Liam Neeson Shows Off His Irish Accent

[@Deetroiter]

He’s actually not too far off because a lot of the Appalachian area was settled by irish people.

[@imlach4318]

No, it was not 'settled by Irish people', it ended up homing a large influx of Ulster Scots and Lowland Scots who were predominantly Protestant, as such they'd have had little respect or love of the general Irish diaspora, being predominantly Catholic, both in terms of governing and culturally. The Northern exiles ended up in the Appalachian region due to the fact that New England was rather full to the brim, and had become a rather elitist, upper class society and as such there weren't many opportunities for minorities that were held in low regard, such as blacks, Ulster Scots and Lowland Scots, Italians and Eastern Europeans. So, they migrated rurally, where they could keep to themselves. They were not quite as isolated as the German co-settlers, but the lack of governing and self reliance in Appalachia was a huge bonus for these exiles, considering they were fleeing religious persecution. They did of course greatly shape the culture and the landscape of Appalachia, along with the many lower class Englishmen, Southern German settlers and freed blacks. But to describe them as Irish is too crude, these people were seen as outcasts, Black Irish, even back in Europe.

[@nicholasjones774]

scots Irish. or ulster scots. they weren't irish

[@kkandsims4612]

Scottish Little known secret the Scottish are lowkey racist why do u think the southern states wgwrw settled by loads of Scottish I mean the Irish are like one of the only white peoples who understand poc of the past 😂😂

[@Alva-fz1jk]

He does not sound irish to me. I think the Best irish accent i heart Was from the irish character in Red dead redemption 2

[@creely123]

Appalachia was settled by Scots-irish also known as Ulster Scots

[@troletrain]

The music wasn't loud enough. I could still hear the dialogue.

[@antoniodimperio2418]

😂😂😂

[@HannahFields444]

Barely

[@Gerard_2024]

Just because your mommy told you that you're hilarious doesn't make you a professional comedian.

[@troletrain]

@@Gerard_2024?? Did you forget to take your meds this morning?

[@Gerard_2024]

@@troletrain I'd stick with the day job, if I were you.

[@3516C]

Thanks for putting that loud-ass music in the background so we could better hear Liam Neeson's accent.

[@tafftuth]

I know

[@jasephisaaccastillocanton6618]

Good

[@nomindsyndicate5167]

That is pure rock fury son. Turn that shit up

[@bobthebear1246]

Right?!

[@momijiyamanishi4548]

Thank you for your very honest sarcasm. I totally concur.

[@coewhat]

PLEASE, turn up the music LOUDER. It’ll make the video dialogue much more bearable

[@tommyhaynes9157]

And it was on the original show . Some idiot added it

[@jasephisaaccastillocanton6618]

​@@tommyhaynes9157 lol

[@elizacorkery6967]

​@@tommyhaynes9157Idiot exactly

[@TrayDyer38]

I’ve known that for 25 years. Being from KY, we have an Irish pub in Lexington, with an Irish owner and a bunch of Irish hung out their. After listening to them for several hours, I said “ I think the Kentucky accent is a watered down SCOTT Irish accent.” So I started talking in my best Irish accent and mid sentence morphed it into KY accent.

[@EughhBrothereughh]

Why dont you just be American cuz you're American instead of emulating people you have nothing in common with

[@rammingspeed5217]

Yea.. But have you ever received a STONE COLD STUNNER?!

[@mariajane542]

Interesting fact that the American settlers that inhabited the Appalachian mountain range were actually the Scots Irish from northern Ireland

[@EMMYK1916]

Scots Irish were planters, I can't be arsed explaining it to you. Please look up a credible source. That fuckin cromwell.

[@yourfather8041]

A bunch of Irish hung out their what?

[@gearoidoleary420]

"take the man out Ireland, but ye'll never take the Ireland out of the man" Liam Neeson in My Movie 2023

[@EpicAelflaed]

That saying (insert country) is ‘said’ in every country of the world 😂

[@gracait]

validdd

[@jagzin6147]

​@@EpicAelflaed and it's been rooted in xenophobia and racism for most of its history

[@easyenetwork2023]

Northern Irishman, there is a difference.

[@jackietreehorn5561]

@@easyenetwork2023 he's a nationaliist and identity is Irish....the GFA changed your theory

[@bhavyaverma8701]

Irish accent is so beautiful and great!!!!

