John Lennon's Irish roots and how the Irish influenced Liverpool

John Lennon, together with Yoko Ono, released a song called "Luck of the Irish". Why was Lennon so drawn to Ireland? After all, he intended to retire there.
Buy or rent "Looking for Lennon" on Amazon amzn.to/3zqZqjx
John Lennon was of Irish heritage through his great grandparents who came to Liverpool during the Great Famine of the 1840s. In this rare interview, John Lennon speaks about the strong Irish connection to Liverpool, as well as its multicultural history, something which would influence The Beatles greatly in their early lives and careers.
This is a clip from "Looking for Lennon", courtesy of Evolutionary Films. Buy 'Looking for Lennon' on DVD here: amzn.to/2V4Mqli
Brightmoon Digital is part of Brightmoon Media, an award-winning media production and broadcast company based in Liverpool, UK. Our recent works include the John Lennon feature documentary 'Looking for Lennon', as well as a number of specialist educational films for some of the UK's top universities.
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[@MrAschiff]

Sounds like it would be a great documentary. All the Beatles have Irish roots.

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

Thank you, it is a fascinating story of their Irish roots

[@samson8542]

Except Ringo

[@levitation25]

@@samson8542 If you look at his ancestry there's at least one Irish surname in his tree, Conroy.

[@flipflopmcgurt3403]

Not Ringo. He's 100% English

[@marylouraygarcia401]

Except Ringo Starr who had more welsh roots

[@thehotyounggrandpas8207]

Love the way John's voice would rollercoaster up and down when he talked about stuff he felt passionate about.

[@basilmarasco1975]

One of the Beatle biographies (of the whole band) said that John's name was originally O'Lainen, changed to Lennon by one of his ancestors. Both George's and Paul's mothers were Irish. George said so in one of the "Anthology" interviews, and Paul also stated as much, in a more random interview. In fact, when the boys made an appearance in Dublin in '63, George's Mom made the trip with them, so that she could visit some cousins.

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

Absolutely right Basil, and we are looking to develop some filming based around The Beatles Irish roots in Liverpool, and it is interesting that we now know all Four Fabs have Irish roots too. That Irish influence is really important.

[@basilmarasco1975]

@Síofra Loughlin-Bestawros Yes, those last names with an "-non" or "-nan" ending always seem to be Irish, such as "Hannan."

[@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek]

Still more English than Irish and the band is English...

[@57highland]

@@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek Yes, of course, the Beatles are English, or British, but with ethnic roots elsewhere. Just like most Americans are "American" though their grandparents came from some other country.

[@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek]

@@57highland They have ethnic English roots too. I'm pretty sure Paul is the only one with more Irish blood than English or at least the most. But Lennon and Harrisons ancestry is way more English. My Surname is Italian but my mothers surname was English and most of my ancestry is English and Welsh. Remember surnames mean very little because of our Patriarchal society most people lose their Maternal names.

[@levitation25]

His Lennons and McConvilles were from County Down. He also had Maguires. He had Irish ancestry on his mother's side too. Julia's grandmother Eliza Jane Gildea was born in County Tyrone and her father Charles Gildea a former British soldier was born in County Fermanagh.

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

Thank you, that is really interesting

[@GBPaddling]

"Don't knock Paddy, he could be yer Daddy" as the saying says.

[@henryscafe8364]

I have a green Beatles shirt I used to wear for St.Patricks day. Wish it still fit :)

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

I think we all have shirts we wish still fitted!!

[@henryscafe8364]

@@BrightmoonLiverpool true that

[@burgeryoufoundbehindthegrill]

I'm an American with Liverpool mutt ancestry. I want to see more of this

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

Thank you for the positive feedback.

[@polytheneprentiss1534]

Would love to see this documentary!

[@paulclinton5900]

Great job David and the Brightmoon team

[@Joe_Peroni]

What Lennon said about the Liverpool humour getting them through hardship is also true of my home city, Glasgow. Grim weather, grim living conditions. I was a plumber there for years, before I moved to Australia.

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

Liverpool, Dublin, Glasgow - kinship cities for sure. That's why we all get on so well. So much in common.

[@JonDoeNeace]

My 2nd great grandfather grew up in Ireland but lived in Liverpool for a time before becoming a U.S. citizen.

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

He did the whole journey! I have so much admiration for people who made those journeys.

[@japsley6172]

I think if you tracked the ancestry of many people in England there would be an Irish connection somewhere.

[@basilmarasco1975]

Is Cornwall an area that remained Celtic when other parts of England did not? I ask because someone told me that Cornish is a Celtic dialect, the others being Breton and Welsh, along with Scots, Irish, and Manx.

[@WakaWaka2468]

It's about 15 - 20% have one irish grandparent

[@siofra3819]

@@WakaWaka2468 your fully Irish Liam lad

[@kebabremover6024]

That's correct but Liverpool is saturated with Irishness

[@mitchamcommonfair9543]

​@@kebabremover6024It has a lot of Irish heritage but is mostly English. Also some Welsh.

[@michaellennon9427]

Prisco Stirpe Hibernico. I come from old Irish blood... Lennon family motto. Aye.

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

Proud Irish roots?

[@clontstable1]

God bless the Irish, they went everywhere! Proud of my 25%!

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

They are very much a part of modern Liverpool and, without that great famine, we wouldn't have had the Beatles in Liverpool. What a contribution to the modern world they have been.

[@josephgodfrey8468]

You can basically HEAR that hint of Irish when John spoke, but Ringo REALLY has it.

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

And George too. Very strong.

