (http://www.ireland-information.com/articles/blackirish.htm)
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French Irish.
He wasn't allowed in France.
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He wasn't black. Is that a big enough answer? A more ludicrous thread I have never seen.!! 4ac
The sarcasm wasn't necessary. I've heard of this term before too, "black Irish," and to my understanding it just means dark Irish. Not Moorish or African or the like, but just as Laraine described (dark hair and eyes). I can't say for sure what George was, but I've heard others asking if Paul is black Irish too.
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Don't get the question. It seems black irish is a descriptive term concerning people of Irish descent who have dark features, rather than some ethnic group.
Surely all you need to do is determine if a person is of Irish descent then decide if they have dark features. Surely very simple to determine whether or not he has blue eyes and red hair?
Found this survey: "In a statistical survey of the Irish carried out by..The Division of Anthropology of Harvard University, based on some 10,000 adult males....the hair color of the Irish is predominantly brown. Less than 3% have black or ashen hair; 40% have dark brown hair. Medium brown hues make up another 35%. Persons with blond and light brown hair account for close to 15%, while approximately 10% have auburn or red hair."
Based on the above it would seem that George would be best described as ummmm Ordinary Irish (or in fact Ordinary Western Man), and that some sterepotypical image of most Irish being red haired blue eyed types is a er stereotype.
Unfortunately George seems to have been very very ordinary.
Re the tea - I don't know anyone in England who drinks tea with lemon or without milk.
I would wager that George, being a good northern lad, would take his tea as God and The Queen intended it - with milk and sugar.
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Thanks for the responses everyone.
And also thanks, Kevin, regarding the tea. I've got some Earl Grey and was just wondering how George would have prepared it.
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Maybe after he visited India, he drank his tea with some butter.
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Yes, I know he was English, but his ancestry was Irish. Do you think he was Black Irish (dark hair and eyes) as opposed to the blue-eyed, red-haired Irish? If I'm remembering correctly his mom's father was from County Wicklow, and his father's family, several generations back, from County Sligo. Black Irish men are sooooo good-looking!
Until now, I've only ever heard the term Black Irish being used as a description for dark-haired Irish men with very white skin and blue eyes (or sometimes hazel eyes). By that definition the only Beatle who would qualify as Black Irish would be Paul, although the expression is more often used to describe dark-haired, blue-eyed people because that combination is so rare, but at least Paul's very light skin tone and dark brown hair fits the definiton.
George looks pretty much like a typical dark-haired person to me.
John apparently had a tinge of red in his hair (auburn?) that was much more noticable in real life than in photos and films (though I have no idea how that is supposed to work)
Ringo would totally fit the description but I don't think he has any Irish blood in him.
But I also didn't know that George had Irish ancestors either.
It's kind of fascinating that so many famous English singer/songwriters actually have Irish roots (John, Paul, George, Noel Gallagher, Morrissey,...). Must be all that great Irish folk music and those rebel songs that are somehow running through their veins...
edit: I just realised that the Gallagher brothers could be considered Black Irish, they both have dark hair and blue eyes!
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Thanks for the input Shani, I appreciate it!
I am so fascinated by Irish culture, and you're right, so many people do have Irish backgrounds somewhere in their ancestry.
George's eyes nearly always appeared very brown, but I read somewhere they just photographed that dark, and on one of those Beatles stats cards he had listed his eyes as hazel. So he may have had some green somewhere in there.
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Black does not always mean exactly black.Even me knew that.
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Re the tea - I don't know anyone in England who drinks tea with lemon or without milk.
I would wager that George, being a good northern lad, would take his tea as God and The Queen intended it - with milk and sugar.
I knew that the English took tea with milk. But I didn`t know it embraced the whole nation.
And never lemon? OK, now I know.
And how do you take coffee? With milk or not? And if it is always like that?
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i am black irish on me fudders side....
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Most English people I know take their Earl Grey black, sometimes with lemon. Can't speak for George but that's how it's done in my neck of the woods!! (stains the teapot something chronis). I'm sure I've read or heard that back in the 60's the boys all took their cuppas with milk and probably more than one sugar; that's just how it was back then. I've heard it called workmen's tea or army issue. If anyone's interested, I have a strong brew, with skimmed milk and no sugar (don't even use the same spoon to stirr it, I'll know!). There is a Lady Grey tea as well, which I was partial to for a while but 'normal' tea packs a punch, nothing like it.
Someone's got to say it, guys: Would you care to sit with me for a cup of English tea?
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I'll join you, CubanHeel, I'm drinking tea right now! I always have several cups a day.
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tea is a proven brain builder....it opens the neurons...i forget how it was termed but its helps.... :D
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Yeah, I can't drink coffee too often, it gives me anxiety, but something about tea is just right.
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Oh, on another forum someone just happened to post an interview with George from one of those teen magazines from the '60s, and he'd mentioned he hated tea and coffee without sugar. That answers that!
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There have been a few genetic studies in recent years that suggest that a significant percentage of Irish men share a particular genetic marker with men from the northen coast of Spain. It is suggested that this is the origin of the so-called "Black Irish", many hundreds of years ago. Given that Paul and George have Irish roots, it is a possibility that they are of that heritage.
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I think RickMH is right! As I understand it the survivors from the sunken Spanish Armada washed ashore along the coast of Ireland and were assimilated into the society. Several generations later you have Black Irish as they intermarried and brought they're darker Spanish features. My Irish side always alluded to them as my Dad had black hair.