[@Shamrock_queen98]

It's really not mate

[@jonathanhibberd9983]

@@Shamrock_queen98 The Irish/Scottish accents are absolutely musical.

[@lethalbroccoli01]

​@@Shamrock_queen98get clowned on dunce

[@SmcdMcd-d2k]

@@Shamrock_queen98most ppl would disagree

[@AlainnCorcaigh]

​@@Shamrock_queen98we have a salty English man I see

[@LouiseThompson-s8j]

Laim the one guy who has not forgotten his roots so genuine

[@ConZervative]

He’s right. I’m half Scottish/Irish and my roots are settled in Kentucky

[@duibhiruimaolmmhauid9039]

half scottish/Irish..which country were you born in, Scotland or Ireland?

[@H-nx8wr]

A person can have Scottish blood and Irish blood, also, the family can keep their heritage alive through memory and traditions.

[@keswouters5437]

​@@H-nx8wr I feel that you can but for how long?

[@H-nx8wr]

@@keswouters5437 For always, Kes, it's in your blood :)

[@yermanoffthetelly]

​@@H-nx8wr The Irish Scotti people from Ulster are the ones that settled Scotland and literally gave it its name.

[@robertobrien7102]

I’m from KY and from Irish descent and he is spot on

[@jeromeaddison7316]

That makes sense the is a lot of Irish descent in southern west Virginia, southwest Virginia and Kentucky

[@mikefitzpatrick43]

The Irish settled every where because we are tough adaptable people.

[@jackietreehorn5561]

Take me home, country roads to the place I belong...west Virginia

[@brendanmaguire4134]

The Irish accent is all over the Caribbean, especially Jamaica.

[@jackietreehorn5561]

@@mikefitzpatrick43 my teacher in school said I was like a pint of Guinness cuz I was stout with a big head and took a long time to settle....

[@bnations2000]

He's one of only two actors that I've ever heard do a convincing Southern accent on screen. Listen to him in "Next of Kin", and you'll see Patrick Swayze as the lead mangling it all through while Neeson actually sounded like a Hillbilly from the coal fields of Kentucky.

[@ChristChickAutistic]

He's right. Appalachia and the South were settled by loads of Irish. That's where our distinctive accent evolved from, I can hear it in my own speech.

[@sbeth98]

I was born and raised in the mountains of Appalachia in Eastern Kentucky and I can mimic Scottish, Irish, and English accents almost perfectly. I credit that greatly to how I grew up talking. And a lot of our folk music that I learned growing up are of Irish and Scottish in origin. That's why a lot of people from those countries can do a very thick souther accent more easily than a lot of others, because they are so similar in the way we enunciate our words and vowels.

[@tiffanneerodriguez1352]

I don't care how he speaks, I love him❤

[@barbaramoore5437]

To someone who grew up in the next town from Liam Neeson, he definitely has lost his accent, I’m sure if he goes to visit family he’ll swing straight back into his home town accent in seconds ❤

[@kkandsims4612]

Isint that actress that’s catelyn stark from the same place to same with little finger and davos and Varys like they all are from tue same town Liam’s from yet I think Michelle still sounds Irish

[@barbaramoore5437]

@@kkandsims4612 Michelle is from coleraine in Northern Ireland not far from Liam Neeson but others, I don’t know 🤷‍♀️

[@tomasomaonaigh7659]

Nowhere is that far in Ireland, 300 miles long and 150 miles wide, but our accents change after 100 yards.

[@barbaramoore5437]

@@tomasomaonaigh7659 So true, every town has their own dialect

[@bananka4905]

but being from north america you can hear an accent.

[@acc.x.cc.x9888]

He actually does a good southern accent

[@tomimpala]

They invented it, they better

[@kcirtapelyk6060]

@@tomimpalaNo they didn’t! The classical Southern American accent actually originated in Southern and Western England.

[@jackietreehorn5561]

@@kcirtapelyk6060 sounds nothing like it

[@The_Gallowglass]

Ain't no southern accent. That's appalachian. Kentucky was Union, despite the traitors tryina usurp power there.

[@aprinceofearthsea4875]

Tennessee where I'm from has a lot of Irish and Scottish settlers. It's why we speak the way we do.

