I thought this internet tidbit was interesting since it explains why my father (who loved his Irish heritage from his mother & grandmother) thought Canuck was a good term (well probably the sports team name was the factor for him) since this says it was originally used to describe the Irish in Canada. It does comport with AnneMarie's recollection that there was a perjorative meaning at one time
[quote]There is a theory that the word is derived from Connaught, a term said to be given by French Canadians to the Irish. The Oxford Companion To The English Language (defines the term as): Canuck 1820�s. Probably from the Iroquoian "CANUCHSA", someone in a "KANATA"(village)�but possibly from Hawaiian "KANAKA" (man), through a pidgin used in the fur trade (in which Pacific islanders were employed), and taken into French as "CANAQUE", perhaps being originally applied to French Canadian canoemen. A nickname for a Canadian�but in the U.S. Northeast pejoratively referring to French Canadians.
Why is it Canucks always have the most intelligent answers?
Because Canucks rule![/quote]