MARCH 18, 2025|
Photo – Four Leaf Clover – Courtesy Wikipedia
Perhaps your brain hurts a bit on the morning after St. Patrick’s Day. Let’s see if we can make it throb a bit more with some math.
Wyoming ranks 37th in North America for the size of the Irish population in the Cowboy State, according to a Canadian poll.
In anticipation of Saint Patrick’s Day, the Canadian gambling website, Canada Sports Betting, released a poll showing the percentage of people in North American that identify as being of Irish descent. However, it should be noted that everyone declares at least a “wee bit” of Irish on the 17th of March.
Massachusetts tops the list, with 18.8 percent of its population reporting Irish heritage, 2.7 Irish pubs per 100,000 residents, and 27 Gaelic games clubs dedicated to promoting and playing traditional Irish sports, such as Gaelic football and hurling. Canada Sports Betting gave Massachusetts a perfect 100 in its Irish Score Index.
To be fair, though, the mayor of Boston—Michelle Wu—is the daughter of Taiwanese Immigrants.
Here in Wyoming, 11.37 percent of the population identify as Irish, with 1.02 Irish-style pubs per 100,000 residents, and no Gaelic sports clubs. Canada Sports Betting awarded Wyoming an Irish Score Index of 41.8, placing the Cowboy State 37th overall, just behind Saskatchewan, which scored 41.9, and ahead of South Dakota, with a score of 41.3.
Last week, Bigfoot99 reached out to the Canadian gambling site for a breakdown of Wyoming counties and their Irish populations. The information was not received until Monday morning.
According to the Canada Sports Betting poll, Laramie County has the most self-professed Irish residents among Wyoming’s 23 counties, at 4,378. Natrona is second, with 3,419 residents claiming Irish heritage.
Carbon County ranks 12th, with 556 residents, or 3.82 percent of the population, identifying as Irish.
Converse County is 11th, claiming an Irish population of 593. Lincoln County was right below Carbon at 13th place, with 495 Irish residents.
In eastern Wyoming on the border with Nebraska, Niobrara County ranks at the bottom of the list. Canada Sports Betting reports that only 65 residents identify as Irish. With a population of 2,467, roughly 2.5 percent of Niobrara County residents say they have Irish heritage.
The Canada Sport Betting poll lists Quebec as having the least number of Irish-style pubs per 100,000 residents in North America, giving the French-Canadian province an Irish Index Score of zero.