[@theo1856]

A lot of people don't know this but Scots-Irish actually refers to the people of Ulster (Where Liam Neeson is from). A lot of people just think just it means they are mixed heritage.

[@fortgaming9058]

Ulster scots are not irish. They are scottish and northern english individuals who colonized ulster in the early 1600s and later came to america a few decades later

[@H-nx8wr]

Ulster Scots who are still living in Ireland today are also Irish because Ireland is their home too. Regardless of the political situation, they were born on the land of Ireland and their people have been here for hundreds of years, as you stated yourself. The Ulster Scots tradition is part of Irish culture.

[@theo1856]

@@H-nx8wr Try telling them that.

[@H-nx8wr]

@@theo1856 It is no wonder that they are defensive, they keep being told that they're not Irish and not welcome. So we must keep telling them that they are part of Ireland and then trust can be nurtured. This ancient land is older than politics and even Christianity. It's time for mutual regard and understanding.

[@carolmccullough-kuchar4782]

My grandfather had the Irish accent. He was from Ballymena Ireland. I love and miss him so much. He passed in 1984.

[@CmonYouReds1892]

Your Dad is from Northern Ireland then, not Ireland. My Dad's from Lurgan in County Armagh, been in Canada for 40 years and he's lost his accent almost entirely, except when he's yelling at drivers on the road, then the Proddie comes out!

[@CmonYouReds1892]

@@jackietreehorn5561 nah, my Dad is a road Rager. It was embarrassing growing up. This is WAY off topic, but your username on here, apparently I saw today that the original doodle of the guy with an erect penis that the Jackie Treehorn character drew while on the phone in TBL went up for auction today. Topical.

[@Raiders-qk8ld]

@@CmonYouReds1892he’s Irish fuck that northern shit he’s Irish

[@userxyz77]

Sorry for your loss. Good gandfathers and grandmothers are gold.

[@Galwayblazer]

@@CmonYouReds1892her grandad could have been born before partition making him Irish and every person born on the island of Ireland is entitled to Irish citizenship and that’s why so many Proddies from the north have Irish passports , even some DUP members .

[@Mary-tu2de]

As someone who was born and raised in Appalachia, can confirm.

[@LiamNeeson-qh6uy]

Awww your comment melts my heart., thank you so much you are such a darling ❤

[@ScottyShaw]

As someone who grew up in the Ozarks and spoke with an accent directly descended from yours… I can also confirm.

[@jackietreehorn5561]

Lived in the States east and west coast for 7 years regret not making Appalachian mountains on my USA tourist list

[@thetrickster9885]

Who rf asked u marry

[@Mimi-hn6iv]

​@@thetrickster9885 If you're going to be rude, you might want to learn how to spell first.

[@patrickgalle1277]

Such a great fucking actor, God bless him.

[@valerieterrell3529]

My mother's from Kentucky and whenever her parents visited, my friends would ask me what country they were from.

[@lisaanderson7924]

Liam Neeson is so gorgeous! The accent doesn’t hurt either!!!

[@lightner6924]

Women...

[@Stephanie-mb3ic]

Thanks for putting music over a video specifically about his speech. 10/10 A++

[@Jgasporrap]

I love that man, just seems like a terrific person. I wouldn't be critical if he weren't, he's not perfect. So sorry for his loss of Ms. Richardson

[@jaskew1848]

Appalachia setlers were predominantly irish in regions Alot of cultural and linguistic traits in common. I can trace my roots backnto both and am very proud.

[@144SLRP]

I hear many accents here in American accents. We know that on the east coast that’s where our first settlers were, Irish, Brits, Scottish, Germans

[@144SLRP]

@joshtyler1300 I wasn’t listing them in order

[@Periwinkleblue.]

I adore Liam Neeson. Fell in love with him in Les Miserables. 😊

[@CelticLittleHawk1]

My paternal grandparents were from Co Cork & I've always had an instinctive love for Ireland. My fave joke about them is actually one of admiration. "If I had an Irish accent, I'd never shut up." 💚😄

[@brianking3565]

Great guy never forgot his Irish roots

[@DanS24106]

There has been great study done on the Irish roots of country and bluegrass music. Even the vocal style is very derivative of the Irish. Much of Southern culture is a direct outgrowth of the earliest Irish immigrants to the 13 colonies. In an unrelated area a Irish American scholar put forth the theory that there are a lot of Gaelic loan words in the English language. History however was that most of that happened in the nineteenth and twentieth century when the Republic of Ireland Irish started coming in droves and we're more likely to use Gaelic than the earliest scots-irish immigrants. So it's no surprise that the southern twang is actually very easy for Irish and English to reproduce.

