An Irish Indian is an Indian citizen who is fully or partially of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

descent, who is aware of such ancestry and remains connected, to some degree, to Irish culture and also can be an

-born person who is of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

origin. As per article 366(2) of the

Indian Constitution The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

, an Irish Indian can be categorized as an Anglo-Indian.

History

Irish people were known to have traveled to India from at least the days of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...

. While most of the early Irish came as traders, some also came as soldiers. Prominent among them were the generals

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

who later became

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...

and his brother,

Lord Charles Wellesley Major-General Lord Charles Wellesley (16 January 1808 – 9 October 1858, Apsley House) was a British politician, soldier and courtier. He was the second son of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and Catherine Pakenham. He was educated at ...

, both of whom were from the Protestant

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

landowning class. During the 19th century, a number of missionaries and educationists were involved in setting-up educational, healthcare and other institutions in India. Later in the 19th century, a number of philosophers and Catholic Irish nationalists travelled to India, including the theosophist

Annie Besant Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human ...

. It is widely believed that there existed a secret alliance between the Irish and Indian independence movements. Some Indian intellectuals like

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

and V. V. Giri were likely inspired by Irish nationalists when they studied in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. Indian Immigrants who have emigrated to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

in the recent years might have had their children born and raised here.

Culture

One of the cultural activities that Indians of Irish descent (who are aware of their Irish ancestry) participate in is

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

Notable people

Amala Akkineni Amala Akkineni ('' née'' Mukherjee) is an Indian actress, Bharatanatyam dancer, and animal welfare activist. She has predominantly worked in Tamil films, in addition to Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada-language films. She was a leading a ...

- Actress *

- Theosophist and Indian independence activist *

James Cousins James Henry Cousins (22 July 1873 – 20 February 1956) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, actor, critic, editor, teacher and poet. He used several pseudonyms, including Mac Oisín and the Hindu name Jayaram. Life Cousins was born at 18, ...

- Writer *

S. M. Cyril Sister M. Cyril Mooney, Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, IBVM (21 July 1936 – 24 June 2023) was an India-based Irish nun, educationist, educational innovator and 2007 winner of the Padma Shri Award, the Government of India's fourth-high ...

- Internationally recognized educational innovator *

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...

- comedian, writer, poet, playwright and actor *

Cyrus Pallonji Mistry Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (4 July 1968 – 4 September 2022) was an Indian businessman. He was the chairman of the Tata Group, an Indian business conglomerate, from 2012 to 2016. He was the sixth chairman of the group, and only the second (af ...

- Former Chairman of Tata Group *

Sister Nivedita Sister Nivedita ( born Margaret Elizabeth Noble; 28 October 1867 – 13 October 1911) was an Irish teacher, author, social activist, school founder and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She spent her childhood and early youth in Ireland. She w ...

- Disciple of

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intr ...

* Derek O'Brien -

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

, author and quiz show host *

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach since December 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2020. He served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from June 2020 to D ...

- Former

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the of ...

of the Republic of Ireland

Company and British India Officers of Irish and Anglo-Irish ancestry

* Barry Close - General, East India Company *

Eyre Coote (East India Company officer) Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, KB (1726 – 28 April 1783) was a British soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1780. He is best known for his many years of service with the British Army in India. His victory a ...

Robert Rollo Gillespie Major-General Sir Hugh Robert Rollo Gillespie (21 January 1766 – 31 October 1814Dictionary of Indian Biography; Charles E Buckland p166 (1906)) was an officer in the British Army. The Army's historian Sir John Fortescue called him "The bravest ...

- Major-general *

William Nassau Lees William Nassau Lees (1825–1889) was a British Army officer in India, known as an orientalist. Life The fourth son of Sir Harcourt Lees, Bart., he was born on 26 February 1825, and educated at Nut Grove and at Trinity College, Dublin, but t ...

- Major-general *

Robert Montgomery (colonial administrator) Sir Robert Montgomery GCSI, KCB (2 December 1809 – 28 December 1887), was a British administrator and civil servant in colonial India. He was Chief Commissioner of Oudh during the period of 1858 to 1859 and later served as Lieutenant Governo ...

John Nicholson (East India Company officer) Brigadier General John Nicholson, (11 December 1822 – 23 September 1857) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army who rose to prominence during his career in British India. Born in Ireland, Nicholson moved to the Indian subcontinent at a ...

* Michael O'Dwyer - Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab *

Joseph O'Halloran Joseph O'Halloran GCB (13 August 1763 – 3 November 1843) was a major-general in the East India Company. Background O'Halloran was the youngest son of Sylvester O'Halloran, born in county Limerick, Ireland. On 22 February 1781 he was appointed ...

- major-general, East India Company * William Olpherts - General, Indian army * Eldred Pottinger, Major East India Company *

Henry Pottinger Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Pottinger, 1st Baronet (; 3 October 1789 – 18 March 1856) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and colonial administrator who became the first Governor of Hong Kong. Early life Henry Pottinger was born at his family est ...

- Lieutenant General, East India Company * Abraham Roberts - General *

Richard Hieram Sankey Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Hieram Sankey (22 March 1829 – 11 November 1908) was an officer in the Royal (Madras) Engineers in the East India Company's army in British India, later transferring to the British Army after the Indian Rebellio ...

- Lieutenant General *

Charles Stuart (East India Company officer) Charles Stuart ( 1758 – 31 March 1828) was an officer in the East India Company Army and is well known for being one of the few British officers to embrace Hindu culture while stationed there, earning the nickname ''Hindoo Stuart''. He also ...

* Ephraim Gerrish Stannus - Major-General, East India Company * James Travers - General, East India Company *

Hugh Wheeler (East India Company officer) Sir Hugh Massy Wheeler KCB (30 June 1789 – 27 June 1857) was an Irish-born officer in the army of the East India Company. He commanded troops in the First Anglo-Afghan War, and the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars, and in 1856 was appointed ...

Frederick Young (East India Company officer) Frederick Young (1786–1874) was the founder of the Sirmoor Battalion later 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles), the first Gurkha regiment to fight for the British. Young was born in Culdaff, Inishowen peninsula, in t ...

- Major General, East India Company *

Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, (20 June 1760 – 26 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish politician and colonial administrator. He was styled as Viscount Wellesley until 1781, when he succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of ...

- Governor-General of Bengal

References

{{Irish diaspora Europeans in India

Irish diaspora

History

Culture

Notable people

Company and British India Officers of Irish and Anglo-Irish ancestry

See also

References