[@thomsboys77]

No. The Beatles were from Liverpool and had Liverpool (Scouse) accents. Accents are not genetic, you must be American

[@ellenbeckmann4293]

I wiiisaywith this ,that is Not long . But I "M ONLY SLEEPING.... GOOD MORNING,GOOD MORNING AT 4 O' CLOCK..LG ELLEN

[@GrumpyOldGit60]

There's lots of Irish in The Beatles... it was doubtless part of their character.

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

Definitely was, as there is a great Irish influence in Liverpool as a city

[@57highland]

Irish wit and charm, no doubt, which the Beatles possessed in full.

[@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek]

​@@57highland that was English wit and charm.

[@thomsboys77]

It wasn’t. The Beatles were brought up on British culture and humour

[@GrumpyOldGit60]

@@thomsboys77 The Goons... written by an Irishman.

[@omegajrz1269]

It reminds me of how Los Shakers had Italian ancestors. Both the Italians and the Irish had to flee their country due to major conflicts

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

For the Irish it was the potato famine and control of English landlords over the Irish tenant farmers kicking them off the land. Shameful

[@omegajrz1269]

@@BrightmoonLiverpool It is very sad that. I sympathize with the Irish people.

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

@@omegajrz1269 Absolutely, treated appallingly.

[@omegajrz1269]

@@BrightmoonLiverpool By the way, I named Los Shakers because they were a band from the 60s from my country, Uruguay, inspired by the Beatles. I recommend them: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmrGp4B-ZrR5mtE

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

@@omegajrz1269 Thank you I will take a listen

[@oleplanthafer7034]

Lennon, McCartney, Starkey... all proudly displaying their Irish heritage by name. Only "Harrison" being English through and through, of course.

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

Ha ha, but, ironically, the Irish side of the family was called French! That was on George's mum's side of the family. He made more trips to Ireland than the others.

[@jaimeplaza7277]

​@@BrightmoonLiverpooland William Aka Faul was from edinburgh in scotland

[@mitchamcommonfair9543]

Starkey's heritage is English

[@oleplanthafer7034]

Well, according to Mark Lewisohn, one family line of Ringo’s goes back to County Mayo, thus indeed giving all four some solidIrish roots. Lennon even said in 1971 that he would retire to Ireland when he would… (of course, he did say a lot of things… 😉)

[@ChubbyChecker182]

Out of the 4 of them, Ringo looks by the the most "Irish"

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

And yet he has the least Irish roots out of all of them. John I think has a very Irish look to him

[@57highland]

Yes, with that great trombone hooter of his he definitely looks Irish.

[@stansirlmkhope2312]

More like yasser arafat

[@mitchamcommonfair9543]

Ringo has Lancashire, England heritage

[@stansirlmkhope2312]

Spike Milligan called them four micks from Liverpool. Also what’s the capital of Ireland? Liverpool

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

You said it right!!! 👏

[@RobbieDunn]

Love never dies Love it never dies on You Tube When dreams they bloom and die it makes us question why The purpose of our lives for the ones that’s left behind To decipher and reveal the message in the seed Makes us look inside to where our love it hides To where our love it hides People’s ashen faces shake in disbelief Wipe away the tears that reflect the shock and grief Everybody’s screaming but there is no sound Five thousand miles away you fell towards the ground You fell towards the ground Flicking on the Radio their playing out your songs There must be some mistake hey they must have got it wrong But it only makes it worse validates the hurts On the day you said goodbye dark horses filled the sky Dark horses filled the sky December days are harsh now no leaves upon the trees A sickness of the mind shatters hopes and dreams Its four am in Dublin in the cold and the rain Traffic’s on the quays the pain is on its way The pain is on its way There’s People crying in cars tears roll down their cheeks The Taxi men cry out to strangers in the street In the markets and the towns where the artic winds they howl Ice fingers grab the hearts on the day you did depart The cold winds they blow now before the winter snows New York Central Park where life it ebbs and flows Where you loved and danced until that fatal chance Stole away our joy romance was seen to cry Romance was seen to cry When dreams they bloom and die it makes us question why The purpose of our lives for the ones that’s left behind To decipher and reveal the message in the seed Makes us look inside to where our love it hides To where our love it hides Keep the dream alive, love it never dies Robbie Dunn all rights reserved © 3/10/2016 APRA registered C/O Irish entertainment Brisbane Australia kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJPHgptnfcSiabs&pp=ygUYSm9obiBMZW5ub24gIHJvYmJpZSBkdW5u

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

Fantastic, thank you for sharing this.

[@antoniosantorini9355]

Background music drowns out his voice

[@ellenbeckmann4293]

What was this?

[@dianetherkildsen2686]

It is from the documentary LOOKING FOR LENNON.

[@michaelmcgovern8110]

"If you had the luck of the Irish, you'd wish you were dead." - J. Lennon, not verbatim

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

What a song.

[@ACDZ123]

Plot twist . John Lennon had Aussie roots ..crikey 🦘🇦🇺

[@thomsboys77]

No such a thing as “Aussie roots”

[@ACDZ123]

@thomsboys77 me mate. I'm Aussie roots ..my parents born here,grandparents and great grandparents before that. I got Aussie roots and fkn proud 🇦🇺🇦🇺💪

[@siofra3819]

Liverpool is the only city out of Ireland that feels like home to me.

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

And we feel at home in Dublin, too. A great affinity between our two cities.

[@mukhumor]

Mention the Beatles, expect a Bun Fight. 🤪

[@BrightmoonLiverpool]

You got it!!