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'Britain's Got Talent' star Piers Morgan says he's Irish ‘because of his drinking’

ANTOINETTE KELLY

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 10:01 AM

Updated Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 12:13 PM

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Piers Morgan wants the world to know he's Irish

“Britain's Got Talent” star and Susan Boyle confidante Piers Morgan has surprised fans of the show by describing himself as “Irish” in the aftermath of the World Cup clash between France and Ireland when France won by a controversial goal.

In the process he may have offended many Irish by claiming they should know he's Irish “because of his drinking.”

The former tabloid editor has become a massive celebrity on both side of the Atlantic because of his role as a judge in “Britain's Got Talent” and his support for Susan Boyle in her early days.

Piers Morgan says he was swamped with critical e-mail after he described himself as Irish while discussing the now infamous hand ball incident when French player Thierry Henry handled the ball inside the Irish penalty area.

He told the Daily Mail: “My father was Vincent Eamonn O'Mara from County Offaly.

“He died when I was only one and my mother remarried (Welshman) Glynne Pughe-Morgan and I took his name. My mother (Gabrielle) was one of the Irish clan of Cantophers.

“Surely anyone aware of my drinking habits would know I'm Irish!”

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Posted by jacersisityourself on Nov 25, 2009, 06:47 PM EST

These are lovely exchanges w/ lotsa craic... I lurve them! marieco and hootntye might well remember that “just ‘cos it says Bovril ON the bus doesn’t mean there’s Bovril IN the bus”! Your dreamy Frenchman’s face and voice often hide a talent murderer! Do you sing? Wud ya go on BGT like SUBO frailly yet indescribably beautifully and confidently did in her sense of singing?? May your Môn Dieu help ya if you had P’er in front of ya! *L* Piers is an eminently p’lastic person, typical of the entertainment world. I dare say yez actually like p'lastic p'oeple?

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Posted by hootntye on Nov 25, 2009, 03:38 PM EST

WE love Piers, I am married to a man that is Irish. I think the Irish have a sense of themselves and there is certainly a lot of drinking in the heritage so, get a life. We need to have a sense of humor and not be so PC. Piers seems to have real compassion and intellect.

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Posted by marydobish on Nov 25, 2009, 03:21 PM EST

And I love Piersy Baby for his support of Susan Boyle ---- great guy!

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Posted by marydobish on Nov 25, 2009, 03:21 PM EST

Wow! I sure wish that I was Irish or Welsh ----- or Scotch like our dear Susan Boyle. Unfortunately, with the maiden name Johnson, I sm plain old English. Don't get me wrong --- I love the English, but I would rather be pure-blooded Celtic.

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Posted by marieco on Nov 25, 2009, 02:10 PM EST

Aww...Piers is such a sweet-faced boy-o! I just adore that man!

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Posted by jacersisityourself on Nov 24, 2009, 06:19 PM EST

Really enjoyed this bit ‘o craic from P’er whatsisname. Ya can’t take it seriously at all, atall atall. If we take his 2nd name Morgan honestly, as opposed to an assumed stage name, then it’s prolly true he’s a celt, therefore one who gave us pink noses (we go red at Christmastime). An O’Mordhain (pron O’Morghaw-in) he would be, so he would. There’s a place above the low cliffs of Loughshinny, in Nth Co Dublin, where old Roman-like double-ditches are to be found. ‘Tis said that Roman-influenced Welsh pirates raided those parts of Erin, saw how lovely it was on landing, chased the natives away with their fearsome pier-like faces, then made homes there and built these ditches (you can see them today, if you go walking with the wind in your face and face the sea towards Wales). There’s Morgans all over Nth Dublin since. Another tall story for ye. So the man who dares to have a French name like Piers associating himself with Ireland will be welcomed, given a cuppa tea and thrown back into the Irish Sea, with a sail pointed towards France. Just maybe, in our dreaming of dreams *chuckling*. Now we know where Irish drinking habits come from: French-Welsh people!! *WHALES OF LAUGHTER*!

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'Britain's Got Talent' star Piers Morgan says he's Irish ‘because of his drinking’

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