Cork Celebrity Accent Watch - Part 1

22nd May 2013

One of the big responsibilities weighing on the shoulders of the People’s Republic of Cork is to make sure that famous Corkonians don’t lose the run of themselves when they hit the big time. Success is always applauded in Cork but only if it is genuine and only if, as a successful Corkonian, your feet remain on the ground.

Being authentic and true to your Cork heritage is a serious requirement of our religion and to be worshiped on the Rebel altar with Cork’s real heroes and stars you must be considered worthy by the congregation – us.  

On your behalf we keep a close eye on this issue by monitoring, among other things, the accents of Cork’s well known sons and daughters who regularly appear in the media. Here’s our report:

ROG
Although somewhat more camera-shy than other Munster and Ireland colleagues Ronan O’Gara has never been a media darling but his accent has always raised eyebrows on Leeside when he is heard on TV or radio.

As a Munster player he has undoubtedly spent a long time in the (dangerous) company of people from Limerick and as a life-long ‘game manager’  at out half he has spent his professional career roaring instructions at large oafs from Limerick.

As they have a lower IQ than Cork people the natural conclusion is that O’Gara has had to alter his accent to make it easier for the oafs to process his orders on the field – hence the strange country-drawl you often hear out of ROG during interviews. The move to France will hopefully eradicate this problem.

Keefa
After a TV interview with American chat show host Bonnie Hunt in 2010 Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Real Cork name: Johnny O’Keeffe) was issued with a People’s Republic ‘caution notice’ after speaking in an American accent for its duration. Initially there were demands for a full blown ‘fatwah’, forcing Keefa to attend the People’s Republic of Cork’s Court of Treason, however it was noted that he did mention Cork in the interview which mitigated the offence somewhat. 

Since then, Keefa’s accent has been monitored closely – all that time he spent in the North Mon (or in the arcades and poor halls having been turfed out of the Mon) must count for something.


George
Of course the ideal Cork accent isn’t necessarily defined by the tones of Echoboys or victorious hurlers celebrating on Parnell Place – Hooky’s accent is a function of his life path: behind the mix of marble mouthed private school privilege and throaty haw-haw rugby growls (which were used to communicate from yacht-to-yacht before VHF radio) you can hear his native ‘Jewtown’ sing-song Cork heritage in there when he gets animated.

You rarely hear this type of accent in Cork anymore unless you visit the rugby pubs,  sorry ‘bors’,  of the Douglas area or find yourself sipping a few bevies at the Royal Cork’s own ‘bor’.

Sonia
Now. As probably our favourite Cork old doll of all time, there does seem to be some tongue-rolling foreign tones creeping into Sully’s accent [we’ll call her that from now on so as to encourage her to be more Cork] – possibly because she has spent so much time out of the country and married to an Ozzie.  

A generation of young Corkonians however are growing up having been named after the Olympic Silver medallist and we have to concede that it’s a name that certainly encourages the music of the Cork accent to shine with that long vowel at the end that is the accent equivalent of a piano’s sustain pedal: Sonyyaaaaaaaaa! Your maaaaam wants yaaaaaaa!

Roy
Despite almost two decades in Manchester, especially during his formative years at United, the Mayfield lilt has failed to be erased from ‘Keano talk’. When Roy was booted out of Saipan (fact) by the evil anti-Cork Mick McCarthy and did the infamous interview on RTE the high pitch notes of the Manchester accent were at their most prominent.  

Since his then and now in retirement Keane is much freer to get back to Leeside to top up on his Corkness. In heated exchanges with Gareth Southgate on ITV recently the Cork accent blared and his legendary “whose phone is that?” interview after the Thierry Henry handball sounded like he had never made it beyond Dillon’s Cross.

Anytime Roy furrows his brow and tilts his head downwards at someone like Southgate you know you’re going to get an ear-fulla Mayfield.

Derval
As a Southsider we naturally expect Derval O’Rouke’s accent to be less Cork than say, Roy Keane’s, and having spent years training in Dublin and surrounded by international athletes and coaches on the circuit, it’s not that surprising that Ireland’s best female athlete’s vocal tones have started to nudge her into the “neutral generic Irish accent” category.

It has been noted by the Cork Linguistic Accent Investigation Mob (CLAIM) that Derval’s partner is also from Cork and that no prosecutions (or ‘claims’) will be brought against O’Rourke for the foreseeable future.  Her years spent at Christ the King school in Turners Cross should be plenty Cork enough not to cross the Mob again.

Next week we access the quality of Cork accents of John Creedon, Anna Geary, Cillian Murphy, Kathleen Lynch, Michéal Martin and Prendeville.