Meryl Streep's Donegal roots, Nicola Coughlan's use of RIP.ie, and other recent Irish shout-outs
Meryl Streep, who is currently promoting The Devil Wears Prada 2 alongside Stanley Tucci, recently opened up about her Irish roots.
We Irish have some traditions, products and services that make us uniquely Irish – and proud to be Irish.
When we travel far and wide, we take those traditions with us, often proudly gloating about them because they set us apart. They make us who we are.
And when others get in on the ‘uniquely Irish’ action? We love it.
In recent weeks, celebrities have been sharing some of their Irish favourites, reminiscing about time spent on the Emerald Isle and plugging websites distinctive to Irish culture. Here are just some of the random shout-outs Ireland has been getting.
Actor Kim Cattrall, who shot to fame when she played Samantha Jones in recently revealed that she is a Barry’s Tea drinker.
Contributing to ‘How I Shop’ series, the actor reminisced about the smell of tea that had been brewing for hours when she would return home as a young adult.
Choosing her favourites, she said she likes a brew of Barry’s Tea and Yorkshire Tea, as well as ginger tea.
When asked by the publication how she makes her coffee at home, she said: “I do not belong to the coffee cult. I see it as a cup of acid being poured down my throat. I’ve always been into tea. When I’d come home as a child and as a young adult, the first thing that would hit me would be the smell of tea that had been brewing for hours. Now I like Barry’s and Yorkshire Tea. And I’m into ginger tea. I’ll cut up nice big chunks of it and drink it with lemon.”
Nicola Coughlan recently revealed the unique way in which she uses RIP.ie, Ireland’s leading online platform for death notices, funeral information, and condolences.
Fresh from her hosting duties on Coughlan sat down with Nick Grimshaw and Michelin-star chef Angelina Harnett on their podcast, and revealed that she used the site as a resource when she worked at an optician’s in Galway.
The Galway-born actor explained to both Grimshaw and Harnett how the website works.
“In Ireland, there’s a website. It’s my mom’s favourite website… RIP.ie,” she said, her explanation met by laughter from both hosts and the podcast’s production crew.
“It’s the death notices which you should also have in this country because how do you know someone has died?,” she continued.
She went on to explain that during her time working at the opticians, she would have to call patients, many of whom were older in age, to organise follow-up appointments, only to learn that they had since passed away.
Coughlan decided to come up with a system to minimise the “horrible” over-the-phone encounters, with the help of the country’s favourite website – RIP.ie.
“What I started to do was, if I saw someone’s date of birth that was a little bit further into the past, I would go, ‘I’m going to put them into RIP.ie’, so I’d pop in their details, and then if they had passed away, I would print the page, and I would staple it onto the thing and I’d put it in the back office,” she explained.
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Pop sensation Billie Eilish appeared on comedian Amy Poehler's podcast this week, and afterwards they took to TikTok for a quick dance party.
The pair were recorded busting some moves to by Cork's Kabin Crew.
The song is one of the biggest hits to come out of Cork in recent years.
Following its release in 2024, the Kabin Crew were fully booked, performing at various festivals including All Together Now and Electric Picnic.
Established by Garry McCarthy (GMCBeats) in 2012 in Knocknaheeny with the support of Music Generation Cork City, The Kabin has grown out of a love for hip hop, songwriting, performance and creative expression.
Meryl Streep is a busy woman as of late, promoting her new movie alongside her co-hosts Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt.
Following the release of the movie on May 1, people have been admiring Streep’s youthful appearance at the age of 76 – and it turns out that her Irish genes may have a part to play.
Speaking with Fionnuala Jay, Streep revealed her Irish family connection and looked back on her time in Donegal filming
“I searched down the Strain family, you know, because that’s my family’s name. And it’s a very unusual name from Donegal. There aren’t very many of them.
“Grace Strain married Angus McFadden and they had Mary McFadden and she married somebody named Wolf, Harry Wolf. And that’s my grandmother and her mother.”
She said she thought Donegal was beautiful when she visited to shoot saying: “There’s a lot of people who look like me up there”.
Jay also notes how Tucci is “obsessed with our butter”, making the actor laugh.
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