[@EpicAelflaed]

As usual for the yanks, it’s always about the Irish 😂 USA is a mix of everyone you know and they played a huge part in the culture what you see today

[@Dreyno]

⁠@@EpicAelflaedYou think the Poles and Italians helped create bluegrass and the southern twang? It’s documented where the immigrants were from. It’s not an opinion. It’s just fact.

[@jackietreehorn5561]

How could bluegrass and country not be ? Given the fact that post 1847 the mass immigration of Irish to America was colossal and brought their music and instruments...It was the 18th century post the famine 1847 to be exact Irish came to USA in droves.... Ulster Scots went to Appalachia coining the term hillbilly

[@marietaylor-30]

Just adore him!!🙌🏾

[@rodgamble6946]

I found Liam’s answers to be sincere and honest responses. On the other hand I found Conan’ comments to be rude and insulting as always just to try and get an audience laugh.

[@caoimhinmccann4449]

Liam should just go full Ballymena all the time. He sounds so much better.

[@stevenmiller7267]

LOL well that explains how he nailed the role in next to Kin with Patrick Swayze LOL when he played the brother👍

[@gerardhoey-fj1fr]

He's right. A lot of Nordies settled the Appalachians. Not surprised Kentucky accent is very close to Nordie Irish

[@tomasomaonaigh7659]

A free stater opinion 😅

[@gerardhoey-fj1fr]

And it is a fact. Not an opinion. But we are all entitled to our opinion 😆

[@Anonymous-uw4sr]

.

[@jackietreehorn5561]

​@@gerardhoey-fj1frthey were Ulster Scots and descendants of planters....Derry and Armagh are some of the most ancient cities in Ireland and Armagh capital in ancient times

[@EpicAelflaed]

@@jackietreehorn5561 pretty much everywhere is influenced by the English. It is the language of the English nation so realistically the Irish accents all descends from the English people further back. Of course, the environment of the place were people live influences the accent too. So I’d say it’s a mixture both of that. When most nations talk about the British empire, it’s the English nation everyone talks about (and blames) they forget ‘conveniently’ that the Scots, the Welsh and Irish fought for the British empire. Of course this is left out to fit the narrative that the English are the lone invaders of lands. All tribal nations including Ireland have a brutal barbarous history if you look back far enough

[@susanjohnson-t5l]

Irish and Scottish in Kentucky 😊❤

[@jackietreehorn5561]

Muhammad Ali had Irish descendants

[@linakhamis5974]

Wish you Good health Mr Neeson !! Love watching your films,Fantastic actor!! God bless!!!💯💯💯💯👍👍👍😊😊♥️♥️

[@Ladushka79]

Божечки, до чего офигенный мужик❤❤❤

[@noahgordonnielsen9116]

You can’t get rid of an Irish man’s accent 😂😂

[@zlinedavid]

3 or 4 whiskys and it’ll be right there again 😂

[@livinglifeenjoy]

Look at Niall Horan too lol He’s been living in London since 1D days but still got that Irish accent 😅

[@EpicAelflaed]

Say that tree times

[@jackietreehorn5561]

@@EpicAelflaed lads Irish accent changes about every 5 miles or so

[@dangermouse6687]

​@jackietreehorn5561 yeah but it's still an Irish accent!

[@mollyfranco9104]

I just luv this wonderful man

[@larry2281]

You can find accents very similar to Irish or slang in the Boston/Providence area, Newfoundland, and parts of New York and Pennsylvania. Also places near the Appalachien mountains.

