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Niall McNamee: An Irishman’s guide to London
Traipse slowly through the cobbled streets of London, and you might be overwhelmed by chaos, colour, advertisements that change as quickly as the wind, the faint blur of an almost-celebrity stalking past in a trench coat. There are too many things to take note of, too much happening to name.
However, one thing you can find pretty much anywhere in the capital is an Irish accent.
Irish migration to London began as early as the 1700s, with many Irish folk moving to take on work as agricultural labourers. It’s a generally accepted truism that the warming, dulcet tones of an Irish voice can be used as a reliable indicator that you’re in the right place, that your night will be filled with joy, adventure, and good old shenanigans.
One such Irish man you might meet dilly-dallying around the capital is young actor and musician, Niall McNamee, whose face you might already recognise from his starring role opposite Pierce Brosnan and Jackie Chan in the film, The Foreigner. McNamee, however, is not foreign to London at all, having originated in Dundalk but moved to London at the tender age of 17.
McNamee is busy as of late, not just concocting the perfect route around the otherwise sprawling, sinister, and impenetrable city, but recording another movie. Two, in fact. He is set to play Irish World Cup team goalkeeper Alan Kelly in Saipan, starring Steve Coogan and Éanna Hardwicke, as well as the lead in the upcoming romantic comedy ‘One Night in Bath. Football and romance. Somebody should tell him Bend It Like Beckham is already getting a sequel.
If that weren’t enough, McNamee is set to release his debut album, Glass and Mirrors, this October. It’s more football-loving fun from the mythical songwriter, who says of the project, “I’m a romantic football fan who writes songs – lyrically I often think to myself, ‘this is what I want to say, but how would Shane MacGowan say it?’”
Thankfully, on his Far Out guide to the city, McNamee has steered clear of the football recommendations. And, despite the fact that he opens his debut album with the recent single, ‘Clapham Wine’, he steers clear of them, too (a sigh of relief from an East-London writer might be audible over these words). For fun, booze, solace, and joy, follow Niall McNamee’s guide to a city bursting with opportunity.
