[Forward the Light Brigade]

Black Irish Take note! The name Cruise is a corruption of the Spanish name Cruz. When the Spanish washed ashore, the Irish discovered A) They were devout Roman Catholics, and B) they hated the English. Needless to say they became good friends.

[OldNewYork]

That's not really true, generally. Though it's a good story. I don't know about the Cruise part. Many perished in the wreckage, and most of the survivors were killed by the Irish, as being part of the British Empire at the time they were also at war with Spain. In many cases, the men were massacred shortly after landfall, and the noblemen were ransomed.

Black Irish aren't descended from the Spanish; it's just a description of their black hair, attributed to the pre-Celtic people of Ireland (and Britain). It's a translation from Irish Gaelic: fear dubh is literally 'black man', which is how a man with black hair is described. Someone we would actually call a Black man in English is called fear gorm in Gaelic. Many Spanish have light brown or blond hair as well. Chuck Woollery referred to himself as Black Irish, and if you want other examples, think Matt Dillon, or Kevin Dillon on Entourage.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Well, the Spanish did have a certain influence in Ireland, or this would not be one of their favorite old folk songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHOyPLSVam4

[infowarrior]

Black Irish Take note! The name Cruise is a corruption of the Spanish name Cruz. When the Spanish washed ashore, the Irish discovered A) They were devout Roman Catholics, and B) they hated the English. Needless to say they became good friends.

Rather simplistic way of looking at it, since Irish Mercantile fleets had been trading in Spain for a long time before the Armada set sail. The native Irish knew before the survivors struggled ashore that these were fellow Catholics, and were in opposition to the Tudors, who at that particular time were increasing the English crown's control over the isle, which had long lapsed.

The claim of control had been originally established by William the Conqueror, but by the 15th century, the descendants of the knights he had established to rule over the isle had largely 'gone native' and were virtually indistinguishable from the rest of the Irish. These families would be the Fitzgeralds (fils Gerald), Burke (de Burgo), and other 'clans' which would bedevil Henry VII, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth during their reigns. They fought as fiercely against the Tudors as Hugh Ui' Domnhail, Hugh Ui' Niall, and Feach Mac Hugh Ui' Byrne did, starting with the Fitzgeralds in Desmond, in the mid-15th century. That entire period of Irish history, like many others of that land, had a real interesting cast of characters...

the infowarrior