Irish nobility may refer one of three groups^{[citation needed]} of nobility in the island of Ireland from pre-historic times to the present time.

These groups are not mutually exclusive. There is a high degree of overlap between groups 1 and 2 (prior to the Treaty of Limerick). There is a lesser degree of overlap between groups 2 and 3^{[citation needed]} (prior to the declaration of the Republic of Ireland). There is also a lesser degree of overlap between groups 1 and 3. Such overlaps may be personal (e.g. a Gaelic noble who was "regranted" his titles by King Henry VIII of England), or they may be geographical^{[clarification needed]} (i.e. different noble traditions co-existing in neighbouring parts of the country, which were only distinguished by the date when they were finally conquered by the Dublin administration).

From 1948 to 2003, the Republic of Ireland gave a form of courtesy recognition to the heirs of the Gaelic-era Chiefs of the Name, but they had no special legal or political status beyond recognition. They were listed as such by the Chief Herald of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland considers such inherited ranks of distinction to be irrelevant in modern Ireland.^{[dubious – discuss]} Article 40.2 of the Irish Constitution forbids the state conferring titles of nobility and citizen may not accept titles of nobility or honour except with the prior approval of the Government. However, noble titles are still used by people of noble descent in the Republic of Ireland. Noble titles are still used and awarded in Northern Ireland, which remains a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Black British is a term used to describe British people of black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies (i.e. the New Commonwealth) and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and consider themselves British. Others are also from former French-speaking colonies in Africa such as Senegal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (which was Belgian), and many of the Black Africans in Britain still speak French as well as their own native languages.

The term 'black' has historically had a number of applications as a racial and political label, and may be used in a wider socio-political context, to encompass a broader range of non-European ethnic minority populations in Britain, though this is a controversial and non-standard definition.

Black British is primarily used as an official category in UK national statistics ethnicity classifications, where it is sub-divided into 'Caribbean', 'African' and 'Other Black' groups.

Black Irish is an ambiguous term used mainly outside of Ireland.^{[citation needed]} Over the course of history, and in different parts of the Irish diaspora throughout the world, it has been subject to several different although somewhat overlapping meanings, encompassing physical appearance, religious affiliation, ethnicity, subculture and poverty. Modern traditionalists, however, maintain the term to be synonymous with a dark-haired phenotype exhibited by certain individuals originally descended from Ireland. Opinions vary in regard to what is perceived as the usual physical characteristics of the so-called Black Irish: e.g., dark hair, brown eyes and medium skin tone; or dark hair, blue or green eyes and fair skin tone. Unbeknown to some who have used this term at one time or another^{[citation needed]}, dark hair in people of Irish descent is extremely common, although darker skin complexions appear less frequently.

Early 21st century genetic studies have provided new insights into the origins of Irish people as well as their neighbours in the British Isles. Correspondingly, researchers in the field have suggested that migrations from Prehistoric Iberia (Spain, Portugal and also the Basque region) can be viewed as the primary source for their genetic material,^{[citation needed]} having demonstrated marked similarities with modern representatives of the aforementioned time period in that of the Basque people. However, the majority of Irish males fall under the R1b sub-clade L-21, which is quite rare for Basques.

Rafael Fernández (born 1897) was a Chilean fencer. He competed in the individual sabre competition at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British Conservative Party politician and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Shropshire.

Paterson was born in Whitchurch, Shropshire. He attended Abberley Hall School and Radley College, before going to Cambridge University, where he studied History at Corpus Christi College and graduated in 1978. He then went on to the National Leathersellers College (now the British School of Leather Technology at the University of Northampton).

He joined the British Leather Company in 1979, becoming Sales Director in 1983 and Managing Director from 1993 to 1999. He was President of COTANCE, the European Tanners Confederation from 1996–1998. He was a Director of Parsons and Sons leather company in Halesowen in the 1990s. Paterson is a Liveryman of the Leathersellers' Company.

He contested, but failed to win, the Wrexham seat in the 1992 general election. He is Member of Parliament for North Shropshire, being first elected at the 1997 general election and has won at all general elections there since.