Posted on 09/12/2007 2:34:22 PM PDT by blam
John Hurt admits sadness at his faked Irish ancestry
By Tom Peterkin, Ireland Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:56am BST 12/09/2007
For years the actor John Hurt took great pride in his Irish aristocratic ancestry, believing that his great-grandmother was the illegitimate child of the Marquis of Sligo.
Actor John Hurt admitted that his lack of Irish blood was a great disappointment
Much to his disappointment, genealogists have discovered that his Irishness was nothing more than a family myth, perhaps created to give the family tree a spurious link to the upper class. Instead it appears that his family hails from Croydon, south London.
The research was done for the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are programme, which traces the roots of well-known figures and is to be broadcast tomorrow night.
The star of the Naked Civil Servant and The Elephant Man admitted that his lack of Irish blood was a great disappointment. He felt so close to the country that he even moved there for a spell. Now he can no longer be included in the roll call of great Irish actors.
"As far as I was concerned I was Irish," he said. "My disappointment was that they had managed to prove that the one thing I thought I did have was Irish blood and I haven't got any."
Hah! That must Hurt.
"Oh no, not again!!!"
On the other hand, Barry O’Bama’s as Irish as Paddy’s pig.
Meh. Who cares.
Poor guy.
You can still be a drunk .
His great-great grand da’ was Paddy O’Furniture.
I had a friend in high school with and Irish-sounding last name who got a tattoo with the Notre Dame mascot standing in front of a shamrock. His dad saw it and said “We’re not Irish you idiot”.
Black Irish, baby...
More importantly, I never met a member of my father's side of the family who cared and I don't either. I am much more interested in my descendants than my ancestors.
“John Hurt Admits Sadness At His Faked Irish Ancestry”
Cheer up Mr. Hurt.
You’re a helluvan actor.
Great in “I, Claudius” and lots of other roles.
Even good in “Hellboy”.
My husband had a friend growing up whose last name was Irish. He found out years later that the friend’s father had changed his name long ago. The real name was Albanian, but he had thought an Irish name would be more acceptable.
Better make that Paddy's lamb, pig is not halal
Wow, what a link. My mom was born in County Cork. Can I get my genes mapped, or is this something cost-prohibitive?
I have no contact/knowledge of grandparents, etc., except burial locations. So finding out generally where my family came from (even dating back centuries) is of interest to me.
bookmark for response.
LOL! The parody of that scene in Spaceballs was hilarious!
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