[Salamander]

The “Black Irish” are the original Celtic stock that inhabited the island long before various invaders came along and intermingled with them.

Before the Viking invasions, red heads were virtually unknown and redheads were considered “unlucky” because it meant that the child’s ancestors had been impregnated by the invading Nords.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Irish

[leilani]

Yeah, I was just being snarky - although the term is rather more loosely used today than the definition you give. Still, now it would seem it's much more loosely used than anyone would have ever imagined before Nov 2008.

You mentioned redheads: even in the middle east, every once in a while you'll see a redhead and the explanation you hear over there is that they're descendants of the Crusaders.