Matthew McConaughey is planning to send his children to the Gaeltacht.
The American actor is proud of his Irish heritage and is determined that his three children – Levi, eight, Vida, six, and Livingston, three – retain a connection to Ireland through its language.
Matthew, who is married to Brazilian beauty Camila Alves, told The Irish Sun on Sunday: “My kids are really privileged to call themselves Brazilian Irish.
congratulations Camila on getting your U.S. citizenship today- another fellow and great American. pic.twitter.com/yuA9mOsG7O
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) August 4, 2015
“Irish Brazilian, how great is that? Connected to two of the most vibrant, colourful, exciting cultures on the planet.
“I gotta keep up the Gaelic. I want them reading the literature, I want Riverdancing, I want them saying, ‘grand’ and ‘lunatic to the marvellous.
“When they’re older, I want to send them to that Irish language summer camp you guys do, it’s like a rite of passage for you guys, isn’t it? When you’re teenagers. I want them fluent — which means I gotta do a crash course too.”
Matthew spent time living in Dublin in 2001 when he filmed Reign of Fire and says it was just like coming home.
“That was paradise to me. I was coming home. I made fast friends, I sang, I danced. Heard stories and tales and jokes and anecdotes I’ll remember for a lifetime. I was back with my people. Take me home to my people,” he gushed.