He may look slightly Mexican, but George Clooney is as Irish as doing a u-turn on a European Treaty.
By Robert Carry
It’s a well-known fact that if a person achieves global fame in the world of art, entertainment, politics or sport then there is a very good chance that they have some remote link to our glorious, wet rock in the North Atlantic.
If any sort of a link can be established, regardless of how remote, then we own that individual and we can rightfully expect them to publically attribute their greatness to the Irish blood in their veins, appear on the Late, Late Show and ultimately lead the St Patrick’s Day parade down O’Connell Street.
He may look slightly Mexican, but George Clooney is as Irish as giving the English our cricketers in exchange for their footballers.
George Timothy Clooney was born in May 1961 to former beauty queen Nina Bruce (née Warren) and anchor man and game show host Nick Clooney.
Green blood
Clooney has Irish on both sides of the family, but most of his green blood comes paternally. His father’s great-great-grandfather, Nicholas Clooney came from County Kilkenny.
The name Clooney is an anglicised version of the Gaelic O’Cluanaigh which translates as a descendant of Clugnach – meaning a rogue or a flatterer. His father’s mother’s maiden name, meanwhile, was Guilfoyle.
Clooney was raised as a strict Roman Catholic, something he has often spoken about in interviews.
After an unsuccessful attempt at a career as a sports professional, Clooney made his TV acting debut in 1978. However, it was not until he nailed the part of Dr Doug Ross in ER in 1994 that he became a household name.
Irish streak
His Irish streak manifested itself in ways other than his Catholicism – most notably in his good looks and way with the ladies us Gaels are known for. After winning the hearts of the women of the world in ER, he eventually was voted Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine.
Although he went on to pick up a string of roles in high-budget Hollywood films, Clooney has lately become known for trying to be Bono. He has served as one of the United Nations Messengers of Peace since January 2008 and has been notably vocal on the issue of human rights abuses in the Darfur region of Sudan.
‘Gorgeous George’ has visited his ancestral home on many occasions, and revealed a while back his intentions to go biking around our fair isle. “I’m doing a motorbike ride in Ireland this summer,” he announced in typically masculine style. Before ruining it by adding, “I hear it rains a lot, but I’ve got the perfect outfit!”
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