[@jackietreehorn5561]

Newfoundland is very similar...also in the Caribbean some accents sound like west cork

[@EpicAelflaed]

The accents came from the English and the Irish had a slight twang of their own later on. It’s the English sound of you go to England it’s varied

[@jackietreehorn5561]

@@EpicAelflaed we had our own language not the same

[@EpicAelflaed]

⁠@@jackietreehorn5561 depends where you’re from and language of the native Irish tongue (as I’m guessing that’s what you are from) is not from Ireland. It’s Gaelic as from the ‘Gael’s’ you know .. the basque people (modern day Spain) also the Irish have had a huge English influence that’s with the Irish forever. There’s a saying, you’ll never take the English out of the Irish .. and the reverse is true also

[@jackietreehorn5561]

@@EpicAelflaed I have solidarity with the Basque country and same political goals but two situations had very different scenarios, in terms of discrimination and aparteid sectarianism

[@nootnoot-2]

The people in ireland are unbelievably fucking kind. Even in the city, i was very surprised

[@claudialiban7177]

I'm crazy about Liam Neeson!! He is my favorite actor!! I wish I could meet him one day! ❤😊

[@joenelmitz8584]

Why not two days?!?

[@christineribone9351]

I would like to watch him from afar, or a casual run-in would be nice. But if I were introduced formally, I would be too timid. He's out of my league!

[@jackietreehorn5561]

@@christineribone9351 he's nice from afar but far from nice as a boy says.....lol kidding

[@christineribone9351]

@@jackietreehorn5561 far from nice as a boy says??

[@jackietreehorn5561]

@@christineribone9351 I'm Irish only jesting if you don't get the humour.....Liam would definitely get it...he grew up not too far away from me

[@jamesbaggett7223]

My stepfather is from KY. His Great Grandfather was originally from Belfast

[@anilamanganaro5296]

Love his voice

[@michaelsmyth5877]

country music in America was born from travellers from Ireland and Scotland, you would be surprised how many surnames in the South are decended from gaelic people

[@michaelcorbett4236]

Not just that. The name Tyrone (Tir Eoin) meaning Owen's Land and a county in the North of Ireland is common in the South and the Caribbean where there used to be Irish slaves. It became a meme for a chad black guy - "Tie - rone" but it's actually pronounced "Ter - rone" like "(af)ter". I have quite a few friends called Tyrone all white potato men.

[@jackietreehorn5561]

@@michaelcorbett4236 Montserrat was an example

[@monsieurbono]

I just saw him play a Texas rancher in a 2021 movie. Quite a range!

[@titangaming428]

For a second i thought what's frank lampard doing here 😂

[@bananka4905]

no matter what movie he is in it seems he always has that Irish accent.

[@jimdkat1]

I went to school with Liam in Ballymena and have lived there all my life.He certainly hasn't lost his accent.

[@Damian-ex8qv]

It's a big shoppin center in ballymena hey

[@LetsGoMetsGo33]

I was really interested in what Liam was showing us, but the music was a little distracting!

[@sourgir-wh6xd]

😂💭 I live in the mountains of Kentucky and can confirm that Liam is 100% correct .. Had I tried saying this to you face to face, you wouldn't have understood a single word I said😆

[@Crazyexgirlfriendlol]

Liam is so freaking handsome and a brilliant Actor

[@watcherwraith007]

Me casually dying of joy in the background

[@kgallchobhair]

Why would you put background music over this?

[@Gerard_2024]

Catering for the mentally retarded...

[@RiddlerQM]

Liam nesson should make a civil war movie where he's from kentucky lol

[@jackietreehorn5561]

Could be colonel sanders

[@vijanth]

It is a northern Irish or Ulster-Scott accent. I spent 4.5 years in Belfast

[@ZackCargill]

I love Liam Neeson

[@nathanc30]

The Appalachians accents still have the northern, southern,and Scots in there... pretty fascinating. Also western British like Somerset area.

[@hickorypeters]

"You know what I mean" passed the accent vibe check

[@winterain6857]

If you haven't seen him in the Movie ..The Commuter it's a must watch

[@jillbythelake]

It would help to not have that music playing.

[@GopiRai-r8g]

Liam neilson is so good

[@snowdenwyatt6276]

Kelly Macdonald said something very similar about her accent in No Country for Old Men being not that different from her native Scottish accent.

[@enjoyyourself7455]

Yeah, it's definitely diminished 😅

[@deirdreloughran8258]

So proud of him ❤

[@waynesworld4372]

Ballymena would be more known for Ulster Scots, which is the people that settled a lot of Kentucky etc was. Tough people.

[@TheKatrine21]

"So you had food in your mouth!" 😂😂😂😂😂

[@hellbillygoebig9446]

He mentions Kentucky because of NEXT OF KIN gave him that.

