There is a popular story on the Internet about the proud behavior of an Irish actor when meeting with a representative of the British royal family. We have verified the veracity of this story.
Most posts are accompanied by a photograph of Cillian Murphy, in which the actor stands in front of Prince Harry with his hands in his pockets. The following dialogue allegedly took place between them:
- So you're British? - asks Harry.
- No, I'm Irish.
The prince pretends not to notice what Murphy said:
- Oh yes, I know, you are British.
- No no. I'm Irish. And that’s a big difference,” Murphy answers with dignity, without removing his hands from his pocket.
The authors of viral publications explain that the actor’s behavior refers to events a hundred years ago: in 1920, when the Irish War of Independence was going on, men did not take their hands out of their pockets when meeting with British police and military personnel, for which they were arrested or even shot on the spot.
In 2025, publications with this story became popular, for example, on “Peekaboo"(344,000 views), in Telegram (31,000 views) and in Facebook (701 reposts).
First let's look at history. Indeed, in 1919-1921 in Ireland was walking war of independence from Great Britain. On the local side, it was largely a guerrilla struggle, with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) playing a key role in seizing weapons, freeing prisoners, and ambushing Royal Irish Constabulary and British military patrols. Judging by memories According to eyewitnesses, supporters of independence often hid firearms and bombs in their pockets - not so much out of a desire to attack unnoticed, but out of fear of running into another raid. It is not surprising that on 1 December 1920, the Royal Colonial Command (RIC) auxiliary unit based at Macroom Castle in County Cork released order: “All men residing in [the town of] Makroom and all men passing through Makroom are prohibited from appearing in public with their hands in their pockets. Any man who violates this order is subject to execution on the spot.” Similar orders, promising violators at least arrest, and at most extrajudicial execution, appeared in subsequent months in Tipperrary and other cities.
How report modern Irish media, since then there has been a tradition in the region of holding one's hands in one's pockets in protest in the presence of British officials. However, in the 20th century they did not write much about its manifestations; the first major scandal occurred already in our millennium. In 2009, on the pages British newspapers A photograph has emerged of Ireland rugby player Ronan O'Gara holding his hands in his pockets at a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II.
In this gesture, many saw political overtones and a tribute to Irish tradition. Some criticized the player, others admired him. However, many years later O'Gara statedthat there was a misunderstanding: he was simply preparing his hand for a handshake, wiping the sweat from it in his pocket. “The photograph appeared in the Irish Times and everyone was convinced that I had refused to shake her hand. <…> I have no strong opinions about the monarchy, but I would like to think that my parents raised me well. People respect older women, women in general,” the athlete explained. In the time that passed before his recognition, a historic event happened. event — in 2012, Elizabeth II and former IRA militant leader Martin McGuinness shook hands.
Prince Harry's meeting with Cillian Murphy, footage of which went viral took place On July 13, 2017, at the London premiere of the film “Dunkirk,” in which the Irishman played one of the main roles.
As can be seen in the video, Murphy shakes the prince’s hand with a smile, nods affirmatively in response to his words and says: “Amazing.” The rest of the dialogue is barely audible, but it's nothing like the exchanges featured in viral posts.
Some users noticed at the “predatory” look with which Murphy sent the prince off.
However, other shots show that the actor looks at the prince much more good-naturedly.
At the same time, in the English-language segment of the Internet Can meet viral publications from 2023, in which the same video is accompanied by a different audio track and subtitles - it’s as if there really is a dialogue between the actor and the prince about the origin of the artist.
This video cannot be called believable - the movements of Murphy’s lips do not always coincide with speech, and the phrase “This is a big difference,” contrary to transcripts from social networks, seems to be spoken by Prince Harry.
The thing is that the soundtrack in these viral videos from 2023 is taken from 2010 video, in which Murphy and his colleague Tom Hardy answered to questions from a journalist about the film “Inception.” “You’re both British,” the interviewer said, to which Murphy countered: “No, I’m Irish.” The interlocutor, who did not understand the difference, repeated: “Yes, I know. British." After the second objection, the journalist apologized, and Hardy added on his own: “That’s a big difference.” As a result, the interviewer described the homeland of the two actors as “territory in Northern Europe.” To which I again heard from Murphy: “No, Ireland.”
The question of identity is really important for an Oscar winner. In 2015, after 14 years of living in London, Murphy returned with his family to his homeland. “We wanted the kids to be Irish. They were still in their teens and had a very posh English accent, which I didn't really like! So we decided to go back. <…> This is a kind of typical Irish story: leave, do your business and return home,” aboutexplained actor.
Thus, Cillian Murphy did not correct Prince Harry for allegedly calling him “British.” The basis for publications on this topic was a video that appeared in 2023, where the audio track from the actor’s interview was superimposed on the video of their meeting. Apparently, there was also no reason for the fact that Murphy kept his hands in his pockets at that time - and they began to pedal this gesture after the edited video went viral in the English-language segment of the Internet.
Cover photo: Associated Press screenshot
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