Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy has told the Brendan O'Connor Show on RTÉ Radio 1 that returning with his wife and children to live in Ireland has been "the best decision we made".
The Cork actor shared his thoughts about coming home when he appeared on Saturday's show alongside Professor Pat Dolan to discuss the new book that they have edited, Ionbhá: The Empathy Book for Ireland.
— Brendan O'Connor (@RadioBrendanRTE) October 8, 2022
"I notice whenever I read pieces about you, Cillian, by Irish people, there's this great pride that, 'He could have lived in San Francisco, he used to live in London - but he came back to Dublin to rear his kids'," said O'Connor.
"So presumably, you feel this is a kind of a healthy place to raise kids rather than elsewhere."
"I think so," said Murphy.
"I've always been very proud of the fact that I am Irish, and my wife is Irish, and the kids were of a certain age [and] we wanted them to be close to their [grand] parents. Just there's less people here! (laughs) That was a consideration!
"It was the best decision we made, coming back, 100%. It really was."
When asked if it made "life and work more complicated for you to be here", Murphy replied: "Ah, not really. You're always away when you're working, do you know? You're rarely at home, that rarely happens. So you're just away from a different place, and I'd rather be in Ireland.
"I think that's a narrative of Irish people to go away and to come back, you know? It seems to be.
"Certainly, in my game, it seems to be people go away for long periods to kind of establish yourself or whatever it might be, to prove that you can play other parts other than [an] Irish person and to come home."
"And it feels different when you're back, then. Do you feel different in yourself?" asked the host. "You feel home in a way that you don't when you're away."
"Yeah, I just really like Irish people!" Murphy laughed.
Ionbhá: The Empathy Book for Ireland is published by Mercier Press. All proceeds "will go directly to delivering the Activating Social Empathy education programme in Irish schools and youth work organisations".
Earlier this year, Murphy completed work on Christopher Nolan's new film,Oppenheimer, in which he plays the lead role of 'the father of the atomic bomb', J Robert Oppenheimer. It will be released in cinemas on 21 July 2023.
