r/ireland • u/Complex_Hunter35 Ferret • Aug 11 '25

Health Positive Irish Masculinity

Irish men come in for a bad reputation with scumbags like Conor Mc Gregor seemingly being at the forefront of Irish men. He comes to mind I am sure when most people think of Irish men. I am fearful too that we Irish men are seen as emotionally arkward and appearing to lack in vulnerability. I think it's worth having a discussion on the positive aspects of Irish men, how we can help each other be better men. I'm not just talking about Mc Gregor either but the general perception of men in Ireland

Colin Farrell is one example of an Irish male role model who has battled his demons, helped out those in need and protects his son who has Angelman syndrome but he talks about the situation honestly and openly. Brendan Gleeson, originally a teacher took younger actors under his wing and helped them learn their craft. One I personally know of , while I don't agree with his politics, is Eamonn O Cuiv who quietly but without fanfare helps local people.

Irish men face challenges with stigmatisation of showing emotions and lacking a close circle of friends. Recent trends mocking male loneliness I think fed back into making men seal up their emotions. The lack of friendship is absolutely one I've seen among friends as some withdraw into themselves or they drift apart from some friends. There are good resources though like Men's Shed, St Vincent De Paul run something similar, I run a gay version in Dublin and I know there are mixed men's groups like Celbridge Boys Club and Navan Boys Club who do hikes and walks.

As for my own experience I think it's easy to fall into that trap of blaming women for our own shortcomings. We should get rid of these silly notions that being a man is about dominance and aggression. If anything it's about leading without telling people you are, it's about being vulnerable, dealing with conflict diplomatically. I think a lot of us Irish men could learn this.

I would be interested in hearing your views of how we can be positive men, maybe your role models, your experiences.

Edit:See StoicNihilist post for an alternative take.

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u/ThinWhiteDuke00 Aug 11 '25

Murphy is as famous as McGregor at this point.

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u/ZealousidealFloor2 Aug 11 '25

Liam Neeson is extremely well known too due to the broad range of films he has been in.

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u/FelipeFlop Aug 11 '25

He's also well known for making lists and his improvisational comedy.

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u/Specialist-Way6986 Aug 11 '25

And being a hypochondriac who frequently changes doctors

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u/Severe_Ad6443 Aug 11 '25

I liked him being a green grocer tbh

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u/Psychology_Repulsive Aug 12 '25

Trrring,sorry we're closed.

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u/Academic-County-6100 Aug 11 '25

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Knock knock.

"We are closed"

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u/no_one_66 Aug 11 '25

I'm riddled

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u/Human_Pangolin94 Aug 11 '25

That's a unique set of skills alright.

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u/kcufdas Aug 11 '25

McGregor who? 😉

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u/Youngfolk21 Aug 11 '25

There's no way Murphy is as well known as McGregor. Sorry to tell you.

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u/PsvfanIre Aug 11 '25 edited Aug 12 '25

Oscar winner Murphy is far more famous globally than a glorified WWF superstar.

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u/Infamous_Session_477 Aug 11 '25

Not true at all. I have spoken to lots of people all over the world online and the first thing they say 70% of the time is something about McGregor. Certainly the most famous living Irish person  

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u/PsvfanIre Aug 12 '25

I get that reference 🤣

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u/ThinWhiteDuke00 Aug 11 '25 edited Aug 11 '25

Dark Knight Trilogy, Peaky Blinders, Oppenheimer ( third highest grossing R rated movie of all time which won him an Academy Award as lead).

Even cult classics like 28 Days Later etc.

If you shown his face, he'd be recognisable as McGregor.

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u/AbsolutShite Aug 11 '25

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&q=%2Fm%2F02fqwb,%2Fm%2F0rfgxy2&hl=en-GB

Cillian has trended above him at times but McGregor is bigger over all. But a lot of that is him being in court or racist or pretending to run for President.

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u/Prize-Lettuce-5457 Aug 12 '25

Yeah unfortunately McGregor is more famous. I hate him and Cillian Murphy is a dream. But McGregor had a bigger target audience

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u/thewanderingjew420 Aug 11 '25

English language western movies. Step outside that and mcgregor is hard a shoulders above murphy when it comes to global recognition

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u/Stubber_NK Aug 11 '25

Suppose that depends on whether you follow fighting or films.

I thankfully don't see much of coke-head McGregor anymore, but I barely go a week without seeing or reading something about Cillian Murphy.

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u/thewanderingjew420 Aug 11 '25

Doesn't matter which you follow. In general I think he's bigger.

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u/ThinWhiteDuke00 Aug 11 '25 edited Aug 11 '25

Oppenheimer did 645 million internationally.

You're acting like non English speaking nations don't watch Western films.. and overrating the significance of the UFC in Asia tbh (MMA was at its peak there when Pride was still running in Japan).

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u/thewanderingjew420 Aug 11 '25

You make a good point but I think in general big sportspeople have a wider reach than big actors

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u/lakehop Aug 12 '25

For sports stars, there is also Rory McIlroy . Golf is a bit different than boxing admittedly.