Matthew McConaughey has revealed that he plans on sending his children to the Gaeltacht when they’re old enough.
The American actor is married to Brazilian Camilla Alves and they have three children together. Matthew’s mother’s family come from Cavan and Monaghan so, his children are Brazilian Irish -and Matthew beams with pride about their heritage.
“My kids are really privileged to call themselves Brazilian Irish.” he told The Irish Sun.
“Irish Brazilian, how great is that? Connected to two of the most vibrant, colourful, exciting cultures on the planet. Both very different yet with so many similarities. It’s beautiful. It’s a gift.”
The Texas native went on to say that his wife’s making sure the children are embracing their Brazilian heritage and learning Portuguese and he’s determined to make sure his kids are just as proficient at using the Irish language.
“My wife, she’s on top of things,”he said. “She’s got them with the music, the food, she’s got them speaking Portuguese, a lot of which I don’t understand. They’re talking about me, plotting against me.
“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’.”
Matthew also intends to send them to the Gaeltacht to give them the full Irish experience as teenagers.
“When they’re older, I want to send them to that Irish language summer camp you guys do,” he said.
“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.”
