This article appears to be an attempt to present evidence that the term Scotch-Irish used to describe the early immigrants to America from the Ulster Plantations of Ireland is inaccurate, meaningless and innappropriate. The author contends that these settlers were in no way different from Irish immigrants of later times or the Irish Catholics who remained in Ireland. As such they deserve no distinction. There are no references for his findings which appear to be based solely on his opinion and his brutal and condescending analysis of the work of other scholars. Historical records regarding the establishment of the Ulster Plantations, lists of surnames of settlers, statistics on conversion of Irish Catholics to Presbyterianism and the laws extant at the time in Ireland which are readily available today do not support his conclusions. The conflicts of the 20th Century between Irish Catholics and Protestants further underscore that political, religious and social differences continue to separate the two groups.
Cultural differences matter and influence the attitude and behavior of individuals within a social group. It is highly probable that there is an underlying genetic component in our choice of friends and associates. To make a distinction for a group of people of largely Scottish background who chose to immigrate to America in large numbers rather than starve or submit to political and economic oppression, shared common religious beliefs and spent several generations in relative isolation in rural communities is quite appropriate from an ethnological viewpoint.