HAVING AN IRISH name abroad can be a tricky thing, as so many of you know.
What about the celebs flying the flags for us in Hollywood and beyond though? Will nobody think of them and their fadas?
Saoirse Ronan
Saoirse Ronan. Carlow girl and star of Atonement, Grand Budapest Hotel and Brooklyn.
That collection of vowels might seem daunting, but it’s SEER-SHA.
Say it with us: SEEER-SHAAAA
Domhnall Gleeson
Star Wars, About Time, Ex Machina and Brooklyn alongside Seer-Sha Ronan – Domhnall’s a big star.
This time it’s not the vowels that are the problem, it’s the consonants. It’s really not that tricky though.
DOUGH-NUL.
DOUGH-NUL.
Lovely.
Róisín Murphy
Singer and former Moloko frontwoman Róisín is helping the plight of Róisín’s the world over, spreading the word of how to work in those fadas.
It’s ‘ro’ as in ‘role’ and ‘sheen’ as in ‘sheen’.
Ro-Sheen.
Cillian Murphy
Tempting as it might be to call him ‘Silly-an’, it’s ‘Killy-an’. Hard C.
Siobhan Finneran
English born with an Irish name, Finneran is probably best known for her role as Miss O’Brien in Downton Abbey.
She goes by ‘Shuh-vawn’. We know it doesn’t make sense. Just trust us.
Dylan Moran
Dylan’s first name isn’t a problem, but the delicate nuances in the pronunciation of the comedian and actor’s surname are important.
It’s MORE-in.
Not Mur-AHN
Padraig Harrington
It looks like Pad Rag, we know it does, but this golfer’s name is “Paw-ric”. Paw. Ric.
Ciarán Hinds
Mance Rayder in Game of Thrones may be the King Beyond The Wall, but back in Ireland he’s Keer-awn. Another pesky fada.
