From IrishCentral.com...
Almost 35 million people currently living in the US claim Irish ancestry, according to the just released figures from the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey for 2010.
But in a controversial move the figures for the numbers of Scotch-Irish are no longer available. The Census Bureau has announced the change.
In a statement they said “While the ancestry tables will all look the same, the interpretation of the"Scotch-Irish" and "Other groups" estimates will change. ….Individuals reporting Irish-Scotch are no longer tabulated as "Scotch-Irish" but rather are included in the "Other groups" category.”
That information could well upset the millions of Americans who are of Scotch-Irish heritage which will no longer now be acknowledged as a separate heritage.
US Senator Jim Webb of Virginia has been an outspoken advocate of the Scotch-Irish and wrote a best selling book called "Born Fighting” about them.
Among the most famous Scotch-Irish are Andrew Jackson, Davy Crockett and President Chester Arthur.
Much of the appeal for Northern Ireland tourism efforts to woo American tourists has been aimed at the Scotch-Irish, primaily in the south. Now it will be far moredifficult to locate them.
It is thought the figure for people of Scots Irish heritage in the USA is widely under-estimated. It is believed a large potion of those who claim their ancestry as just Irish or Scottish are in fact actually of Scots-Irish descent.
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