The Irish are coming
by HawkHerald | created - 24 Dec 2015 | updated - 06 Feb 2016 | PublicIrish actors and celebrities
1. Peter O'Toole
Actor | Lawrence of Arabia
A leading man of prodigious talents, Peter O'Toole was born and raised in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, the son of Constance Jane Eliot (Ferguson), a Scottish nurse, and Patrick Joseph O'Toole, an Irish metal plater, football player and racecourse bookmaker. Upon leaving school, he decided to become a...
Seven Oscars nods and no wins, a dubious record but still maybe the most accomplished Irish film actor ever aside from Daniel Day Lewis or Sir Richard Harris. Among his most well known roles are archaeologist and British Army colonel T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia and an aging Henry II of England in The Lion in Winter. This in addition to roles in Beckett, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, and Venus.
2. Richard Harris
Actor | Unforgiven
Richard St John Harris was born on October 1, 1930 in Limerick, Ireland, to a farming family, one of nine children born to Mildred (Harty) and Ivan Harris. He attended Crescent College, a Jesuit school, and was an excellent rugby player, with a strong passion for literature. Unfortunately, a bout ...
Singer, stage and film actor known for his roles like Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, King Arthur in Camelot, English Bob in Unforgiven, an elderly Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator and A Man Called Horse.
3. Daniel Day-Lewis
Actor | There Will Be Blood
Born in London, England, Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is the second child of Cecil Day-Lewis, Poet Laureate of the U.K., and his second wife, actress Jill Balcon. His maternal grandfather was Sir Michael Balcon, an important figure in the history of British cinema and head of the famous Ealing ...
A 3-time Oscar winner for My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood and Lincoln.
4. Van Morrison
Soundtrack | Belfast
Sir George Ivan Morrison OBE known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans six decades. He has won two Grammy Awards.
As a teenager in the late 1950s, he played a variety of instruments such as guitar, harmonica, ...
Legendary Northern Irish soul singer and rock star. "Gloria," "Brown-Eyed Girl," and "Wild Nights" are among his numerous hits. Recently knighted in recognition for musical and artistic achievements and contributions.
5. Liam Neeson
Actor | Kinsey
Liam Neeson was born on June 7, 1952 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, to Katherine (Brown), a cook, and Bernard Neeson, a school caretaker. He was raised in a Catholic household. During his early years, Liam worked as a forklift operator for Guinness, a truck driver, an assistant architect and an ...
Tall leading man known for his roles as Oscar Schindler in Schinder's List, IRA leader-turned-politician Michael Collins in the biographical film of the same name, Rob Roy, Ethan Frome, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace, Henri Ducard/Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins, the voice of Aslan the Lion in the Chronicles of Narnia films, and CIA officer Bryan Mills in the Taken franchise.
6. Pierce Brosnan
Actor | The World Is Not Enough
Pierce Brendan Brosnan was born in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland, to May (Smith), a nurse, and Thomas Brosnan, a carpenter. He lived in Navan, County Meath, until he moved to England, UK, at an early age (thus explaining his ability to play men from both backgrounds convincingly). His father left...
Remington Steele and James Bond are among his numerous film and television credits.
7. U2
Soundtrack | Morning Joe
U2 has been perhaps the biggest music act in the world since the late 1980s to the current day. They take prominent stands on human rights issues, expressed through their lyrics and other public statements and actions. The band's lead singer, Bono, has become quite prominent in charity movements ...
Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen, Jr., and Adam Clayton are the most successful Irish rock band of all time.
8. The Chieftains
Soundtrack | The Nightingale
The Chieftains is known for The Nightingale (2018), Rob Roy (1995) and Far and Away (1992).
Legendary traditional Irish folk and Celtic group.
9. Sinéad O'Connor
Soundtrack | In the Name of the Father
Sinéad O'Connor was born on December 8, 1966 in Glenageary, Ireland. She was a music artist and actress, known for In the Name of the Father (1993), Vanilla Sky (2001) and Sinéad O'Connor: Nothing Compares 2 U (1990). She was married to Barry Herridge, Steve Cooney, Nicholas Sommerlad and ...
Activist and singer with some of the most haunting vocals ever heard in pop music. Perhaps most well known for her hit cover of the Prince song "Nothing Compares 2 U."
