Ireland is having its moment.
Some of Hollywood’s current top A-listers hail from the small nation of around five million. Whether it’s Andrew Scott on Broadway, Colin Farrell on your television, or Saoirse Ronan on the big screen, it is almost impossible to not catch wind of an Irish celebrity in our current pop culture digest.
It is fair to say some of our culture’s recent infatuation is due to the beautiful blue eyes and thick accents that make the Irish so easy to thirst over– even Sabrina Carpenter was not immune.
Beyond the superficial, it’s not simple luck that’s given rise to this pop culture phenomenon. Ireland’s history, deliberate investments, and positive stereotypes have brought about this Irish renaissance.
Storytelling has always played a pivotal role in Irish culture. The tradition of oral storytelling rooted in Ireland’s Celtic past helped preserve identity and cultural heritage. When asked about Ireland’s rise in popularity, Colin Farrell theorized Ireland’s deep connection to the importance of story and “to leaning into stories and meanings with which we understand ourselves and the world around us” as a contributing factor.
This long history lends itself well to nurturing a nation of artists, but this was not an accidental occurrence.
Ireland has purposefully invested in the arts, which has helped produce some of our most beloved actors. State-subsidized theaters have been an avenue for many artists to launch their careers, including Domhnall Gleeson and Andrew Scott.
In 2025, the Irish government invested €140 million in the arts, with an increase to €40.85 million specifically given to Screen Ireland to build the film sector. These investments are not new, but have been subtly increasing for the past thirty years since the release of My Left Foot (1989).
We see these investments pay off in real time as both Irish actors and Irish films take center stage. Once on said stage, specific characteristics that feel unique to the Irish have helped deepen our hyperfixation.
Across the board, many of the most beloved Irish actors are praised for their down-to-Earth nature. They lack pretension and are almost self-deprecatingly humble.
Take Cillian Murphy, for example. His transformative performance in Oppenheimer (2023) seems only possible due to his ability to let go of self. It is a completely immersive and internalized performance. Co-stars Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon are excellent actors, but their acting feels much more ostentatious and external. Murphy operates in a much quieter space, making his performance feel all the more powerful.
Murphy’s humility translates off-screen as well, adding to his charm. While others on the Oppenheimer press tour played up versions of themselves, Murphy seemed much more interested in letting the work speak for itself.
The Internet’s boyfriend Paul Mescal fits this narrative as well. Denzel Washington even described Mescal as being “good, humble, and hardworking.” Mescal has expressed his wish to stay anonymous, treating the craft seriously and without the desire for celebrity clout.
This lack of vanity present in Murphy, Mescal, and other Irish actors is as rare as a four-leaf clover in our current influencer-led culture. In an era where social media followings can determine one’s likeness to be cast in a project, authenticity seems to be a dying trait.
Individuals often only showcase the carefully curated idealized versions of themselves. It is then exceptionally refreshing to encounter a change from this in the Irish. Their genuineness makes you want to grab a pint with them.
Even for those not chronically online and consuming the morsels of publicity Irish stars do offer, on-screen depictions of Ireland assist in nurturing our infatuation.
Releasing right as the Irish storm was gaining speed, The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) offers an array of Irish stereotypes for you to crush on. Pádraic is simple-minded and sincere. Colm is the melancholic struggling artist. Siobhán is patient and kind. Dominic is naive but good-natured.
Our main characters are usually spotted at the pub or on long walks through lush green pastures. The film pokes fun at the audience’s perception of the Isle– quite literally placing a rainbow in one of the early shots– but you cannot help but be charmed.
While there is some truth to the attributes audiences have come to love from the Irish, they are nonetheless stereotypes deemed desirable by Hollywood and specifically, Americans. A recent viral tweet compared the phenomenon to the fetishization of East and Southeast Asians.
However, the Irish find themselves in the unique position of benefiting from these stereotypes and promoting positive change. Irish actors are A-listers. The Irish film and television industry is booming.
This is likely due to the fact, although somewhat “exotic,” the Irish are still predominantly White, Christian, and English-Speaking. They can be viewed as foreign, but not too foreign.
There is a degree of stereotyping and fetishization still occurring, but there are also many more platforms the Irish have been able to access than other demographics that Hollywood has appropriated.
This is not to fault the Irish, but to question how our bias influences the stories that are told and the actors we obsess over.
It’s easy to dismiss this pop culture phenomenon as silly memes or horny thirst-edits, but it is much more than that. It is the result of deliberate actions made by a nation and is informed by the social-political landscape of our time. By acknowledging this truth, we can encourage investment in the arts, promote more diverse stories to be told, and enrich our media landscape with voices from around the world.
Article Courtesy of Kam Ryan
Feature Image of Paul Mescal in ‘Normal People;’ Courtesy of Hulu via TV Insider