Anglo-Celtic people are those descended primarily from the peoples of theBritish Isles: theEnglish,Irish,Scottish, andWelsh.[1][2] The concept is mainly relevant outside of England, Ireland, Scotland andWales, particularly in Australia; however, it is also used in Canada, the United States, New Zealand andSouth Africa, where a significantdiaspora is located.
The term is a combination of thecombining formAnglo- and the adjectiveCeltic.Anglo-, meaningEnglish[3] is derived from theAngles, aGermanic people who settled in Britain (mainly in what is now England) in the middle of thefirst millennium. The nameEngland (Old English:Engla land orÆngla land) originates from these people.[4]Celtic,[5] in this context, refers to the people of Ireland, Scotland,Wales,Brittany, theIsle of Man andCornwall.
Recorded usage dates as far back to at least the mid-19th century. A newspaper of the name,The Anglo-Celt (pronounced in this case as 'Anglo-Selt'[citation needed]), was founded inCounty Cavan in Ireland in 1846. In an 1869 publication, the term was contrasted withAnglo-Saxon as a more appropriate term for people of English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh descent worldwide:
"Anglo-Saxon," as applied to the modern British people, and Britannic race, I believe every impartial scholar will agree with me in thinking a gross misnomer. For if it can be shown that there is a large Celtic element even in the population of England itself, still more unquestionable is this, not only with regard to the populations theBritish Isles generally, but also with reference to the English-speaking peoples of America and Australasia. Even the English are rather Anglo-Celts than Anglo-Saxons, and still more certainly is Anglo-Celtic a more accurate term than Anglo-Saxon, not only for that British nationality which includes the Scots, the Irish and the Welsh; but also for that Britannic race, chief elements in the formation of which have been Welsh, Scottish and Irish immigrants.[6]
In Australia, views are mixed about use of the term. Some scholars say it has been encouraged by those of Irish Catholic ancestry as acknowledgement of inclusion in a coreAnglo-Celtic Australian identity.[7] Others say it is misleading and a distortion of historic discrimination against an underclass.[8][9]
The term lends itself to the termAnglo-Celtic Isles, an alternative term for theBritish Isles.[10] Use in this term can be seen in a 1914Irish unionist ballad:
The United Anglo-Celtic Isles
Will e'er be blessed by Freedoms smiles
No tyrant can our homes subdue
While Britons to the Celts are true.
The false may clamour to betray
The brave will still uphold our sway
The triple-sacred flag as yet
Supreme, its sun shall never set
— Southern Unionist Ballad (Ennis Unionist, 1914)[citation needed]
/ˈaŋgləʊ/ combiningForm English: anglophone; of English origin: Anglo-Saxon; English and ...: Anglo-Latin; British and ...: Anglo-Indian Origin: modern Latin, from Latin Anglus 'English'
/kɛlt, sɛlt/ noun a native of any of the modern nations or regions in which Celtic languages are (or were until recently) spoken; a person of Irish, Scottish, Manx, Welsh or Cornish descent.
One commonly suggested alternative [tothe British Isles] is the "Anglo-Celtic Isles". The "Anglo" and "Celtic" parts are usually understood to be separate from each other. This is a hairsplitting distinction. In practice it would be easy to argue that if Ireland, Mann and Great Britain are Anglo-Celtic Isles their peoples must be Anglo-Celts. This is just another way of saying they are British. The obvious answer is to choose a neutral geographical term that can be understood world-wide as referring to these islands. That rules out vague terms like the 'Atlantic Isles' or the 'European Isles'. The 'North Atlantic Isles' sounds like Newfoundland or Greenland to North American ears, and the 'North Europe Isles' excludes Iceland. We are drawn inevitable to the 'West European Isles' as the simple statement of geographical fact. This is why I believe there is no co-incidence that the Irish and the Manx choose it.