[@JohnnyEternal]

Lol, the Kentucky accent is spot on. 😂

[@lisaanderson7924]

My sister & her husband lived in England for 6 years, he was in the Air Force. I visited twice. The area they lived in had the “working class” accent & for the life of me, I couldn’t understand most of what they said. I have friends from the Scottish Highlands &, except for voicemail messages, I have zero issues understanding them. The slang they use is much different than the English & sometimes closer to our own slang. In Boston a shopping cart is a trolley, same term used in either Scotland, Ireland or both.

[@chinablueliberty2822]

We call them trollies in England too. In fact we call them trollies in all of the Uk. I may be wrong but I have never heard anyone call them anything else

[@lisaanderson7924]

@@chinablueliberty2822 I don’t think you are wrong, I believe what you are saying about trolley being used in England as well. ;)

[@AlexisVandom]

Is this why my attempts at an Irish accent sometimes slips into Hilbilly territory? Huh. The more you know.

[@Goobatz]

Many of the early settlers of the Thirteen Colonies were from Scotland and Northern Ireland and were followers of William of Orange, the Protestant king of England. In 17th century Ireland, during the Williamite War, Protestant supporters of William III ("King Billy") were referred to as "Billy's Boys" because 'Billy' is a diminutive of 'William' (common across both Britain and Ireland). In time the term hillbilly became synonymous with the Williamites who settled in the hills of North America

[@jackietreehorn5561]

@@Goobatz Appalachian mountains to be exact

[@bananabanana9210]

This man is so gorgeous.

[@Jmurky1234]

Northern Irish accent is funny 😂❤

[@koski316]

He's obviously learned to mellow his Irish accent to fit an agenda when hes travelling.

[@mmx3374]

As a Ballymena resident for all my life, I can confirm we do sound like that.

[@LorenWilliams-t5f]

Love Irish accents. 😊

[@EpicAelflaed]

Which ones?

[@margmcmillan]

It has been my experience one never Looses their accent it can be toned down but remains distinguishable to others. Truly admire my Newfie individuals and. Scottish whose paths I have crossed.

[@delilahmode9536]

We love Liam Neeson

[@regla9874]

There enough hair dye on that stage to kill Sy Spurling.😂

[@sgsonicbearclips4043]

Hes still got a pretty good ballymena accent

[@QPRTokyo]

What people don’t understand is that southern English use to sound very close to what is now what goes as American English in some parts of the USA. I remember an Irish friend of mine being shocked when he heard North Weald Sussex accent. Now long gone. I remember my friend who lived had lived in Sussex and could not understand the strong Sussex accent. The use of fall instead of autumn was another hint.

[@De_Damond]

So nostalgic to hear the accent of my people 😌👌

[@steffifi432]

I have just learnt that Liam Neeson is Irish😅

[@baskervillebee6097]

Movie, Next of Kin 1989

[@chloevanrooyen1596]

OH THERE IS NO ONE LIKE LIAM NEESON🤗❤❤❤

[@DeltaEcho303]

One of Liam's first American movies was 'Next of Kin' where he played a hillbilly, so the accent transition was super easy for him.

[@jackietreehorn5561]

Look into the origin of the term hillbilly and come back

[@COM70]

Need to visit Kentucky then !

[@BankruptMonkey]

Kentucky actually is just Southern+Irish, that's the accent

[@iMertin]

Scottish and Irish shaped America

[@oggaway]

I live 30 mins away from his birth place💀

[@kurtsudheim825]

Plenty accents from around the world ate similar, because its easy you move your mouth etc so just a slight difference in pitch or something will switch

[@sofarokintn8166]

Mountain folks are very similiar to Irish.

[@dannywholuv]

He forgot to say 'hi' after each sentence

[@JustinChadwick-us2rw]

Next of kin love it god bless Ireland and texas

[@myrabaker1094]

It's almost just like our SE Kentucky, deep in the mountains accent.

[@sincereone3452]

I’m deep kentucky n we don’t all sound like we’re from tenn now that’s a beautiful country sound plus porch chimes

[@darksword67]

He's not too far off from Appalachia definitely cuz I'm from Tennessee my family is Scott Irish background and there's a lot of people in Middle Tennessee and going to East Tennessee that have a lot of Scottish and Irish influence

[@LuisPiriz-y1j]

That's just perfect