Jeysas! All this 'Black Irish' stuff again. Born and reared in Ireland, I may have heard of the Black Irish here but I certainly don't remember having done so before surfing the net. As Ard Macha pointed the story of survivors of the Spanish Armada having an influence on the Irish bloodline is just a myth. But people don't like having their myths debunked. As for trading links with Spain - all northwest European countries had Spanish sailors calling at their ports. How come we had no Spanish surnames. The only Spanish derived name I know is De Valera and that came via the USA. We have Gaelic, Viking, Norman, Welsh, Scottish, French, Flemish, Jewish surnames. Did all those lusty Spaniards just have one night stands and pull up anchor leaving the poor hapless colleens in the family way without even knowing the surnames of Juan and Pablo?

Anyway logic will have no effect on this Irish American myth. I've seen it appearing repeatedly on Irish related sites, It's not going to go away.

Let me share a secret. 'Twasn't the Spanish were responsible. It was aliens from the planet Gzob. There are signs of their prehistoric visits all over the landscape if you know where to look.