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Stephen Colbert’s truthiness: we Irish hate the English

DEBBIE MCGOLDRICK,

Irish Voice Senior Editor

Published Wednesday, February 10, 2010, 6:47 AM

Updated Wednesday, February 10, 2010, 8:01 AM

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Colbert and Gates pour over records

Researchers for the Gates show contacted a Dublin historian, who then reached out to Limerick genealogist Tony Browne, who helped unearth Colbert’s great-great grandfather, a native of St. Mary’s parish in Limerick city.

“(They) got in touch with me and asked me to track down a Michael Gearon or Guerin in Limerick. I got on to Father Donough O'Malley and we were able to find him on the parish register," Browne told the Limerick Leader newspaper.

Browne discovered a marriage entry of a Michael Gearon to Johanna Nicholson in January of 1834. The couple had three children and eventually went to America, but Browne said poor record keeping at the time prevented them from discovering when the Gearon family departed.

"I'll have to wait to watch the program to see if they found out what happened, but my guess is that they might have ended up in Canada and walked across the border as you could do back then. Stephen Colbert grew up in Carolina," said Browne.

Gates himself has Irish roots, and discovered during the course of his research that he’s related to talk show host Regis Philbin. "Regis and I are descended from the same Irish king!" he says.

The professor also wouldn’t mind if he was related to another Irish American -- that would be Cambridge police officer Crowley.

"Jim and I have a really good relationship," Gates told USA Today. "I asked him, for fun, to be (DNA) tested. I would be honored to be his cousin."

For a preview of Faces of America, and to check local listings, visit www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica/.

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gumboil | Apr 24, 2013, 03:11 PM EDT

I am always fascinated for the reasons why humans behave as they do and this business of the Irish hating the British or English is very interesting. However the reason is quite simple. Whether you like it or not America and Australia are creations of British Protestantism (you can ignore Catholics or Jews etc) In America Catholics represented the hated enemies of the British colonists..after all France and Spain two huge countries with a total population of about28 million compared to Britains seven million (in 1776( were countries Britain was continuously at war with. Catholic Ireland was regarded with great suspicion and when the Irish began arriving in the new USA they were regarded with great hatred .There were many riots etc between Protestant and Catholic Americans throughout the nineteenth century. Then the Irish had a clever idea. .They began saying to Protestants..Why do you hate us so much? After all you hate the British and fought them and we hate the British and are fighting them so we are really brothers .. This was a clever trick and it has worked but it only works as long as the flame of hatred is kept alive. In recent years things have gone slightly wrong as the Catholic priest scandal has broken and Ireland has become largely bankrupt through bad management and corruption .However recently a new or rather old source of hate has been dug up ..this is the Irish famine.. We must wait ans see how this plays out..

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Londonpride | Feb 17, 2013, 01:00 PM EST

My experience is the Irish like the English.

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TimWalsh12 | Feb 14, 2013, 10:52 AM EST

Not political just personal, English hate us so we hate them. In English culture men have always been cannon fodder, they hate men which includes Irishmen., we can’t exactly have good relations with them if they hate half out population. It’s so deeply embedded in their culture they’re not aware of it themselves (of course until it’s too late when they themselves are attacked by police on a false allegation). They are obsessed with sexually abusing men, if you notice their idea of pretending to be lads is always about making sexual insults to men but they never work up the courage to make sexual jokes to women. They’re just incredibly sly people.

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Thomas84 | Nov 18, 2012, 05:32 PM EST

Its funny how some "Irish" people get very angry when the subject of some peoples dislike of the British comes up. Guess what retards the man is joking, some put your union jack back in the cupboard. Ive lived in England and made many english friends. They are different to us lot but its not a bad thing, they are over all good people. Its the British governments continued child torture and murder around the world that invokes the dislike of any serious Irish person with any self respect. Not the people, the government. However seeing as the majority of the people commenting here seem to be a crowd of d4 tossers i would hope that nobody who actually is from america takes them as any example of what an Irishman or woman actually thinks or stands for.