10. Dolores O'Riordan
Soundtrack | Mission: Impossible
Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan was born in Ballybricken, a town 8 miles outside Limerick on Sept. 6, 1971. Her parents are Eileen and Terrance. Terrance was in a wheelchair due to a motorcycle accident. Dolores was the youngest of seven children, and one of two girls. In the late eighties, Dolores ...
Leader of the alternative Irish rock band The Cranberries.
11. Brendan Gleeson
Actor | Calvary
Brendan Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland, to Pat and Frank Gleeson. From a very young age, he loved to learn, especially reading classical text in and outside the classroom. He took great attention to Irish play writers such as Samuel Beckett, which eventually led to him performing in his high ...
Perhaps best known for his role as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody in the Harry Potter franchise, he's also had roles in Braveheart, 28 Days Later, Edge of Tomorrow, In Bruges, and an Emmy-winning performance as WWII-era British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the television movie Into the Storm.
12. Domhnall Gleeson
Actor | Ex Machina
Domhnall Gleeson is an Irish actor and writer. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter film franchise (2010-2011), About Time (2013), Ex Machina (2015) and The Revenant (2015).
He is the son of actor Brendan Gleeson, alongside whom he has appeared in several films and ...
Son of actor Brendan Gleeson, he was seen as Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter franchise, and has roles as Gen. Hux in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Revenant.
13. Conor McGregor
Actor | Road House
Conor Anthony McGregor is an Irish mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He began his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career in 2008 after leaving his job as a plumber. In 2009, he attended UFC 93 and was so inspired by the ...
Professional mixed martial artist, UFC (Ultimate Fighting Champion) World Featherweight (145 lbs., 65.8 kg, 10.4 stone) Champion, has appeared on Jimmy Kimmy and Conan O'Brien late night talk shows, is set to co-star in a relaunch of the Vin Diesel xXx franchise.
14. Stephen Farrelly
Actor | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Sheamus O'Shaunessy began his wrestling career in The Monster Factory in April 2002 where he trained under the supervision of former WWF professional wrestler Larry Sharpe along with former ECW referee Jim Molineaux. SOS made his wrestling debut 6 weeks later against WWA and TNA star Robert ...
Professional wrestler best known as WWE's Sheamus.
15. Michael Fassbender
Actor | Shame
Michael Fassbender is an Irish actor who was born in Heidelberg, Germany, to a German father, Josef, and an Irish mother, Adele (originally from Larne, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland). Michael was raised in the town of Killarney, Co. Kerry, in south-west Ireland, where his family moved to when ...
German-Irish actor who co-starred in the last 3 X-Men films including the upcoming Apocalypse as tragic mutant supervillain Magneto, appeared as a nymphomaniac in Shame which garnered BAFTA and Golden Globe nods, and a slave owner in 12 Years a Slave that gained him an Oscar nod.
16. Ciarán Hinds
Actor | Belfast
Ciarán Hinds was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on February 9, 1953. He was one of five children and the only son. His father was a doctor who hoped to have Ciarán follow in his footsteps, but that was not to be. It was his mother Moya, an amateur actress, who was the real influence behind his ...
Appeared in Road to Perdition, Munich, HBO's Rome series, and There Will Be Blood.
17. Cillian Murphy
Actor | 28 Days Later...
Striking Irish actor Cillian Murphy was born in Douglas, the oldest child of Brendan Murphy, who works for the Irish Department of Education, and a mother who is a teacher of French. He has three younger siblings. Murphy was educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork. He went on to study law ...
Star of 28 Days Later and appeared as Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy.
18. Aidan Gillen
Actor | Game of Thrones
Aidan Gillen is an Irish actor. He is best known for portraying Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011), CIA operative Bill Wilson in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Stuart Alan Jones in the Channel 4 series Queer as Folk (1999), John Boy in the RTÉ Television series ...
Appeared on HBO's The Wire and Game of Thrones series.
19. Kenneth Branagh
Actor | Henry V
Kenneth Charles Branagh was born on December 10, 1960, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to parents William Branagh, a plumber and carpenter, and Frances (Harper), both born in 1930. He has two siblings, William Branagh, Jr. (born 1955) and Joyce Branagh (born 1970). When he was nine, his family ...
