Barry Keoghan is the January 2024 cover star of British GQ, but the publication is facing criticism after it appeared to claim on social media that Keoghan is British.
“He’s one of our most exciting actors,” British GQ wrote of Dublin native Keoghan in posts on X and Instagram earlier today, Tuesday, January 9.
Barry Keoghan is "one of our most exciting actors," British GQ said on January 9. (@BritishGQ / X)
The British publication's posts were quickly interpreted to mean that Keoghan, who was born and raised in Dublin, was one of Britain's "most exciting actors."
The implication triggered a flurry of reactions from Irish commentators.
"You can't even pronounce his name," one person responded on X, "Stop proclaiming EU members to be 'yours.'"
"Are you rebranding to Irish GQ?" another person asked.
Another person shared a clip from an interview where Keoghan's Australian co-star Jacob Elordi said the accents in "Saltburn" were tough "because I was surrounded by Brits the whole time."
Keoghan interjected: "And Irish. Just sayin'."
Cait O'Riordan, former member of The Pogues, also replied to British GQ's post on X by simply sharing an image that said: "Keep Calm and Dream On."
Later on Tuesday, British GQ's post on X had a new community note added. It simply says: “Barry Keoghan is Irish.”
Thankfully, British GQ's profile, which comes amidst Oscar buzz for the Irish actor's role in "Saltburn," does not explicitly claim Keoghan as British - instead, it touches up the 31-year-old's Dublin upbringing.
While British GQ's incorrect identification is unfortunate, Keoghan joins an illustrious list of Irish talent that have been claimed as British.
In December 2022, the stars of the distinctly Irish series "Bad Sisters" were described as "an appealing quintet of British actresses" by the New York Times.
Eve Hewson tweeted in response: "OH DEAR @nytimesarts. WE ARE IRISH, PLEASE AND THANK YOU," while Eve Birthistle posted: "I’ll just speak for myself here but I’m definitely really 💯 an IRISH actor @nytimesarts."
In 2020, after Co Kildare native Paul Mescal nabbed an Emmy nomination for his lead role in "Normal People," several publications, including The Guardian, The Daily Mail, and the UK version of The Sun, labeled him as British.
Mescal clarified on Twitter: "I'm Irish." His tweet went on to become the most-liked tweet in Ireland for the year.
I’m Irish.
— Paul Mescal (@mescal_paul) July 29, 2020
In 2016, Sky News described Saoirse Ronan as "one of our own." Later, in 2019, Ronan, who was born to Irish parents in New York City and raised in Co Carlow, appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar alongside the headline "The Spirit of Great Britain."
In 2015, Colin Farrell and Michael Fassbender were both nominated for "Best British Actor" at the BAFTA awards. The backlash prompted the London Film Circle to rename some of the award categories as "British and Irish."
Elsewhere, Dubliner Andrew Scott, Roscommon actor Chris O’Dowd, and Cork's Cillian Murphy have also all had to point out their true Irish nationality after being mistakenly claimed as British in UK media.
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