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I had always been told that the term "Black Irish" describes people who were descended from survivors of the disastrous Spanish Armada, who ended up stranded in Ireland.

However, I have been doing a little research this morning and there is some reason to believe that this is a myth that the English used to demonize the Irish, since the Spanish were considered enemies for so many years.

I also found out that there are people who are called the "Black Dutch" who are believed to have descended from Sephardic Jews who fled to Holland during the Inquisition.

Interestingly, Celts in France also show the same two types...darker-haired "black" types as well as the red-haired, green-eyed variety.

This does not contribute greatly to the origin of the Stone of Scone, but does indicate that using physical characteristics is not really proof of anything.

Has anyone ever taken a small sample of the stone to see where the rock originated? I would imagine that a piece of sandstone could be traced back to its country of origin, given the geological records that are now on computer.

"Has anyone ever taken a small sample of the stone to see where the rock originated? I would imagine that a piece of sandstone could be traced back to its country of origin, given the geological records that are now on computer."

Yup, that seems so simple. My guess is that it has been done already and someone did not like the result...that's why we don't know that result, huh?

"I had always been told that the term "Black Irish" describes people who were descended from survivors of the disastrous Spanish Armada, who ended up stranded in Ireland."

Maybe, I've read in a couple different places that the term 'black Irish' was used prior to that time. I've even read one guy who thinks that the term relates to a tribe of 'Bushmen' who were in Ireland in prehistory. The same guy speculates that these same folks were the source of the myth of Leprechauns...and, the Bushmen do have some traits and habits that are similar to the myths of the Leprechauns. Who knows?

With regard to the effect of shipwrecked Spanish sailors on the Irish population, several facts must be remembered. First, many Irishman hunted down the survivors and either killed them or turned them over to the English, according to the historical record. Second, many of Spain's sailors came from Galicia in northwest Spain, an area inhabited by Celtic kinsmen of the Irish. Galicians are as a rule fairer in hair and eye color and complection than other Spaniards. Any Galician survivors of the Armada ships would not have been too different in appearance from the native Irish. Third, there were only a few hundred survivors of the Armada. Even if none were killed upon landing, their cumulative effect on a nation that had over a million people would have been negligible.

The "Black Irish" and the brunet populations in Britain cannot be explained by an event in the 16th Century that had minimal effect on the Irish gene pool and none on the British. Travellers from the Meditteranean in prehistoric, ancient, and medieval times and pre-Celtic and pre-Germanic inhabitants of the British Isles are more likely the reason for the dark appearance of a few English, some Scots and Irish, and many Welsh.