20. Paula Malcomson
Actress | The Hunger Games
Born in 1970 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Paula Malcomson is an extremely prolific film and television actress with numerous credits to her name. Malcomson began her career in the early 1990s with small parts primarily in film before scoring higher-profiles roles in the Oscar-nominated film The ...
21. Stephen Rea
Actor | The Crying Game
Stephen Rea was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He attended Belfast High School and the Queen's University, where he studied English. He later trained at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin. In 1970s, he acted in the Focus Company in Dublin with the talented Gabriel Byrne and Colm Meaney. After ...
22. Ian McElhinney
Actor | Hamlet
Ian McElhinney is a Northern Irish actor and director best known for his roles as General Dodonna in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Val-El in Krypton, and as Ser Barristan Selmy in the HBO series, Game of Thrones.
Over a career spanning more than thirty years, McElhinney has accumulated a number of ...
23. Terry George
Writer | Hotel Rwanda
Terry George was born on December 20, 1952 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for Hotel Rwanda (2004), In the Name of the Father (1993) and Some Mother's Son (1996). He has been married to Margaret Higgins since 1978. They have two children.
24. C.S. Lewis
Writer | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis was born in 1898 and brought up in a very strict, religious household. While he was quite young, his mother died of cancer but the "stiff upper lip" in favour at the time meant he wasn't allowed to grieve. He became an Oxford don and led a sheltered life. He seriously questioned his ...
Oxford don, professor, intellectual, apologist, and writer of the classic young adult fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. Member of writing collective The Inklings with J.R.R. Tolkien.
25. Phil Lynott
Soundtrack | A Knight's Tale
Phil Lynott was born on August 20, 1949 in West Bromwich, Birmingham, England, UK. He was an actor and composer, known for A Knight's Tale (2001), The Expendables (2010) and Rush (2013). He was married to Caroline Crowther. He died on January 4, 1986 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK.
Bass player and vocalist for Irish rock band Thin Lizzy.
26. Rory Gallagher
Soundtrack | Last Night in Soho
Blues guitarist Rory Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon, Ireland, in 1959 (his brother Donal Gallagher is also a blues musician). He began his career in the 1960s in Ireland, playing in a variety of show bands. In 1965 he formed his own band, Taste, a blues-based rock trio. They had some success ...
Internationally successful blues guitarist.
27. Enya
Soundtrack | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin, the fourth youngest of nine children, comes from the small village of Dore (Dobhar in Irish) in the Gweedore (Gaoth Dobhair) region of County Donegal in northwestern Ireland. She now lives in Killiney, a coastal district on the southern outskirts of Dublin The family ...
Celtic pop vocalist and songwriter. Known for hits like Orinoco Flow, Caribbean Blue and May It Be.
28. The Corrs
Soundtrack | America's Sweethearts
"The Corrs" is a prominent pop/rock musical group from Ireland. They have sold over 30 million albums and are popular throughout most of the world. The band is basically comprised of three sisters and their brother. The Corrs music often shows strong influences from traditional Celtic music but ...
Internationally successful Celtic pop-rock family band.
29. The Waterboys
Soundtrack | Good Will Hunting
The Waterboys is known for Good Will Hunting (1997), Waking Ned Devine (1998) and D.O.A. (1988).
30. Caitríona Balfe
Actress | Belfast
Caitriona Balfe was born in Dublin, Ireland, and grew up in the village of Tydavnet, in County Monaghan. She started modeling at the age of 19 after she was scouted by an agent while she was collecting money for charity at a local mall. She has both walked the runway and been featured in ...
Roles in Super 8, Now You See Me and Outlander television series.
31. Shane MacGowan
Soundtrack | Grosse Pointe Blank
Born in Kent, England, songwriter/poet Shane MacGowan attended Westminster School (and was later expelled for drug use). After a brief time with the Nips (77-79), Shane MacGowan formed the democratically operated Pogues, a successful '80s group which released a handful of well-received records (e.g...
32. The Pogues
Soundtrack | Grosse Pointe Blank
The Pogues is known for Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Ladder 49 (2004) and Blown Away (1994).
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