Irish slaves myth

The Irish slaves myth is a conspiracy theory that says Irish slaves existed in 17th-century North America before the arrival of African slaves. 









Origin

The myth first appeared in To Hell Or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland, a book written by Irish journalist Seán O'Callaghan (1918 – 2000) and published by The O'Brien Press in Dublin, Ireland. Since 2013, the myth has been popularized by Neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers in both Ireland and the United States.

Reception

Scholars have widely condemned this myth as a far-right conspiracy theory that downplays African Americans' suffering throughout American history. African Americans were enslaved until 1865; they were segregated until 1965; and they continue to experience systematic, institutional racism. 





Even though O'Callaghan's book promoted the widely condemned, far-right "Irish slaves" myth, it is still sold at the Sinn Féin Bookshop run by the Irish nationalist Sinn Féin party.*

Related pages

 Racism
 Afrophobia
 The Troubles
 Disinformation
 Historical revisionism

References

Category:Racism
Category:Ireland
Category:United States
Category:Disinformation
Category:Conspiracy theories
Category:History of the United States
Category:21st century in the United States