Ayo Edebiri is the internet's favorite Irish celebrity

There are a disproportionate number of celebrities hailing from the proud nation of Ireland this year. Cillian Murphy leads the pack for , of course, along with Barry Keoghan, Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott, Sharon Horgan, and more. But none of them are quite as Irish as , who is, at least according to the internet (and Ayo herself), the most Irish celebrity who’s ever lived.

James Joyce? Never heard of him. Okay, fine. We should probably get this out of the way upfront. , , award winner (!) Ayo Edebiri isn’t Irish. But if you’ve been following her whirlwind red carpet tour at all over the past few weeks, you’d be forgiven for being a little confused. It all started this past March when Edebiri joked that she played an unforgettable character called Jenny the Donkey in a movie she was never actually in—while promoting her actual movie, .

“I lived in Ireland for about four months and I got really in character and I was on all fours for four months and it was really painful, but beautiful, as well,” she said in an off the cuff accent that could conceivably be from some faraway region in the Emerald Isle. While her version of Jenny the Donkey sadly did not make the final cut of the film, the bit lived on in the hearts and minds of her many, many fans—chief among them the star herself, who might deserve actual citizenship for her commitment alone.

In the acceptance speech for her Sunday night, Edebiri thanked everyone in Boston (where she’s actually from), “Barbados, Nigeria, and Ireland in many ways.” Last night, she also saluted “my people” from the Emmys red carpet: “Shout out to Derry! Shout out to Cork! Shout out to Killarney! Shout out to Dublin!” Ireland, of course, has been more than happy to claim Edebiri as their own.

Entertainment outlet congratulated “Ireland’s own Ayo Edebiri for her nomination for the 2024 BAFTA Rising Star Award” on and even published an article titled “ .” (Their favorite, if you’re curious, is the ever popular , a definitely real film in which Edebiri performs the Joycean classic alongside giant, Teletubbies esque fantasy goblins.

Just take our word for it.) has also rushed to toast Edebiri with an article titled “Ayo Edebiri, we’re proud to call you Irish. It makes a nice change from Britwashing,” as has Dublin theater Light House Cinema, with a calling the star an Irish National Treasure. Now that’s some good craic.

(Ayo would know what that means.).