The Emerald Isle is producing an entertainment renaissance — and we're here for it

Boston Globe

10-02-2025

Been to the movies recently? Irish actors are everywhere, from Cillian Murphy ('
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Found a new favorite musical act? For some of you, maybe that's Dublin's Fontaines D.C., who won NME's 'Best Band in the World' award in 2022, or the neo-traditional folk group Mary Wallopers, whom
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Read a good book lately? Odds are pretty good that it was written by an Irishman or woman: Paul Lynch (who wrote the 2023 Booker Prize winner 'Prophet Song'), perhaps, or Tana French (the 'First Lady of Irish Crime'), or maybe Sally Rooney, author most recently of 'Intermezzo' (2024), whose 2018 novel, 'Normal People,' has been made into the popular Hulu series of the same name, which stars Mescal.
Irish band Fontaines D.C.
Simon Wheatley
Also on your TV screen,
'There's a lot of skilled people here, a lot of talent,' the Dublin-based documentary filmmaker Ciaran Cassidy recently told the Globe. He's the director, most recently, of '
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From left: Sarah Greene, Eve Hewson, Sharon Horgan, and Eva Birthistle in "Bad Sisters."
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'There's kind of a lot of confidence in the generation,' Cassidy said. 'These are singular stories, but they actually translate internationally if they're executed well.'
The filmmaker noted the success of '
Another Irish-language film that has enjoyed some success in the United States is last year's 'Kneecap,' a madcap rendering of the origin story
'We knew obviously that storytelling was important in Irish culture,' said the rapper called Mo Chara (Liam Ó Hannaidh) in a recent interview with the Globe. 'And we thought the best way in modern times to tell stories is hip-hop.'
The three band members first bonded over the human rights campaign to
Other policy matters have helped to shape Ireland's cultural awakening in recent years, including the
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Declan Crowley is the cultural programming manager of the
'Let's start with the fact that the Irish pub model is what the entire world sees as a pub,' Crowley said. 'You say 'a pub,' it's Irish by nature. That travels globally. Wherever you are on planet Earth, there's going to be an Irish pub.'
Crowley, who is from upstate New York — he's third-generation Irish — also points to the working-class history of Irish culture as a key reason why the country's influence has traveled so well in recent years.
'We often say that high-caliber art is not born out of abundance — it's born out of nothing,' he said. Like Cassidy, Crowley suggests that Irish storytelling about ordinary people can be especially relatable across ethnic and national lines: 'There's cross-cultural reference in that.'
To be sure, this is not the first time Irish culture has made its mark around the globe. From James Joyce and Daniel Day-Lewis (who holds dual Irish and British citizenship) to U2 and Sinead O'Connor, Ireland's creative talents have been well-documented.
But there's been a particular abundance of late. Murphy won the Oscar for best actor last year for his starring role in 'Oppenheimer.' The previous year saw 14 Oscar nominations for Irish films, actors, and others behind-the-scenes, including Keoghan, Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Kerry Condon, all for 'Banshees,' and Mescal for 'Aftersun.'
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Last year,
'Growing up in Ireland,' he has said, 'there are a lot of aspects of God that hang in the air. And my music reflects that.'
'It's not the song, it is the singin',' as he put it in his 2018 soul anthem 'Nina Cried Power.' 'It's the heaven of the human spirit ringin'.'
James Sullivan can be reached at
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