Am I white Irish?

@notsosoftanymore only if she wants to be and applies

I can't believe White Irish is indicated as a tickbox

@BacklogBritain because it should be Caucasian, surely? Seems more segregated than diverse to me.

So all Hispanics are white? So Zoe Zaldana, TessaThompson, Roxie Perez, Rosario Dawson, Gina Torres and Cardi B are all white people now then?

I’ll think you’ll fine Hispanic/Latinos/Latina’s come in a range of colours from Christina Aguilira and Cameron Diaz to Colman Domingo who’s darker than many black people.

Are there tick boxes for Black Nigerian and Black Ghanaian? Or is it just Black African?

You are whatever you think you are. It is your choice to decide how you identify. As I explained to the teacher who questioned me about my heritage as he didn't agree with the box I'd completed on the school's monitoring form.

Listen Op, more importantly do you believe that Flat 7up is a cure for all ills. If the answer is yes then you are white Irish

Questionnaire’s about asking about your ethnic or minority status are used to identify whether certain groups experience poor service or outcomes. They are usually used by employers in recruitment and public service providers.

Irish people experienced discrimination and poor outcomes in Britain for many generations and can still do. Generally this is worse for the first generation or migrant population. For example housing, health and schooling in migrant hubs is often poor quality.

Bigots are often not above just looking at someone’s name and concluding their background. A lot of bigots don’t like Irish people any more than Eastern Europeans or people of colour.

There has been lots of data to demonstrate discrimination against Irish people in Britain.

I would say yes but it’s up to you to decide.
I’m also dual National but born in Ireland, but I would say Northern Irish, Irish or British depending on the circumstances and I use whichever passport is handiest at the time. Generally the Irish one unless it’s something to do with U.K. officialdom.

I would say its handy having 2 passports! Particularly if they’re a few years apart in renewal as you always have one in date…

You can of course identify as white Irish. That is your heritage. I’m Irish myself.

I’ve always felt they need to revamp how to do those forms. The language can feel really archaic on them. my husband isn’t Irish although he has citizenship and gets to pick the box “White Other”. We get a good laugh out of it!

You're absolutely white Irish.

You just happened to be born in Britain.

British is either Yes or No. It's not your ethnicity.
White is subjective

I am British. My father was Indian (Mother British).
I am white, two of my 4 siblings are brown.

When asked my ethnicity I select Mixed white and asian.
When asked my nationality I say British.

On your form, me and 2 of my siblings (the white ones) could tick White British. The other 2 should not tick White. What would they choose? I guess they have been subjected to more racism than us white ones.

Surely they should be asking for what ethnicity you identify as, and a different question asks about their nationality and right to work in the UK?

In answer to your question OP, you can say you are white Irish or white British.

That's very interesting. I am Scottish but live in England and when I fill them in there is usually white British, white Irish and white other. No white Scottish option.

I always thought it was looking for an ethnicity- based answer, but (come to think of it) it confuses nationality and ethnicity otherwise surely the only option for all white people would be Caucasian?

I must ask my husband what he puts, he was born and brought up in the U.K. but his father is from a Scandinavian country.

@SmallNuts what did you put on last years census?

This is where the whole question of nationality falls down. If the OP is legitimately "Irish" despite being born in England and living there, then by extension a first generation immigrant to Britain cannot be British, using the same logic.

I don't have the answer, just wondering what the rules are. It seems to be the case that you can just decide for yourself what nationality you are - which would be fine, except of course that's not how it works either - I can't just decide to be French because I've probably got some Norman blood in me.

Personally I'd say the OP should just put "British" as their nationality, after all the island of Ireland is part of the British Isles (the term includes the UK, Ireland and Isle of Man).

Yeh I found this strange too. I lived in the uk and had English as a first language. There was no box for white - French.
People can tick what box they want but I was annoyed (not violated!!!) that there was a box specifically for white -Irish.

Weird.

No the "logic" doesn't apply.

The OP can choose either British or Irish depending on their passport.

Their ethnicity with 2 Irish parents is certainly Irish but if they hold a British passport they can put British.

And NO, the Republican of Ireland, while being part of what is by some anomaly still called the British Isles, is NOT British.

@xJ0y

I'm Irish living in the UK for many years and I can assure you on the census there's a White Irish tick box.

You can put what you want! It’s however you consider yourself I think once it gets down to definitions within “white” “black” “Asian” etc.

I consider myself British for nationality background (as I’m a mix of English, Welsh and Scottish ancestry, and from abroad) rather than English, when this is asked, even though I live in England and sound English. I don’t identify with “English” at all, but British I do.

Then if it says ethnicity within white I’m British and Italian or British and European (depending on the way it’s phrased.
).

You can be both British and Irish just as you could be both British and Swedish, or whatever else. It’s not one or the other.

I also find it strange that in US, Hispanics aren't counted as white when they are actually white/ just more tanned/more olive than Northern Europeans. Ethnicity rarely makes sense.

you're confusing Hispanic with Spanish. Spanish people are (usually) white, Hispanic people are usually a mix of indigenous South American (not white) and Spanish or Italian settlers (white). Consider two famous Argentinians Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. The majority of Messi's DNA would be white European. But then consider Diego Maradona, an Argentinian whose ethnic background would appear to have contained a lot of indigenous Argentinian DNA.

Or look at Brazil. Pele and then the supermodel Gisele. Both Hispanic but they're certainly not both white.

Personally I'd say the OP should just put "British" as their nationality, after all the island of Ireland is part of the British Isles (the term includes the UK, Ireland and Isle of Man).

I can't believe that some people still think the above, it's an insult to Irish people. The Republic of Ireland is an independent country and has been since 1921, it is also a member of the EU.