From Saoirse Ronan to Rachael Blackmore, why does Britain keep claiming Irish stars?
It’s not a new phenomenon that the British media are fond of claiming Irish stars as their own, but every time it happens it causes an uproar on social media – so why do they keep doing it?
Is it because they don’t know the Republic of Ireland isn’t part of Britain, or are they just trying to steal our local talent?
The latter is an odd concept, if true, as Ireland would never attempt – or want – to claim British stars as our own.
Most recently she became the first female jockey to win the Gold Cup at Cheltenham, Tipperary’s Rachel Blackmorewas claimed by the UK.
In a segment on Dan Wootton tonight Speaking to GB News, the panel gave examples of who they think are the “greatest Brits”.
And expert Dawn Neesom didn’t hold back, naming Ms Blackmore the “biggest Brit of the week” despite admitting she’s from Ireland.
“My tallest Brit this week is Rachael Blackmore. She was the first rider to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup,” said Ms Neesom.
“At home in Ireland there are beautiful pictures of her with her winning horse and the beautiful Gold Cup.”
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Many of Ireland’s outstanding actors have also been claimed by the UK, including several newspapers Paul Meskal in their UK Emmy nomination summaries.
And that’s despite the Kildare actor being nominated for his portrayal of Connell normal people, which is based on the novel by Irish writer Sally Rooney and shows how the college students go to their debuts and enter Trinity College. It doesn’t get more Irish than that.
The Daily Mail wrote a headline stating that Mescal “topped the UK Emmy nominees”.
The guard wrote that there was a “strong performance from British talent including Paul Mescal who was nominated for Normal People”. In the same article, the publication also claimed Dubliner Andrew Scott was British.
Mescal appeared to hit back at those posts, not long after tweeting, “I’m Irish.”
After this happened, Galway actress Nicola Coughlan said: “Why is this still happening in 2020? Just stop calling the Irish Brits, there’s no excuse.”
Irish actress Saoirse Ronan. Photo: Ian West/PA Wire
Saoirse Ronan has also been called British on several occasions and was even nominated for Best British Actress at the 2015 London Film Circle Awards.
Colin Farrell and Michael Fassbender were also nominated for Best British Actor at the same awards before The London Film Circle eventually renamed the categories to British and Irish.
In the February 2019 issue Harper’s Bazaarthe magazine had Ronan as the cover girl with the headline ‘The Spirit of Great Britain’ in huge capital letters.
Although it is common for magazines for the main headline to have nothing to do with their cover star, some social media users said this was disingenuous as the article was about Brexit.
Fassbender also expressed himself in an interview The guard if “a part of him feels British” just because he lives in London, to which he said: “I definitely see myself as Irish.”
Roscommon actor Chris O’Dowd was also claimed by Britain. In a 2011 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) red carpet interview, a reporter asked him what it was like “to come from a British actor to work on something like this bridesmaids.”
He replied: “Irish actor, yes.” The journalist apologized.
World boxing champion Katie Taylor has also been described as British in several UK outlets.
During the 2012 Olympics – where she won a gold medal – Sky News journalist Anna Woodhouse dubbed her “Boxer Katie Taylor from Team GB”.
Social media users also saw red afterwards The Daily Telegraph said ahead of the 2012 Olympic women’s semifinals, “Can anyone beat Britain’s Katie Taylor, the world’s most technical attacking boxer?”
Following the outcry on social media, the newspaper apologized on Twitter, stating that the Bray native was “naturally” Irish.
The question is, when these mistakes are made all the time, is an apology enough? Although Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher have Irish roots, we’re not trying to label them as our own or any other British celebrity.
The Rubberbandits’ Blindboy Boatclub has described the phenomenon as “pure and utter colonial ignorance”.
He added: “Irish means simply British to some English people and they’ve never had to think about why it isn’t.”
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/from-saoirse-ronan-to-rachael-blackmore-why-does-britain-constantly-claim-irish-stars-41484178.html From Saoirse Ronan to Rachael Blackmore, why does Britain keep claiming Irish stars?