EVERYBODY knows that Sean Connery - perhaps the most famous and quintessential of all the Bonds - is Scottish, but did you know he's actually Irish?
His Scottish heritage is legitimate, just listen to his soft highland hum of a voice - *gazes into the clouds - daydreaming*.
But so - in fact - is his Irish heritage.
That's right. Not only do we provide England with their best beer and their best cricketer, we've also lent them their very best secret agent.
James O'Bond, anyone? Perhaps that's a bit obvious.
Anyone, let's get down to the detail.
His great-grandfather was an Irish traveller from Wexford
That's right. James Connery was actually an impoverished Irish traveller who left Co. Wexford during the Great Famine to find a better life in Scotland.
Few details of his life are recorded but it's understood that he died of bronchitis in Glasgow in 1914.
His Father was Catholic
Sure, by this point, the Connery family were well settled in Scotland, but they weren't about to forget where they came from in a hurry.
While Sean himself never quite took on a life of religion, his father stayed true to his Irish Catholic roots passed down to him by his grandfather James.
Connery is an Irish name meaning 'unknown'
Details about the history of the name Connery are few and far between - perhaps poignant given the translation, but its origin lies in Ireland.
Intriguingly, it has no gender assignment, meaning that it was once given to both boys and to girls.
Connery chose to use his middle name - Sean - because of an Irish childhood friend.
The actor's first name is actually Thomas. He chose to use Sean, his middle name, when he was younger.
He apparently had an Irish friend named Séamus, and the two of them were inseperable for a time. Those who knew them both had decided to call Connery by his middle name whenever both were present, because of the alliteration, and Sir Sean never looked back.
His Irish accent was voted 'the worst accent of all time'
Despite his roots, Connery never managed to translate his heritage to the big screen. The Irish accent he adopted in the 1987 film 'The Untouchables', where he played Chicago policeman Jim Malone was voted the very worst accent in Hollywood in a poll.
** Originally Published on: Aug 25, 2020
