by Spixxy on September 1st, 2004

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What is the correct term to describe Scottish/Irish people: Scots-Irish or Scotch-Irish?

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Answers. 21 helpful answers below.

by Alatea on October 14th, 2005
Scotch is a drink!

Never refer to a Scot as Scotch.

:-)
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by Freddy Says remove all moderation points on February 15th, 2008
"Scotch" is Whisky, not the people
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- Somebody called me Scotch once. I laughed.
  
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  by Lovehearts on July 6th, 2008
- Some whiskies carry the label "Scots Whisky," which is correct. It's mostly the ones meant for export to America that are labelled "Scotch."
  If I'm asked, I always say I'm 90% Scotch and 10% water.
  
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  by Sandman on September 26th, 2008
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by Captain Birdseye on September 8th, 2005
Scottish and Irish people should be reffered to as either Scottish or Irish, but not both at the same time, as Scotland and Ireland are two completely different countries. Much the same as you couldn't possibly be Canadian- Mexican. I am a proud Scotsman, andhave known a number of Irishmen, all of them living and working in Scotland, and all of them proud Irishmen, with no notion of being Scottish. you may be thinking about the Celts, a loose alliance of tribes that inhabited Ireland and Scotland up to the Middle ages. They had similair religion and languages, and the Celtic tribes of the British mainland banded together on various occasions to repel invaders such as the Vikings and the Roman Empire. as time has gone by, the Scots and Irish have inherited common traits from their Celtic ancestors, like a fiery temperament, ginger hair, and a dislike for all things Anglo- Saxon (English), but they are not the same people, and are very proud to be their own respective nations, so the notion of Scots- Irish doesn't really exist. If you are reffering to people of mixed parentage I think the most accurate term would be either mongrel or half-breed.
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- These days the words mongrel and half-breed have offensive connotations and probably should not be used to describe anyone.
  
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  by mister_c on October 28th, 2005
- Great answer! Although, I try to provide references w/my answers. :0)
  
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  by Answers101 on March 19th, 2006
- Erm - as a proud Irishman I need to clarify one wee thing. The red hair/pale complection/freckles did NOT come from our Celtic ancestry, the Romans were always jealous of the BLOND hair the celts had. The red hair etc was gifted to our gene pools by the Vikings... : )
  
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  by Anonymous on October 30th, 2007
- I'd also like to add that my children are neither mongrels nor half breeds and I find such terminology insulting and to be honest, quite racist, suggesting that we are made up of different 'breeds' when in fact we are all simply people with different loyalties. My children are Scottish-Irish. I am Irish. Their father is Scottish. We spend pretty much equal amounts of time in Scotland and Ireland. They are too young to have their own fixed identity yet, and are entitled to passports from both the Republic and the UK. Until such a time as they feel the need to choose a dominant identity, there is no need for them to be known as anything other than Scottish-Irish. Many people are comfortable with multiple identities and never feel the need to choose.
  
  As mentioned by someone else, Scotch is a drink, Scots-Irish is a historical term relating to those involved in the Plantation of Ulster in the 1600s and their descendants.
  
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  by Priscilla Duck on April 16th, 2009
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by mister_c on September 3rd, 2004
Scottish people should never be referred to as "Scotch". The preferred description is "Scots".

So it follows that the correct term would be "Scots-Irish".
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by Anonymous on September 25th, 2008
Scots-Irish refers to Scottish Presbyterians who were transplanted to Ulster in Northern Ireland to spread Protestantism against Catholicism (since Ireland was always heavily Catholic). This is largely what led to the separation of mainly Protestant N. Ireland from the rest of the island. Many Scots-Irish then immigrated to America, where they largely settled in the Appalachian Mountain regions. Most of the so-called "hillbillies" of the Appalachian hill country are heavily of Scots-Irish descent, especially those living in West Virginia, western Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

In contrast, the lowland areas of the South were settled more heavily by those of English and Welsh ancestry. To this day, you can still see this demographic distinction. Virginia, for example, which is largely more lowland and coastal territory, is still more English in culture and heritage. White Southerners are mostly of old colonial British heritage with a little French, German, and Dutch thrown in (little else except in Louisiana where it's more diverse).

