Sometimes people have mixed ethnicity;
Scots-Italian, Asian-Scots, Polish-Irish, Irish-English and Irish-Scottish-Italian are some of those common in Scotland: a
multi-cultural country because, particularly since the mid 19th century, it has become home to numerous peoples’ that
originate from other countries: the Irish, particularly from 1845, the Lithuanians at the end of the 19th and beginning of
the 20th centuries, the Italians likewise, the Chinese after the Second World War and similarly people from Pakistan, India,
and more recently Poland. There are hundreds of thousands of English born people in Scotland too.
For different reasons many of Scotland’s
immigrants have endeavoured to assimilate and conform to wider social, cultural and symbolic ‘norms’ (as sometimes
they do in other countries). This in often an attempt to be tolerated and accepted in the face of disadvantage and prejudice:
in this case sometimes people hide or disguise their ethnic origins (religion, surnames, culture, etc) so as to be seen as
authentically Scottish or British. Others integrate into Scottish and British societies while retaining features and practices
associated with their ethnic heritage and background: sometimes evident via choice of music, food, cultural habits, pubs visited,
songs, sport, preference regarding holiday destination, their religion and of course in their surnames and forenames which
are often obvious markers of ethnic and cultural distinctiveness.
With regards those from an Irish background
that make up Scotland’s largest ethnic minority community, many are proud of their Irish heritage and expressions of
this emerge in the use of Irish forenames, enjoying Irish dance, playing and liking Irish music and singing Irish songs, supporting
Gaelic sport, visiting Ireland, political and cultural interests, reading Irish newspapers and magazines, listening to Irish
radio, participating in St Patrick’s Day celebrations, and supporting Celtic Football Club, an institution founded within
and largely championed by Scotland’s historic Irish community.
Brian Warfield Wolfe Tones 2011
