John Connors is having a good week.
Last Thursday he claimed a Best Actor IFTA for his role in Cardboard Gangsters. Connors pulled no punches in his moving acceptance speech, as he discussed the realities of being an actor and a Traveller in Ireland and how acting saved his life while lambasting the Irish Film Board and the Irish government in the process. The speech has gone viral over the last 48 hours and many media outlets are rightly curious about Connors's story.
One of those programmes looking to book Connors on the back of the speech was The Nolan Show on BBC Northern Ireland. Today a member of the show's production team sent an innocent request to Connors over Twitter for an interview. Connors turned down the request, but did so with fiery (and public) panache.
Up North, of course, the Irish Language Act has been front and centre in the on-going political tensions between Sinn Fein and the DUP in Northern Ireland. This Gregory Donaldson call back from last week's Nolan Show featuring Irish language advocate Niall Ó Domhnaille offers a taste of the disdain that Nolan frequently expresses for the Irish language on his various media platforms.
Respect? Is there is a more appropriate time for Stephen Nolan to say that this was not his finest moment on TV? pic.twitter.com/zUWEUt4Jou
— Raymond McCartney (@RaymondMcCartn1) February 14, 2018
The above clip has inspired a number of online petitions from Irish speakers seeking an apology from Nolan and the spread of the #BoycottNolan hashtag. Though that apology may be a long time coming, the programme has lost at least one guest because of it.
Twitter was pumped.
Maith an fear John 👏👏👏 https://t.co/PRBIlfcFxX
— Phelim Warren (@Freewheeler12) February 20, 2018
John Connors for Taoiseach https://t.co/Xts29El1ET
— Mary (@Mc1988) February 20, 2018
John Connors has no chill and it is awesome 👌 https://t.co/qW37o8V9LQ
— niall (@dirk_diggler986) February 20, 2018
John Connors not only one of the best actors in Ireland but he's woke AF
Wonder if Nolan will reply https://t.co/Bt6BvqasAt— The Barrick Boy (@BarrickBoys) February 20, 2018
