Article & photos by Grace Murphy, Beverly Heritage Center AmeriCorps (2025-26)   Any inquiry into Appalachian culture will turn up prolific references to the “Scotch-Irish,” a group which occupies a distinct place in the history of Ireland, Scotland, and America. The Scotch-Irish, also known today as “Scots-Irish,” were the largest emigrant group from Ireland to the American colonies from the mid-16th century to the 1770s. Many of the Scotch-Irish were dauntless frontierspeople who tossed their lot in with American Independence with distinction. But what to call this group? Scotch-Irish or Scots-Irish? This group and their evolving demonym reveals converging themes…