Another Irish-American here. My paternal grandfather was off the boat as were both sets of my mom's grandparents. As far as I know I am 100% Irish by ethnicity but I may have a little Scottish blood also.
That means I've got a Black Irish side too? Interesting, I never heard of that expression when in Ireland
That's because the story about some of the Spanish Armada wrecking/landing in Ireland and the surviving Spaniards/Moors marrying some pretty colleens is an American invention. As I understand it, nothing like that happened and the reason there are people of Irish descent with dark hair and skin that acutally tans (as opposed to burning or freckling) is just some odd matter of genetics. It's a great story though.
Also, the idea that Irish people are all red-haired, green-eyed and freckled isn't entirely true either. Most Irish people I've ever met have either had honey blonde, reddish brown or (more rarely) very dark/black hair (like myself) and almost all of them (in my family, friends, acquaintances) have had blue eyes. I am one of the few Irish people I know with green eyes. Brown eyes are also rarer among Irish people but not as rare as green.
(It's important to point out right here that redheads and green-eyed people are both rare so the real question is whether Irish people are more likely to have either of these traits than the average, non-Irish, white person -- 5% of the Irish population vs. 2% of the non-Irish population for example.)
The freckles on the other hand is closer to the truth. We Irish seem to come in about 3 shades, freckled, ghostly pale (me) or ruddy.
-- Birdie (who knows way too much about this)
