Irish

Marianne Smyth, an American woman who conned a reality producer and allegedly several other figures in and around Hollywood between 2013 and 2017, has been arrested in Maine as Northern Ireland seeks to extradite her to face charges. Smyth — whose colorful theft from American Ninja Warrior and Shark Tank producer Johnathan Walton as she claimed to be an Irish “heiress” was the subject of a 2020 story in The Hollywood Reporter — was arrested in the town of Bingham on February 23. Smyth stands accused of…

Kiss me, I’m Irish (but don’t botch my name)! The pronunciation of Irish names, often influenced by various dialects and regional accents, can be perplexing due to the language’s unique spelling rules. Amid the recent Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, an expert revealed ways to help correct Irish name mispronunciations.Tadhg, Fiachra, Oisín, Aoife, Caoimhe, Órlaith, Fionnuala, Sadhbh, Eibhlín, Donnacha. No, these aren’t typos or gibberish. These are real names from Ireland.Due to the Irish language (Gaelic) using the…

The curse of auburn-haired American women heading to Ireland for terrible magic-themed romcoms continues, 14 years after Amy Adams took an unfortunate vacation in the detestable Leap Year (a film that even her co-star Matthew Goode generously referred to as “turgid” within weeks of its release). There’s less at stake here – Adams was a two-time Oscar nominee leading her first romantic comedy – but we’re left in a similarly unremarkable place, a persuasive tourism ad masquerading as a real movie.That might have sounded…

The unabashed wartime weepie is a lost art these days. So despite its occasional lack of subtlety, Dominic and Ian Higgins’s RAF biopic is a welcome throwback to matinee-style viewing, right down to sundered lovers canoodling in front of starlit canopies. It has an easy swing and self-assurance, thanks in no small part to a well-starched performance by Shane O’Regan as real-life pilot Brendan Finucane, AKA “Spitfire Paddy”.One of the ranks of Irishmen, and Britons of Irish descent, who despite their homeland’s neutrality…

New research maps the spread of potato blight in the USA between 1843 and 1845, uncovering the disease’s early impact and the mid-19th century’s responses to it, including theories of its cause and proposed treatments. Credit: SciTechDaily.comEarly mapping of potato blight in the USA offers insights into the disease’s initial spread and contemporary theories on its causes and remedies before reaching Europe.The first accurate maps of outbreaks of potato blight — a disease caused by the fungus-like pathogen Phytophthora…

Fans have been given a first look at Lindsay Lohan’s new film, Irish Wish, in its first trailer.Netflix’s first trailer for the flick sees the Mean Girls actor, 37, star as Maddie, who flies to Ireland to be a bridesmaid for her friend who is getting married to the love of her life.Maddie makes a wish days before the wedding for true love but wakes up with far more than she’d hoped for.Irish Wish will be released on Netflix on 15 March 2024. Fans have been given a first look at Lindsay Lohan’s new film, Irish Wish, in…

The Rutz is like any great pub in Belfast, or anywhere in Ireland for that matter: Kinda dingy, people stumbling out of the bathrooms, wiping powder off their faces, traditional Irish music playing loud on the speakers.  “It’s one of those places where you never go for one pint — you’re always stuck there for longer,” says Móglaí Bap, one-third of the Belfast rap trio Kneecap. “The pubs here are like lobster pots,” adds Mo Chara. “You can get in them, but you can’t get out.” Well, technically, you can’t…

At Lankum’s sold-out concert at Cork Opera House last summer, their sharp-suited support act had the crowd in the palm of his bouzouki-strumming hand. It was Kurdish Syrian singer and musician Mohammad Syfkhan, whose debut album I Am Kurdish has become part of a thriving, collaborative music scene in one of Ireland’s smallest counties.A 57-year-old father of five whose music is a thrilling mix of electrified Kurdish, Arabic and Turkish traditional songs, covers and originals, Syfkhan arrived in Ireland as part of a…

Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy jokingly asked if he should sing a “rebel song” after making history as the first Irish-born man to win Best Actor at the Baftas on Sunday, 18 February.The Cork-born actor, 47, was recognised for his performance as J Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s biopic, for which the filmmaker was awarded best director.Speaking at a winners’ press conference after the ceremony, Murphy was asked if he wanted to say hi to anyone back in Ireland.“It means a lot to me to be Irish. I don’t know what…

“Guess who’s back on the news, it’s your favourite Republican hoods,” spits Móglaí Bap on Kneecap’s 2019 track, Get Your Brits Out – a roiling, riotous tune, rapped in both English and Irish, in which the trio imagine a drug-fuelled night out with DUP politicians.“Favourite Republican hoods” is a cheeky yet apt descriptor for how the provocative, satirical Irish-language rap group have been received this year. Kneecap became the surprise stars of Sundance film festival, where their biopic – a semi-fictional origin story…