Barry Manilow dismayed at how his Irish roots were denied

Magensmolenyak you are wrong if his father is one hundred percent Irish then he would be half Irish and before you bring in the jewish member on his fathers side of the family, he is more than likely an uncle by marriage and not a blood relative...

Irish or Jew does not matter I never thought that he was much a talent nor would I buy his music.

Those born in Ireland before 1949 have the option to claim British Subject status, not British citizenship.

Goodness. Some of you act like the Irish are the only ones allowed have prejudices. If you’re not Irish you’re not allowed be a bigot is that it? Sad story nonetheless.

jb66ss396 Ireland and the United Kingdom enjoy an excellent relationship today. Carrying on such animosity is pointless. There are 8.5 million Americans who go hungry every day, a far more immediate problem to be solved. That would be more constructive than useless hatred for real or imagined actions of centuries ago. Time to move into the 21st Century as Ireland has.

He's actually slightly confused about his family tree. While he's part-Irish, he's one-quarter, not a half.

Manilow's family have some nerve, they need to look in their own back yard before they're shamed by an Irish man. They are self righteous, dirty, sneaky people.

citizenwhy - totally WRONG. Irish citizens are not automatically brit citizens, total BS. jb66ss396 - spot on. Especially your last sentence.

@ CitizenWhy – EamonnDublin is correct up to a small point to say that you are wrong to say that every Irish citizen is automatically a British citizen. Irish people born before 1949 can apply for a British passport and thus be a British Citizen but those born after that year cannot. Up to 1948, the 26 counties (Éire) was part of the British Commonwealth. In 1949, the 26 counties declared itself a Republic and left the British Commonwealth. However, anyone born in any year in Northern Ireland, though still part of the UK and British Commonwealth, can apply for an Irish passport and is regarded as an Irish citizen by the Govt of the Republic. Next time Mr. Manilow is in Dublin or Belfast, I’d be interested to see, if he sought an Irish passport, how far he would get via his alleged Irish natural father. All the paper proofs would be required as evidence.

There was no benefit to being a Brit citizen. Prior to the "famine" the Bristish, sanctioned by QE 1 took millions of Irish and sold them as slaves for decades. The famine was a rewrite of history which would embarrass the English. What actually happened was England was concerned that Irelands population was at its all time high of 8 million and that the Irish could fight back the English. The English forcibly went into Ireland and stole all means of their food supply including livestock and crops. The potatoe stayed as it was a below ground vegetable. Does anyone think that the Irish lived solely on the potatoe prior to the thievery of the British. The British are actually the biggest terrorist country the world's hisory has ever known including rogue countries like Iran, North Korea. etc...

"CitizenWhy" - When you say that "every Irish citizen is also automatically a British citizen", you are not correct. Éamonn, Dublin, Ireland.

donal1951 .. Perhaps I should not say this here, but every Iroish citizen is also automatically a British ciotizen. This predates the EU, and Irish people who are citizens of Britain enjoy benefits that citizens of other EU countries do not, such as attending British universities at the in-country rate. The universities in the UK are far cheaper than in the US. I have know Americans with Irish citizenship who have gotten degrees at excellent British universities without incurring huge debts.

No wonder he can sing and compose well!!! Tis the Irish in him!

His mother apparently liked Irish truck drivers. What does he mean he had no Irish upbringing. His Irish step father bought him a piano. Who paid for the lessons? Interesting story. He should expand some day.

I wonder if Barry Manilow knows if his father, or his father's parents, were born in Ireland, he is an Irish citizen. I did not know that until I was in my 30s and neither did my father. Since my father was born in Ireland, I was an Irish citizen by birth. I had to prove my father's heritage to the Irish consulate in Washington, D.C., where I was living at the time. They sent me a letter acknowledging my citizenship, and provided me with a passport application. Since then, I keep a valid Irish and a valid USA passports. I doubt the consulates could take the time as they did during the 1980s as the demand for Irish passports has risen greatly and they are much busier. Still, they are always pleasant to deal with.