text: is shaquille o'neal irish?i've never heard of a black irish but his last name is irish.?   no he is not irish though his adoptive father, whom his mother married shortly after his birth, may have had irish roots.  shaquille's biological father's name was toney  "born on march 6, 1972, in a poor area of newark as shaquille rashaun o'neal, shaq's childhood was spent with his parents, lucille and philip o'neal."  "o'neal, born in newark, new jersey, was named "shaquille rashaun" by his biological father, joseph toney."