Matthew McConaughey says he wants his three children to speak Irish fluently.

The True Detective actor, who has Irish roots in Cavan and Monaghan, claims that he wants his offspring - Levi aged 8, Vida aged 6, and Livingston aged 3 - not to loose their connection to Ireland, and being able to speak the language is an important part of that.

The Texas native is married to Camila Alves from Brazil. “Irish Brazilian, how great is that? Connected to two of the most vibrant, colourful, exciting cultures on the planet," McConaughey told The Irish Sun on Sunday.

“I gotta keep up the Gaelic. I want them reading the literature, I want Riverdancing, I want them saying, ‘grand’ and ‘lunatic to the marvellous'. When they’re older, I want to send them to that Irish language summer camp you guys do, it’s like a rite of passage for you guys, isn’t it? When you’re teenagers. I want them fluent — which means I gotta do a crash course too.”

The Hollywood star added that, "My kids are really privileged to call themselves Brazilian Irish."