African Americans inspired by Obama tracing their Irish roots in greater numbers

Its a wonderful thing to be able to trace one's family tree and embrace all of one's ancestors. I wonder what my ancestors would think looking down at me now LOL - "damn! we created a monster" (Ed. comment: A cute one)!!

" It's a wise man that knows his own father"

You guys might be right: Col. Gaddafi could well have Irish ancestry: Gaffey is a common name in Ireland. Gaffey-Ghaddafi. What's the difference? ;-)

It's funny: when Alex Haley wrote "Roots" in 1976, he probably did not anticipate an increase in African Americans' interest in their Irish ancestors. It makes sense, of course, that many Americans have diverse ancestry.

With an Irish passport.

@Kilsally-Would you believe I was going to come back here and type that in.Kidnapped and enslaved he was and brought to Ireland.He's Welsh.

antoman - didnt the `Irish` kidnap `Saint Patrick` from Wales or Scotland (Roman Briton anyhow) to be a slave?

Obama also claimed British heritage in his speech today on his mothers side.

jacersagain,Early explorers of America reported discovering a tribe of Indians whose hair was red in colour.I'm not going to suggest St.Brendan raped a tribe of Native American Indians but rather he was welcomed and had a damn good time.I don't know where Gaddafi got his skin from but it looks like it was hastily assembled and a botched job done of stapling it to his skull.Ghaddafi's personel bodyguard/warriors are all women and reportedly to enter into his service they must sleep with the man.But enough about Ghaddafi I don't want to endanger our oil supply.Coastal raiding has gone on for centuries would Dublin exist were it not for the vikings?

antoman, you of the Cork county – what about the raids made by the slave seekers of Nth Africa who raided Ireland’s southern shores, ripped the heart out many an Irish village and bred out of their captives into their own cultures? Where d’ye think that Libyan, Mr. Ghaddafi, got his fair skin from? Why do you think Ghaddafi favoured supporting the Irish republican cause? Why do you think many present-day Nth Africans feel at home in Ireland (says I, with a side-eye on GeorgeDillon). Who raped and pillaged who?

The rape sheds of Virginia.The English after forcefully removing the Irish to their plantations in America saw how we burned under the sun.So they put Irish women in sheds with black men so that the offspring would not burn while working the fields.The women gave to the children their surname.It comes as no surprise to me therefore that there are many black people in America of Irish ancestry.