Few men stoke my Anglophilia quite so masterfully as Stephen Fry.


The English actor will follow the trail of William Wilde, father of Oscar, to Connemara when he appears in the popular Irish language soap opera Ros na Rún. William, like his son thirty years later, became the subject of public ridicule amongst the social set following a trial in Dublin. The dejected doctor left the city and sought solace in Moytura House which he built on Lough Corrib, whence he collected fragments of Irish aural literature for the rest of his life.


Fry's trip to Galway comes more than a decade after the legendary movie Wilde was released in 1997. In the interview which appears above on BigThink, Fry talks about his role and the importance of being true to Wilde. Fry talks about Oscar the writer--named for the mythical Gaelic poet--and how he created a body of fantastic stories about giants and fairies, much like his own father had collected in Connemara. The actor calls Wilde's work "one of the greatest gifts to children" and he estimates them to be equal to the Grimm Brothers or Hans Christian Andersen. It is no secret that his father's interest in Irish mythology, inspired Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde greatly.


Fry's trip to the set of Ros na Rún in Spiddle comes full circle then. He is travelling the world for a BBC series called "Planet Word," exploring minority languages. His trip to An Spidéal will include golf and site-seeing, with the filming of his cameo appearance to take place on a closed set in early December.


On his visit, Fry will explore the origins of the Irish language for the Planet Word program. He is having a small part written for his appearance, and it is said that he plans to speak in Irish on the show.

Jeremy Irons, another wonderful English actor, appeared recently in a series on TG4.tv called Faoi Lán Cheoil, that documented his work at learning to play some fiddle tunes under the tutelage of Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Martin Hayes.


Sting recorded Mo Ghile Mear with the Chieftains on their Long Black Veil album in the original language. The title means My Gallant Hero in Irish.

I could not think of a better sobriquet for Stephen Fry.