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I’m the person originally looking for the information, and yes ichkeria you’re right — it’s purely people you might not think would have an Irish mother. That would have been a better way of phrasing it.
The project is purely an exercise, one that relates anecdotally to the size and nature of the Irish Diaspora.
Just a couple of points: JennyKenny — there’s absolutely no proof that Wellington ever uttered the line, “Because a man is born in a stable does not make him a horse.” The earliest attribution is an Irish politician quoting the phrase about Wellington. But no evidence of Wellington ever saying it himself.
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations passes mutely over the subject.
Sir Oracle: Ireland was never part of Great Britain — even when the British occupied Ireland the correct designation was The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Thank you everyone for your help!