John Connors (actor)

John Connors (born 1990) is an Irish Traveller actor, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker and playwright best known for his role as Patrick Ward in the Irish crime drama series Love/Hate, for which he was nominated for best-supporting actor at the 2016 Irish film and television awards, and for Cardboard Gangsters, for which he won Best Actor at the 2018 Irish film and television awards.[1]

John Connors
Born1990 (age 32–33)
London, England
NationalityIrish
Other namesJohnny, John Francis.
Occupation(s)Actor, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, playwright and activist
Years active2011–present
Known forLove/Hate

Connors was born in 1990 in London, United Kingdom to an Irish traveller family, and moved to Ireland with his family when he was 11 months old. His father suffered from depression and schizophrenia, and killed himself when Connors was eight years old.[2] Connors took up acting when he was 20 years old after being persuaded by his younger brother Joseph, in a bid to help him with his own battle with depression. Connors began boxing at a young age because he was experiencing bullying. He is a former three-time Irish boxing champion and a four nations boxing gold medalist and was picked by the Herald newspaper for their ‘Future Star’ segment at fifteen years old.

In 2017 he was named in the fifty incredible people who are shaping Ireland by the Irish Independent and he was also named as one of the "twenty twenty-somethings that could influence Ireland and the world" by The Irish Times.[3]

He appeared on an episode of the series Livin' with Lucy (Virgin Media) with Lucy Kennedy, in 2019. Connors won the 2018 IFTA for best actor for his performance in the film Cardboard Gangsters, which Connors also wrote. In his victory speech, Connors criticised the Irish Film Board for not supporting the film, before he talked about his battle with mental health and how acting saved his life. He dedicated the award to his late father. The speech went viral, gaining millions of hits online. Three months later his documentary series, John Connors: The Travellers, won the 2018 IFTA for best documentary series. In the documentary Connors called on the Irish government to formally recognise Travellers as a distinct Irish indigenous ethnic minority, which happened later that year. In his speech, he criticised successive Irish governments for assimilation policies and institutionalised discrimination against Irish Travellers. He also accused the Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council of murder through negligence of the eleven members of the Connors and Lynch Traveller families, eleven of whom died in the Carrickmines fire tragedy in October 2015. Connors's directorial feature documentary debut, Endless Sunshine on a Cloudy Day, won the audience award at the 2020 Dublin International Film Festival.

Activism

Connors has spoken out about Travellers' rights and against racism and depression, appearing a number of times on The Late Late Show on RTÉ. His first appearance on The Late Late Show caused controversy. Connors was promoting his documentary I am Traveller. When talking about the bigotry and hardship Travellers experience day to day in Ireland the host Ryan Tubridy asked "Do you not think you're sounding a bit like a victim" to which Connors replied "See Ryan you and me live in different worlds. My world has shaped me in such a way that I have the ability look past stereotypes, question popular opinion, think for myself and have empathy for people who have it hard or are experiencing injustice. You live in a comfortable bubble. Enjoy it." RTE were flooded with complaints as to how the host conducted the interview. The interview and the documentary created a national conversation about discrimination against Travellers.

Connors is anti-abortion and supported a 'No' vote in the 2018 Irish abortion referendum.[4] Following his call for a 'No' vote, he alleged that he was the target of anti-Traveller racism. In response to protests held in Dublin in June 2020 after the death of African American man George Floyd in Minneapolis, Connors questioned whether the same 'anti-racist solidarity' would be shown for Irish Travellers.[5]

In July 2020, Connors called for the resignation of the newly appointed Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O'Gorman, after a photo taken at 2018 Dublin Pride of O'Gorman alongside British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell emerged, controversial for his advocacy of lowering the age of consent.[6] O'Gorman stated "I met Peter Tatchell once and took a photo. This was the only time I have met him. I knew of him as someone who stood up for LGBT people in countries where their rights were threatened. I was surprised to read some of his quotes from the 90s, which I had not read before. Any of those views would be completely abhorrent to me."[7] Connors accused Tatchell of being a paedophile apologist.[8] He called for O'Gorman to resign during a speech at a protest held outside Leinster House on 11 July. On 19 July, Connors published a full apology to Roderic O'Gorman, stating that he had been "politically naive" and contributed to "hurtful and false assertions" about the TD: "What is difficult for me to accept is that my own misguided anger led me to appear to feed an army of trolls and support groups whose views I find repugnant, whose politics are rotten and whose methods are ugly."[9][10][11] O'Gorman said he accepted the apology and considered the issue resolved.[10][11][12]

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Notes
2012 Stalker Oliver
King of the Travellers John Paul Moorehouse
2014 Jack and Ralph Plan a Murder Frankie
Skunky Dog Shooter Short
2015 Breathe Patrick
Monged Bernard
Today Peter Short
Fingerprints Dad
2016 The Secret Scripture Joe Brady
Solid Pat
Wild Goose Lodge Ribbonman
The Legend of Harry and Ambrose The Shame
2017 Cardboard Gangsters Jason Connolly
2020 Broken Law Wallace

Television
Title Year Role Network Notes Ref(s)
Love/Hate 2011–2014 Patrick Ward RTÉ 10 episodes [13]
Charlie 2015 Jimmy 1 episode [14]
Barney Bunion Paidí TG4 Irish language
1 episode		 [15]
Rebellion 2016 Michael Molloy RTÉ 2 episodes [16]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2015 Irish Film and Television Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Drama Love/Hate Nominated
2017 Manchester International Film Festival Best Actor Cardboard Gangsters Won
2017 Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actor Cardboard Gangsters Nominated
2018 Irish Film and Television Awards Best Actor in a Lead Role - Film Cardboard Gangsters Won
Best Documentary Series John Connors: The Travellers Won

References
  1. "John Connors". IMDb. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  2. Holland, Kitty (18 March 2016). "I am a Traveller, not a 'knacker'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  3. "Ireland: the next generation". www.irishtimes.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  4. Mulvaney, Amy (22 May 2018). "Irish actor John Connors reveals why he is voting 'pro life'". Evoke.ie. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  5. Wall, Eva (8 June 2020). "'Do Traveller lives matter?' — Love/Hate actor claims lack of solidarity with 'the most discriminated group in Ireland'". Extra.ie. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  6. Tatchell, Peter (10 March 2008). "Lowering the unrealistic age of consent will help teens". Irish Independent. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  7. Costello, Emma (11 July 2020). "Gardai break up scuffle as campaigners call for resignation of Roderic O'Gorman". Extra.ie. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  8. Pollak, Sorcha (6 July 2020). "Minister for Children condemns 'homophobic' attacks from 'far-right'". Irish Times. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  9. @johnconnors1990 (19 July 2020). "Full statement and apology regarding recent event's involving Minister Roderic O'Gorman" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. Duffy, Rónán (20 July 2020). "Children's Minister accepts apology from John Connors who says he was 'politically naive'". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  11. Kelly, Olivia (20 July 2020). "Roderic O'Gorman accepts John Connors apology for 'deranged' campaign". Irish Times. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  12. Hosford, Moore, Paul, Aoife (6 February 2021). "Raising ire in Ireland: Covid lockdowns prove fertile breeding ground for far-right groups". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 February 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. "Love/Hate star back in new film about Dublin underworld". 5 May 2017.
  14. "Ep 1 Charlie – John Connors as Jimmy | RTÉ Presspack".
  15. ""Barney Bunion" Episode #1.3 (TV Episode 2015) - IMDb".
  16. "Started a Rebellion? Here's everything you need to know about the hit TV series". 10 January 2016.
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