The Scottish and Irish people were already related via their common Celtic roots beforehand. Although two separate ethnicities with their own identities, they share much in common because of the shared Celtic ancestry. Both look very much alike, both love to party and have a good time, and both tend to have that fiery personality that others here have mentioned.
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by EllieL on August 6th, 2007
The correct term! How many will sit and ponder that very question forever. When the answer is sitting right in front of your eyes and your all blind. For all of you that have tried to answer this question to the best of your knowledge, I'm sorry but you, all of you are wrong. I myself am scottish. Both my mother and father were scottish, but my mother was also irish. And to you whom calls me a mongrel, a half breed, I'm sorry all you can see is blood. I am human not cattle or horse, not a half breed. There is no such thing as a half breed when it come to humans. But to fully answer the qquestion scottish and irish are simply celts. Though one has explained what celts are. It was also explained that scottish and irish derive from their ancient celtic ancestories. As if you search for the old ogham you will learn they are one in the same. So you Captain Birdseye, you call yourself a mongrel. For we all derived from the same blood.Two different world, but you must think. Our worlds, our lands, were once all connected to each other. Or do you not embrase your celtic herritage, your born religion, your own blood. You said it yourelf, "the Scots and Irish have inherited common traits from their Celtic ancestors".
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- Excellent answer!
  
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  by anonymous on February 15th, 2008
- An answer, shame about the spelling and grammar though.
  
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  by look closely it is really me on February 15th, 2008
- I don't judge answers on spelling and grammar. There are others who do that, and that is their business. I look for the quality of the answer itself (meaning and intent). Not everyone is a natural at spelling and grammar. It comes easy for some of us, and not for others.
  
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  by anonymous on February 15th, 2008
- It was a comment not a judgement, the thread is comments.
  
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  by look closely it is really me on February 15th, 2008
- Don't take it personally, I understand that. The thread IS comments, and I commented on your comment. I simply feel that the spelling and grammar do not make or break an answer. You felt the need to point it out, for whatever reason. No offense was intended on my part. :)
  
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  by anonymous on February 15th, 2008
- None taken :-)
  
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  by look closely it is really me on February 15th, 2008
- Thanks though, it encouraged me to ask a question regarding this issue! It is not an attack on anyone, I am just interested in how others feel about it! :)
  
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  by anonymous on February 15th, 2008
- Weel, we're a' Jock Tamson's bairns. Or so my grampa never tired of saying.
  I've read, although I don't have the source to hand, that the Celts are not genetically Celtic, but culturally and linguistically so. I've also read that we're descended from the ancient Scythians.
  Both the Scots and the Irish have a heavy dose of Scandinavian, and there's a lot of Spanish blood in Eire. Nonetheless I don't think of myself as half breed or mixed blood. I'm 90% Scots and 10% water.
  
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  by Sandman on September 22nd, 2008
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by hijklmno on January 28th, 2007
Scots-Irish.
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by Oor Galooly - on June 13th, 2008
We're called Tims.
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- I've always heard the Glaswegians called Jimmies.
  That's as distinct from the Edinbuggers.
  
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  by Sandman on September 22nd, 2008
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by pierre on February 15th, 2008
If anything they are Irish/Scots. Scotch is a sweet
Pierre
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by Rockmael on September 16th, 2009
drunk
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by Jacques on September 16th, 2009
People from Scotland are called Scots and those from Ireland are called Irish. They are two different cultural identities. A scotsman or an irishman wouldn't class themselves as irish-scots anymore than an american would classify himself as an amero-canadian. Maybe someone of irish and scottish descent would consider that line of thought, but it seems more genetic than to do with nationality.
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by bigben on January 20th, 2012
depends on the scot your talking too, ive only heard one scottish person complain about being called scotch and the rest ive asked since that said they could nt give a shit but i call them whatever i like just as long as im buying the drinks
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by cynthia.allenmclaglen on January 20th, 2012
The correct term for the Irish and Scots is Gael. The Gaels mutated from the Basques (R1B) which is the gene marker for the Cro Magnon who were the creative people who paited the Lascaux caves in France. People could walk across from Europe to Albion or Briton because there was no sea. Wooly Rhinos and Mammoths gave them plenty of food to eat. Fisermen who dredge bring up masses of bones from the sea from these times.
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by Griffin95 on April 8th, 2010
Highlanders of Europe, nitty gritty badasses, and if the English ever turn on Ol' Blue and White again, we'll just have to ressurect William Wallace...Just kidding, but yeah something like
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by Anonymous on March 22nd, 2010
scotch-irish??

ahahahahahaha!!!
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by pegmbennett on February 22nd, 2007
Scotch is whiskey, not people from Scotland. They should be called "Scot-Irish".

