EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Why Jeremy Irons’ bid to change into Irish has fallen flat

Jeremy Irons has been married to Dubliner Sinead Cusack for nearly 50 years – owning a County Cork castle for nearly 30 of them.

But the Oscar-winning star of Reversal Of Fortune, 77, has now decided against becoming a full-blown Irish national after discovering the financial implications, with some taxes for high earners heavier on the Emerald Isle than in the UK.

‘He tried to get an Irish passport but [it would mean] a very extreme rethink of all his tax situations, so he gave up,’ Sinead confirmed at the Oldie of the Year Awards at London’s National Liberal Club, which she attended with her husband.

The actress, also 77, added: ‘We talked to a friend who’s been through it. He’s moved all his tax affairs [to Ireland]. It’s a great shame.’

In 1998, the couple were dubbed ‘Luvvies for Labour’ after donating £5,000 to the party for its events and activities.

Irons previously complained about his struggle to secure an Irish passport, telling me: ‘You used to just need an Irish wife to get a passport, but no longer.’ 

British nationals born in Ireland before January 1, 2005, or who have at least one parent or grandparent born on the island of Ireland, are currently eligible for Irish citizenship.

Since the Brexit referendum in 2016 and the UK’s subsequent departure from the EU in 2020, there has been an uptick in Britons seeking to become officially Irish to regain their citizenship of the bloc.

Among them is Jeremy and Sinead’s younger son, The Riot Club actor Max Irons, 40, who plays Mycroft Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s forthcoming Prime Video series, Young Sherlock.

‘My boys and grandchildren are all getting Irish passports,’ explained Sinead. ‘Max hasn’t sent his application in yet, but he will get the passport because I’m fully Irish.’

Countdown to Carol’s very special talk

During her glory days on Countdown, she earned the very healthy round number of £900,000 a year.

And that means maths whizz Carol Vorderman, 65, would be ‘all right financially’ if she never worked again – leaving her free to do whatever she wishes, such as speaking at the Cambridge Festival in April.

Her talk, entitled What Is Truth?, will tackle ‘misinformation, political spin and the erosion of shared facts’.

It could be argued that it’s something of a specialist subject for Carol.

In 2023, she accused Tory minister Greg Hands of what he summarised as ‘corruption and even worse’. 

The six-month campaign ended with Carol deleting ’22 false and defamatory tweets, videos and more’, and acknowledging there had been ‘no impropriety on [Hands’s] behalf’.

Frears fears for death of cinema

He’s hailed as one of Britain’s greatest filmmakers, but Sir Stephen Frears is struggling to get funding for his ventures.

‘I have projects I’m interested in, including a terrific script about Billy Wilder, the great director, but who knows if I’ll get any money for any for that?’ Sir Stephen, 84, tells me at the Oldie of the Year Awards in London, where he won the Silver-Screen Evergreen Oldie.

‘It’s so difficult to get a film made. People don’t go to the cinema [any more],’ explains the director of biopics The Queen, Philomena and Victoria & Abdul.

‘If you go to the cinema now, there are two or three other people sitting there – it’s depressing.’

Sheridan and her animal farm

Currently single Sheridan Smith, now starring in the West End revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s Woman In Mind, admits she yearns for company.

Lots of it, in fact – such as the 16 dogs, plus donkeys, horses and pigs, that brought her solace when she decided to run a farm in 2018 amid personal troubles.

‘I did love it,’ recalls the Olivier winner, 44, who presented BBC series Pooch Perfect. ‘I was obsessed with dogs when I was little and my Mum would never let me have one.’

Reflecting on her time of countryside bliss, the actress also told the Romesh Ranganathan podcast she wants to repeat it ‘eventually’.

A close call for shocker rockers

As a regular supporting act on Iron Maiden’s tour Run For Your Lives, heavy-metal band Avatar are used to a raucous atmosphere.

But things went a bit too far over the weekend, when the Swedish rockers were forced off stage as the venue suddenly went haywire.

‘The whole stage became electrified… it burned up some of our equipment and severely shocked two guys in our crew,’ explained Avatar’s lead vocalist, Johannes Eckerstrom.

The band had performed for just over an hour at Exhibition White City, a grade II-listed Victorian warehouse in west London, when the music stopped abruptly.

Johannes, 39, added: ‘We were simply lucky, our guys are also lucky, but this is not a safe place to be.’

Angry revellers who attended the gig have demanded refunds. One fan said online: ‘It’s a miracle nobody died.’

How a London nightclub got some Netflix sparkle 

Before starring in blockbuster film Wuthering Heights, Margot Robbie was a regular face at Clapham’s Infernos nightclub.

And the actress isn’t the only one to have frequented the south-London venue before going on to dabble in a period drama.

‘I made an appearance in Bridgerton,’ declares Freddie Browne, Infernos’ ambassador and former star of E4’s Made In Chelsea.

Often seen interviewing patrons about their dating hopes, the 29-year-old appeared in the second episode of the Netflix show’s fourth season (below).

He brought aristocratic credentials to the series, having worked with Queen Camilla’s late brother Mark Shand at the Elephant Family charity.

‘Bridgerton and Made In Chelsea are unlikely bedfellows – one is about London during the social season and the aristocracy’s marriage market. The other is Bridgerton,’ Freddie tells me.