With Paddy’s Day almost upon us, we’ve decided to celebrate that most Irish of institutions. No, not leprechauns or Guinness – it is, of course, the mighty redhead.
Red hair is synonymous with Ireland. Globally, just one to two percent of people are redheads but in Ireland, it’s ten percent. You could be forgiven for thinking red hair originated here, but where or when the ginger gene evolved is still a mystery. One theory puts it in the Middle East when humans lived as hunter gatherers. Some scientists even think it may have come from Neanderthals.
We do know that when early humans migrated north into Russia, the Balkans, and Central and Western Europe, they brought the redhead gene with them. In these cooler climes, the paler skin tones that are linked with red hair gave people an evolutionary advantage. Paler skin converts sunlight to Vitamin D more easily, so the redhead gene survived and was passed on.
Celtic Redheads
So why do people associate redheads with Ireland? Well, red hair has been associated with Celtic people since the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans, who actually referred to Celts as redheads. Here’s a nice map from Eupedia, the online encyclopedia of all things European, showing how the distribution of people with red hair matches the ancient Celtic world very well.
Celtic tribes in Southern England and Mainland Europe had more chances to marry outside their own tribe and dilute their genes. But the Irish and Scottish were on the outpost of Europe. Even the intrepid Romans never made it to us. So, there was more shagging of distant cousins and less dilution of genes.
Why The Redhead Racism?
Redheads are stereotyped as having fiery tempers and being less attractive. In fact, they’re generally slagged off for no good reason. We all remember the poor ginger kids in school, given hell because of their hair colour. Perhaps you were that kid. If so, let us know in the comments section what growing up with red hair was like for you.
Why are those beautiful red locks the source of such hatred? It could come down to simple psychology and our capacity as humans to demonize anyone who differs from the majority. After all, redheads are a conspicuous minority!
Or, the answer could lie in the conflict between tribal peoples in the ancient worlds. When the Romans were expanding their empire, who did they attack? Those damned redheaded Celts of course.
The Romans considered the Celts uncivilized and violent (in fairness, you would be be too if some invader was trying to take over your corner of the world). And where do our accounts of this phase in history come from? The Romans, of course – they were the ones busily writing everything down while the Celts were passing on knowledge orally.
Vikings, another class of people not known for their peace-loving attitude, were also associated with red hair. And in biblical times, Judas (betrayer of Jesus) was often portrayed as having red hair. It seems like the poor redheads were the scapegoats of the ancient world.
Hold That Redhead Up High… And Wear Green
Fortunately, red hair is becoming something to celebrate in these enlightened days, with lots of famous redheads doing their bit for the cause. Take a bow Julianne Moore, Isla Fisher, Nicole Kidman, Ed Sheerhan, Benedict Cumberbatch (yes, we were surprised too) and Michael Fassbender.
And it’s not just the natural redheads. Plenty of A-listers have dyed their locks to get in on the act. We’re thinking of you Emma Stone, Sophie Turner (Game of Throne’s Saskia), Rihanna and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men).
There are many redhead festivals around the world but surprisingly, none in Ireland. Sadly, the Irish Redhead Convention hasn’t run since 2016 due to lack of sponsorship. Perhaps a generous Irish redhead might put this situation to rights in the near future. But we do at least celebrate our own with a National Redhead Day on November 5th and last year, redheads could even avail of free whiskey on their special day.
There are plenty of other redhead conventions further afield so if you’re one of the gang, perhaps it’s time to start planning a weekend with your tribe – once it’s safe to travel again, of course. There’s Redhead Day UK, the Festival des Ch’tis Roux in France, Redhead Days in The Netherlands, Rossitalia in Milan and Redhead Sicily. And in New York, the wonderfully named Night of the Walking Red takes place each October.
And of course, for Paddy’s Day redheads can dazzle us all by looking fantastic in green – but if you’re a redhead you already knew that!
