How many famous people from Ireland do you know? Oddly enough, there are many personalities of Irish descent who have made significant contributions to the world of music, film, literature, politics, and contemporary culture. Even if you don’t know their real names, it is highly likely that you recognize them by their stage name, their works or their international fame.
Today we present you with a small cast of characters that we have chosen to pay homage to Irish culture and its great contribution to the world of art and culture, as well as revealing to you some of its most mysterious, fun, or incredible curiosities.
If you want to learn more about the history of Ireland, don’t miss our article “Discover the history of the Temple Bar neighborhood and curiosities”.
U2
This Irish rock music group made up of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. achieved international popularity thanks to their alternative music style composed of influences from other styles such as post-punk, gospel, rock, pop , electronic music….
The band was founded in 1976 by 4 teenagers whose musical training was very basic, but even so they managed to sign their first musical contract 4 years after their formation. Thanks to their initial musical endeavor they began to be well known for their albums as “the boy”.
His style was adapting as different musical styles, such as electronic music, became popular. This change became evident in the 90s when they released their album “Achtung Baby” adding some electronic music bases and certain airs of Hip-Hop and Dance.
U2 curiosities
The group takes its name from a Russian fighter called the U2 that crashed on Bono’s birthday.
The lead singer has been nominated 3 times for the Nobel Peace Prize for his strong social activism and his support for associations such as Greenpeace or Amnesty International.
After its popularity in Italy, Pope John Paul II himself invited the group to a personal interview because of the religious message of some of their songs.
Regardless of his band, Bono has collaborated with other artists such as Frank Sinatra, Tina Turner and other bands such as Green Day and The Coors (another Irish band).
Pierce Brosnan
Brosnan is one of the Irish actors who achieved fame when he played various roles of the secret agent James Bond, being one of the most praised 007.
Although many people know him little more for his role as Bond, the truth is that Brosnan previously worked as a drama actor in various theaters and participated in some films such as Mars Attack or Mrs. Doubtfire.
The Irish actor’s career began through painting and acting, at which time it was his great acting ability that allowed him to achieve stardom and land a role as 007.
Many of his co-stars, such as Meryl Streep, have described him as a versatile person capable of adapting to any role with a cheerful, outgoing and, above all, respectable personality.
Thanks to his merits, Queen Elizabeth II awarded him in 2003 with the title of Knight of the British Order. Currently, he continues to play movies like “IT” or lending his voice to series like “The Simpsons.”
As a curiosity, the Irish actor visited our Irish pub in Barcelona about 20 years ago. His arrival predictably attracted the attention of many of his fans and our customers. A day that surely no one will forget.
Curiosities about Pierce Brosnan
His stage career began as a fire-breather, once even being invited to throw fire on the Muppet TV show.
He was married to one of the Bond girls (Cassandra Harris) who encouraged him to run as a secret agent candidate. To his surprise, Brosnan got it 4 years after his wife’s death.
In various films such as “A Town Called Dante’s Peak” the actor suffered episodes of claustrophobia that slowed down filming. About this phobia, Brosnan himself had no idea.
Thanks to his fantastic work as agent 007, the film company decided to compensate him with a car as a bonus after each shoot. The work of the 4 deliveries allowed him to get up to 4 different cars.
Enya
Enya is the artistic name of Eithne ní Bhraonáin, an Irish “new edge” music composer who is today considered one of the best-known personalities in the world of music at the level of the U2 group.
Despite her great musical talent, Enya’s origins were not easy, nobody knew her first songs would be successful and, therefore, no bank granted her a loan to set up her own recording studio.
By way of financing his career, he collaborated as a keyboardist for other Irish bands. Throughout her career, the artist has sung in languages such as Gaelic, Irish, English, Latin, Spanish and Japanese.
Enya's Curiosities
In 2018, some biologists discovered new species of fish in the Orinoco river in the Amazon as a tribute to the song “Orinocco Flow” by the artist, they were baptized as “Enya”.
One of the artist’s dreams was to get her own castle, after a lot of work she managed to move to Manderley Castle where she settled permanently with strong security measures to prevent her most fanatical fans from bothering her.
To this day, due to his melodious voice, many people attribute the song “We are free” by Gladiator to him, however, it is a song performed by Lisa Geralt.
In one of the best known anecdotes of the artist is that the director James Cameron wanted to count on her to record the soundtrack for Titanic but due to scheduling problems this professional collaboration could not be carried out.
