RUTH Negga isn’t somebody who is easily spooked. But when asked about the rise of the far-right in Ireland, she admits to feeling “terrified”, writes Limerick Post reporter Sarah Coleman.
Speaking at the Justice Media Awards in Dublin earlier this month as part of the team who won the top award for RTÉ podcast series First Conviction, she stressed the importance of “being vigilant against bias and prejudice in Ireland”.
The series, narrated by the Limerick star, follows an African couple convicted of female genital mutilation (FGM) on their one-year-old daughter. The trial was the first of its kind in Ireland and the couple were sentenced to five years in prison in 2019.
However, these convictions have since been quashed after the couple spent two years in prison. At the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said newly discovered facts disclosed in expert reports showed that there has been a miscarriage of justice. The couple received a certificate of miscarriage of justice at the Criminal Courts of Justice last week.
“I was absolutely delighted and thrilled for that couple, as their lawyer said, the system worked this time,” Ms Negga told the Limerick Post.
It doesn’t take long however for these positive feelings to dissipate, and for Negga’s previous feelings of terror to return, most recently, she says, during an anti-migration protest in Dublin.
“I think terrified is the appropriate word, because there is precedent for my terror. I was crossing a bridge and I saw a load of tricolours. Usually my heart soars when I see them, but as I got closer, I realised I’d accidentally stumbled on an anti-migration march.
“I’d never really been close to one of these marches before and I was really sad, and also terrified,” Ms Negga said. “I could feel my heart beating faster and faster, and I could see there was quite a lot of aggression in some of their voices.”
“I’m a 45-year-old woman and I’m not easily scared but my heart was racing and I was thinking who do they mean, who is ‘them’, and when does them become you or someone you love?”
Negga questions what the rise of the far-right might mean for the next generation of children growing up in Ireland and the level of vigilance being employed to ensure children have a safe place to grow up in.
“I love Ireland, I love our flag, but I’m wary of the kind of nationalism that turns into jingoism, it’s dangerous,” she says.
Navigating a world where one’s self-identity is put into question, the Limerick star finds herself going back to her local roots to find inspiration.
Limerick author and former football player Jackie McCarthy O’Brien is just one of those people. Her memoir, We Made It, Kid: Living Life in Full Colour, looks at “what it takes to be yourself when you stand out”.
“It’s like when other people tell me I don’t get to feel like I’m Irish, well why does someone else get to tell me who I can and cannot be?” Negga says.
Opportunity for change
Despite these challenges, it’s hard to ignore the star’s sense of optimism for the future and her view that any crisis can become a cause for good.
Negga feels that the government, and the people of Ireland, have this opportunity to “get ahead of the far-right and not to be complacent”.
When asked about Limerick, a place she spent much of her formative years in, that same excitement is clear to see.
The recent launch of a global production hub in Troy Studios in Castletroy is already widely acclaimed, welcoming Hollywood stars Rob Lowe, Ken Jeong, and Erin Andrews.
“We have the talent and every two seconds I get texts from people saying they’re filming in Limerick or in Ireland, and do I have any recommendations, so I’m thrilled,” she enthused.
The same affection was also given to Negga this year, who was conferred with an honorary doctorate by University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, alongside Rhiannon Giddens.
Last September, the National Gallery of Ireland unveiled a portrait of the renowned Limerick lady. Created by Dublin painter David Booth, Ruth (2025), is an oil on board painting, and was crowned winner of the AIB Portrait Prize at the National Gallery of Ireland in 2022.
As for upcoming projects, the star is currently working with the Dublin Theatre Festival and is also set to star and produce in an adaptation of Josephine Baker, the first black woman to star in a major motion picture in 1927.
The question on everyone’s lips though is whether or not she hopes to return to Limerick. Riding the high of her success, Ruth remains coy but once again mentions Jackie McCarthy O’Brien, whom she refers to as an “inspiration”.
“Limerick has the best resources now. There’s so much potential and I think people are very excited about Ireland, and Limerick, being a place to make and create. It’s a very exciting place to be.”