# How convicing is this fake Irish accent? Best/worst Irish accents by American actors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-convicing-is-this-fake-irish-accent-best-worst-irish-accents-by-american-actors/489347 "2009-03-13T17:27:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-convicing-is-this-fake-irish-accent-best-worst-irish-accents-by-american-actors/489347/41 "2009-03-17T22:11:50Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I was going to ask about this. I remember when the movie came out some people were very critical of Pitt’s accent in Devil’s Own. I think it was \*Entertainment Weekly \*that talked to Irish immigrants who said he did a very good job. It was just that Americans are more used to hearing a more southern or neutral accent and Pitt was trying for a Belfast accent. Some Irish friends of mine complained bitterly when it came out, said they liked him generally but his accent in _The Devil’s Own_ was completely terrible and unbelievable if you were Irish. This was pre-_Snatch_, of course. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-convicing-is-this-fake-irish-accent-best-worst-irish-accents-by-american-actors/489347/42 "2009-03-18T01:30:53Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Some Irish friends of mine complained bitterly when it came out, said they liked him generally but his accent in _The Devil’s Own_ was completely terrible and unbelievable if you were Irish. This was pre-_Snatch_, of course. I’d have to watch it again but I thought it was a fair stab at it. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-convicing-is-this-fake-irish-accent-best-worst-irish-accents-by-american-actors/489347/43 "2009-03-18T01:34:55Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > This seems like the place to ask this. There’s a police officer in **Hot Fuzz** that speaks in a really thick accent, the joke being that Sergeant Angel can’t understand a word he says. In one scene they bring him along to talk to another character with a similar accent. Are there people with an accent that thick, and can British people understand him easily? [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM45TACI4H4)’s part of the scene for reference. It sounds to me like a rural West Country accent. I’m sure there’ll be some British dopers along to talk about it soon. There are people in Ireland who have accents that I find impenetrable. They tend to be rural or uneducated but there are plenty of accents that confuse natives. There are 32 counties in Ireland and as far as I can see/hear there is at least one distinct accent in each of these. I’m sure Britain is similar. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-convicing-is-this-fake-irish-accent-best-worst-irish-accents-by-american-actors/489347/44 "2009-03-18T03:44:33Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > This seems like the place to ask this. There’s a police officer in **Hot Fuzz** that speaks in a really thick accent, the joke being that Sergeant Angel can’t understand a word he says. In one scene they bring him along to talk to another character with a similar accent. Are there people with an accent that thick, and can British people understand him easily? [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM45TACI4H4)’s part of the scene for reference. No, it was a parody. Some rural accents are very strong, especially among aged men (who probably have dodgy false teeth to boot), but not _that_ strong. Nobody was supposed to be able to understand him. (I’m amused that the link happened to be one with subtitles :D). ---
**Author:** ![DemonSpawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@DemonSpawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonSpawn)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-convicing-is-this-fake-irish-accent-best-worst-irish-accents-by-american-actors/489347/45 "2009-03-18T12:57:51Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Worst Irish accent in a film: Julia Roberts in _Michael Collins_. Or in “Mary Reilly”. I actually laughed out loud in the movie theatre when she started speaking. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-convicing-is-this-fake-irish-accent-best-worst-irish-accents-by-american-actors/489347/46 "2009-03-26T13:50:42Z")
> [@sjc](#): > > I wonder if it doesn’t refer to Jesus’s hole, i.e. one of the stigmata. I’m really just engaging in wild speculation, but I think it could be. Hole used in Ireland in an expression would more likely mean “anus” or “ass” Ask me hole = Ask my ass. As to the OP, the accent is not very good stage Irish and has no real equivalent IRL. As has been said there’s no such thing as **a** Irish accent. Dublin alone has multiple accents, some very clear and understandable and others not so. Middle class Dublin accent. (From a comedy mockumentary) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4au3\_hDk\_E](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4au3_hDk_E) Working class from a reality show(the first guy is a yank who moved over here and made it big so don’t get confused by the first accent you hear) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PgT0bs8oAY&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PgT0bs8oAY&feature=related) There are stronger versions of both these accents and everything in between. This would be similar to most places around the world. How many accents are there in New York for example. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-convicing-is-this-fake-irish-accent-best-worst-irish-accents-by-american-actors/489347.md?page=2)