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KellyDelaney | Jul 12, 2012, 05:18 AM EDT

What an idiot. We don't hate the English, but I despise these plastic paddies who think they have any right to judge. What goes on between us & the UK is our business, certainly nothing to do with an American.

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STEVENSTAR | Apr 14, 2012, 10:53 AM EDT

MORE AMERICAN RUBBISH!! IM IRISH I WAS BORN IN IRELAND AND I LIVE IN IRELAND AND I DO NOT HATE THE ENGLISH !! NOR DO ANY OF MY FAMILY HATE THE ENGLISH...ON THE OTHER HAND I CANNOT STAND AMERICANS TRYING TO BE IRISH. MY PARTNER IS ENGLISH SOME OF MY FAMILY LIVE IN ENGLAND AND OTHER MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY ARE MARRIED TO ENGLISH PEOLE..... WHO IS THIS AMERICAN IDIOT COLBERT ???? ...AS FOR THE AMERICAN IDIOT BELOW WHOP COMMENTED THAT ENGLAND CAUSED MANY OF THE WORLDS PROBLEMS ... MY GOD SUCH AROGANCE AMERICANS HAVE BOMBED AND KILLED AND CAUSED MORE WARS THEN ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD... YOU MAY NOT KNOW THAT MATE BUT THE RETS OF US KNOW OUR WORLD HISTORY !!

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YoungPike | May 10, 2010, 09:45 AM EDT

In my experience, all so-called Irish-Americans are deluded. They are no more Irish than I am. They are Americans, nothing more and nothing less.

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sully1167 | Feb 14, 2010, 04:45 AM EST

Colbert sends a poor message,even in jest. Individuals are evil;not entire races,nationalies,religions,etc.It is the same as some black bigots who blame all white people for slavery.

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kickstar | Feb 11, 2010, 11:01 PM EST

I for one do not hate the English nor anyone else, I cannot stand this attempt to Group us Irish into one mold, If you got ten Irish people in a room you would get ten differing opinions and attitudes,We are not and never where an homogeneous people. I have plenty to be grateful to England for and the English people whom I number many among my friends. I was brought up to take people as I find them I owe much in this regard to my late mother who brought us up so well with a proper Christian outlook and attitude, It has stood me well.

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seanomelbourne | Feb 11, 2010, 07:04 PM EST

Poor "rcdskpr" another narrow minded bigot.

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maxriley | Feb 11, 2010, 04:48 PM EST

COLBERT ONE OF THE FUNNIEST AROUND

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rcrdskpr@aol.com | Feb 10, 2010, 05:28 PM EST

colbert is simply a fool, and gates is a racist masquerading as as educator.

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killowen | Feb 10, 2010, 03:00 PM EST

Its the other way around - the Brits and their Saxon connected brethern have been programmed to hate the Irish from the gitgo. People's whose lands were taken from them and forced to barren regions should be trying to get even. Such folks, then, not going along by not taking the Proddy schilling from their occupier Master to drop their RC beliefs another things that drove them nuts and still does to this very day.

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roseofengland | Feb 10, 2010, 01:52 PM EST

I find it a bit childish really. My mother was French Canadian,rumoured to have been born in America. My father was from Irish stock and married an English woman. I was born, raised and live in England and regard myself as English. I understand we all descended from 5 African ladies back in the mists of time, so we are all related anyway. Hating people for their nationality, religion, colour or ethnicity is pointless.The only person harmed is the hater. It's a small world growing ever smaller. We are all in it together with whatever fate has in store for our planet earth. It's better, more productive and more sensible to hold hands with each other rather than shake fists.

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Sectionhand | Feb 10, 2010, 11:53 AM EST

I'd like to know who , with PBS , hired Gates for this tour de force in geneology . Maybe he's trying to find a connection between slaves imported from Africa in the 17th century and the immigrants from the 18th and 19th century who were generally known as "The Black Irish." If Gates isn't a damned liar ... then he's at least disingenuos !

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