A lot of people of Celtic descent have dark hair, pale eyes and pale skin - it's the typical Welsh look, and I understand it's standard in Scotland as well. Black hair is unusual but many and various shades of brown are the norm, from near-black to auburn. The Celtic nations aren't all red-heads and blondes, or even close. While the Celts of history were described as 'tall and blond', we have to remember that the people doing the describing were Romans, and Italians are not normally noted for their height or their paleness.
I have seen another interpretation of 'Black Irish'; some Irish people (including a good friend of mine) have a very Mediterranean skin tone, instead of the paler 'standard', without knowing of any recent Mediterranean ancestry to explain it.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2013-05-10 10:22 am (UTC)I have seen another interpretation of 'Black Irish'; some Irish people (including a good friend of mine) have a very Mediterranean skin tone, instead of the paler 'standard', without knowing of any recent Mediterranean ancestry to explain it.