Many Scots from Ireland are also referred to as "Black Irish" by Americans (for their dark hair and light complexion).
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- In general the "Black Irish" come from the Spanish influx of 1588, survivors of the obliteration of the Spanish Armada.
  BTW, the original Keltoi who invaded Eire came from Iberia.
  
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  by Sandman on September 26th, 2008
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by Sandman on September 22nd, 2008
If you're Irish, they're often called "Orange Bastards."
In America they're called "Scotch-Irish," which is a misnomer; they're actually Scots who were transplanted to Ulster by King William in order to drive the Irish out of Ulster.
In Ulster, they call themselves Ulster Scots.

But I should think that Celtic (or Keltic) covers the Scots, Irish, Manx, Bretons, Cornish, and Welsh. Not the Picts, though, if they're not extinct; they were pre-Celtic.
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- There is nothing 'extinct' about the Picts in Scotland, you dimwit. It is that race that gave the so-called Scots the edge over every other race in Europe and was responsible for creating the modern world. The Pictish strain is the only one that sets the Scots apart from all the other mongrels in the British Isles; although what passes as Scottish in Scotland today is largely a mixture of Irish subhumans, English, with a few lesser minorities, and the dregs of what used to be the great Scottish race (ie, those whose ancesters didn't have the brains, talent or guts to get to fuck out of it). Among those with this superior blood are: Sir Issac Newton (who called himself a 'Scotsman' on at least one occasion),Lord Byron, Thomas Edison, and Marconi.
  
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  by DUPRISDBW on January 17th, 2011
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by Shannon on June 10th, 2009
I hate it how most people who don't really know the whole history of Ireland and stereo type the red head or light hair color has being the only Irish people they think are supposed to be the Irish people only and no other hair color darker and that in order to be Irish they think you have to be very pale skin also the light blue eyes. I say this because I have dark black culy hair, I have light to medium skin tone depends on the season, during cold weather I am lighter and during hot weather I get tan, but I am not very pale and I have like yellow hazel eyes with dark green on the outer surface of my eyes. Many years ago, I mean many years ago the real Irish were the dark black hair and hazel eyes and they were not pale, the Scottish migrated into Ireland and they were the light hair skin and eyes. Also a recent RTE program revealed that genetic records show that the *true* Irish Gaels are indeed dark curly haired with complexion varying from season to season. It also concluded that the closest genetic race to Irish is Basque from guess where, the Iberian peninsula. People think I am Greek or Italian, and after I tell them that I am Irish, and then they say OH you don't look Irish at all, I hate it when they say this. I am a very proud Irish woman.
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- Thanks for the description of your physical attributes. Would you like to get better acquainted?
  
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  by Anonymous on March 22nd, 2010
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by Greekgod on June 29th, 2008
Celtic people. Same as the Welsh
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by Anonymous on June 13th, 2008
Famous scots such as Robbie Burns & Walter Scott referred to themselves & fellow scotsmen as scotch, this is not grammatically incorrect. In the original homeland of the scots-irish, Ulster, we prefer to call ourselves Ulster-Scots.
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by infonomics on March 22nd, 2010
Scots-Irish (Ulster Irish) is a neologism of American creation; the Scots and Irish of their respective native homelands known nothing of this term. The term spawned in America because these immigrants basically renounced their origins and considered themselves Americans. Most of the people in the South, especially the Deep South, are of this origin yet they are mostly unaware of this fact because their ancestors eschewed their origin, as previously cited. The most telling evidence of what I claim is supported by the Churches in the South where Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians far exceed any other religious group, such as Catholics or Jews. Most of the American Presidents have been of this origin. The other evidence supporting my claims has been offered by Shannon, who also responded to this question. The Scots-Irish people are pale with light-colored eyes. They are also, literally, thin-skinned. Lastly and regrettably, the Scots-Irish, like the Irish, tend to scratch the bottle far too much.
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What is the correct term to describe Scottish/Irish people: Scots-Irish or Scotch-Irish?

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