More from my background are considering Irish identity – James Nesbitt

By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

Actor James Nesbitt has said he believes that many more people in Northern Ireland from a Protestant or unionist background are considering their Irish identity.

The Cold Feet actor said that his background did not prevent him from identifying as an Irishman.

Nesbitt, who comes from a Protestant/unionist background in Co Antrim, told an Ireland’s Future event in 2022 that he remains unsure about the arguments advanced by nationalists over Irish unity, but said he was open to an informed discussion on the issues.

Weeks after his appearance as the keynote speaker at the Dublin event, graffiti threatening the actor appeared in Portrush. Police said at the time they were treating it as a hate crime.

Nesbitt was asked about the incident during an appearance on the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme.

He said: “For any flak that I got, my only concern about that was that it was bringing it to bear in Portrush, where I spend so much of my time now.”

The actor said conversations about Northern Ireland’s future are “definitely out there”.

He added: “Thank God Stormont is back.

“If you were to ask me, the boy that I was many years ago, that I would ever stand in Dublin and make that speech, I would have said you were bonkers.

“The debate is out there because it has to be out there.

“So much of what I was trying to say was that my background, my culture, my history, does not disallow me from considering myself an Irishman.

“I think that many more from my background are beginning to see that and feel that.

“You can call yourself whatever you want, you can call yourself Northern Irish, from the north of Ireland, you can be nationalist, unionist, that doesn’t matter.

“It is just about having an identity and a protected identity and feeling that you can be part of a shared island, with shared identities in which we move forward for the best of everyone.”