St. Patrick’s Day is quickly approaching and many people with Irish heritage will be celebrating the day. Here are some well-known people who come from The Emerald Isle.
Maureen O’Hara – Born in Ranelagh, Ireland, Maureen O’Hara was one of most notable actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Her original last name was “FitzSimons” but was changed to the shorter last name “O’Hara” to fit on the marquee.
O’Hara was athletic as a child which led to her doing most of her stunts in films, something most female actresses could not do. Some of her famous roles were in films including: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, How Green Was My Valley, Miracle on 34th Street, Sitting Pretty, The Quiet Man, The Parent Trap and McLintock!.
Liam Neeson – Most known for his roles in Schindler’s List, the Taken franchise, and a few Batman movies (Batman Begins and The Dark Night Rises), Neeson has had a career in the industry that started in 1978 and still continues to this day.
Neeson was born in Ballymena, which is located in Northern Ireland. Before he became an actor, he was a forklift operator for Guinness, a truck driver, an assistant architect and even an amateur boxer. He was originally going to be a teacher but after a few years in theater, he was discovered by director John Boorman.
Bono – Frontman of the popular rock band U2, Bono and his band have gone on to win a total of 90 awards for numerous accomplishments in music as well as being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 2005.
Bono was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1960. His real name is Paul David Hewson but when he joined the band in high school, he was dubbed “Bono Vox”, which means good voice (obviously he dropped the “Vox”). Social activism is something that Bono is passionate about and started his own organization to generate awareness for global problems.
Maureen O’Sullivan – Film actress Maureen O’Sullivan was born in Boyle, Ireland and was known for her role as Jane in the Tarzan series. Over her career that spanned 64 years, she was in over 60 films. She also received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991.
She had seven children and one of them is Mia Farrow, who also became an actress and was in films such as the 1974 version of The Great Gatsby alongside Robert Redford. A little fun fact is that O’Sullivan was classmates with Vivian Leigh, who went to star in the classic film Gone with the Wind.
Niall Horan – One-fourth of the mega boy band One Direction, Niall Horan is the only member out of the band that is from Ireland, the rest are from England. Horan was born in Mullingar, Ireland and was put on the map after he auditioned for The X-Factor with his future bandmates.
After The X-Factor, Horan and the band went on to sell-out stadiums and arenas worldwide and have their albums climb to the top of the charts. Horan started a charity football (soccer) match in 2014 which benefits Irish Autism Action and UK Heart and Minds Challenge.
Pierce Brosnan – Pierce Brosnan was born in Drogheda, Ireland in 1953 and made his acting debut in the 1980’s. He has starred in numerous TV series and films and one of his most notable roles would be his portrayal of the iconic character, James Bond.
Brosnan is the sixth person to play the character and he played Bond in the films GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. After Die Another Day, he passed the torch to Daniel Craig who currently plays bond.
Hozier – Irish musician Hozier (Andrew-Hozier Byrne) is an indie rock, soul and blues artist that quickly shot to stardom with his hit “Take Me to Church” back in 2014. Hozier was born in Bray, Ireland on March 17 (ironically on St. Patrick’s Day) in 1990.
His first album debuted at No. 1 on the Top Rock Album charts and “Take Me to Church” topped the charts in 12 different countries. Hozier has won some awards including an iHeartRadio Music award, a Teen Choice award and a few Billboard Music Awards.
C.S. Lewis – Author C.S. Lewis (Clive Staples) was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1898 was is known for his book series The Chronicles of Narnia. He released his first book in 1926 titled Dymer. Even though The Chronicles of Narnia received negative reviews, the series still maintained it popularity even to this day.
The Chronicles of Narnia series spawned its own cartoon version in the late 70’s and 80’s and in 2005, a big-screen adaptation was released. The book still remains on The New York Times Best-Seller list.
Elizbaeth Granato
Features Editor
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