Hollywood star John C Reilly has revealed that he is set to become an Irish citizen.
The Step Brothers and We Need to Talk About Kevin star has Irish heritage and is a long-time fan of the country of his ancestors.
He has spent time here in a professional capacity when he filmed the Colin Farrell black comedy The Lobster.
He is also happy spending his spare time in Ireland and often visits the Galway Film Fleadh and even steps up to sing in Irish pubs.
Reilly was born and raised in Chicago, where there is a large Irish population. Last year he spoke about being ‘87% Irish’ but being ‘one grandparent’ away from qualifying for citizenship.
He said: “I really do feel really at home whenever I’m in Ireland. You’d think they’d give me some kind of honorary title or something with the amount of time I’ve spent there.”
He wasn’t joking and genuinely wanted citizenship and now it seems that his persistence has paid off. He told Joe.ie that he had offered the government a deal they couldn’t refuse.
He said: “Yes, you can absolutely say welcome home. I’m going to be a citizen now, Ireland has just declared that they’re going to make me into a citizen now. I was at the US Embassy last night and I made a pitch and they said ‘alright, it’s underway.’
“I made a big promise last night and said if the Irish government will grant me dual citizenship, I will play a concert in any pub that requests it for one year. So, your move Higgins.”
Take a look at this video of Reilly singing Wild Rover in Doolin, Co Clare.
John C. Reilly on growing up in an Irish neighborhood on the south side of Chicago – “I didn’t know any actors!” pic.twitter.com/k5YLMI2G66
— U.S. Embassy Dublin (@USEmbassyDublin) November 20, 2018
Written by Michael Kehoe @michaelcalling
