Boston Globe reporter Emily Sweeney who went viral for her accent credits Irish ancestry for success

Emily Sweeney, whose grandmother was born in Ireland, said being a journalist is in her blood

Emily Sweeney’s strong Boston accent has proved a hit with her social media followers(Image: Emily Sweeney)

Boston Globe journalist and social media sensation Emily Sweeney has put her success down to her Irish ancestry, saying: “It’s in my blood.”

The journalist has gone viral on social media for her Boston accent in recent months, with her fans taking more of an interest in the news because of her videos.

Despite only having been to Ireland once, it was enough for her to fall in love with the country. Sweeney recently received her Irish citizenship.

She is from Dorchester, a town just outside of Boston city that is famous for being an Irish American stronghold.

“There is always a big Irish undertone to the neighborhood. You are outnumbered by the Irish. It is all Irish accents. You’re the one talking funny,” she told IrishStar.com.

“My father’s mother was born in Ireland, in Fivemiletown, Co Tyrone. I got all her paperwork and stuff, and filed for citizenship.

Emily Sweeney’s grandmother came from Co Tyrone(Image: Emily Sweeney)

“I got that just a few months ago. I’ve only been to Ireland once, but, my God, I thought, ‘this is home’. It is hard to describe.

“My granny was one of many, many siblings, and I still have a ton of family over there. It was so cool going over there, and meeting all these cousins. I was meeting everybody for the first time, ut they knew my dad, it was really nice. It was like a family reunion.

“Dorchester is very Irish. Growing up, boiled dinner, that’s what my mother makes for St Patrick’s Day. My family takes the holiday very seriously. I’m sure it’s the more Americanized way, but my mom has decorations. Everything is green. She wears all green.

“All my friends from college and high school would come over and have the boiled dinner. She always did smoked shoulder instead of corned beef. St Paddy’s Day is taken very seriously over here.”

She credits her Irish American upbringing with preparing her for a career in journalism.

Emily said: “I think it (being a journalist) was always in my blood. When I was younger, I would make little newspapers, books, and I would draw cartoons, make comic books. I was always writing stories in these book forms, having a little newspaper, and even a little radio show.

“I have a recording of me when I was eight years old, pretending I had a radio show, I’d be talking and then playing music. I was recording it on a big boom box with cassette tapes.

“It is a podcast, from past me, with a really high voice. I was always into media, and I didn’t realize it.”

But journalism wasn’t Emily’s first choice when she left school. She originally went to college to study in a completely different field.

Content cannot be displayed without consent

If you cannot see the video, you can view it here

“When I went to college, I thought I’d be a doctor. I went to medical school and went to Northeastern. I majored in pharmacy because that was a good major to get into medical school. But I was there at Northeastern to play hockey. That was my number one priority.

“Growing up, I played with the boys playing hockey. At Northeastern, it was a girls team, but actually, that was new, because most of my life, I had always played with the boys. I never really put much thought into it.

“Then hockey practices got in the way of some of the labs, and so I had to make a choice. I thought clearly hockey is way more important. Then I thought, ‘what’s a major that can fit around hockey practices?’, so that’s how journalism came along.

“At Northeastern, we have a program where every student has to take an internship. My first internship was the New England Press Association but one of my later ones was with The Globe.

“That’s where I really realized, seeing how the Globe worked, being in the newsroom, hearing reporters, doing interviews, talking to people on the phone, just the flurry of activity when there was breaking news, people yelling to each other across the room. I liked the newsroom atmosphere.”

For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here.

What started as writing stories for the Globe newspaper adapted to posting stories online, and then as times changed, Emily ended up being the face of the Globe in their social media videos.

Emily Sweeney is the author of Gangland Boston(Image: Emily Sweeney)

When asked if she’s been recognized, she said: “Yes. I even got recognized in New York, which was funny. A lot of people ask to take selfies with me. That’s been funny.

“I have always been into technology too. I was using social media early on, over 20 years ago. I was posting my stories there, so to me, like. It has always been a part of my job. I was explaining it to editors at the time that there are websites where you can post things.

“It’s really interesting to see, especially, like, being a part of the mainstream media. Legacy media, I think there is a lot of distrust in big institutions now. It was a pleasant surprise to see how positive and how inquisitive people are. I’m getting so many story tips, ideas, and people asking questions. It has given me hope.

However, she said some of her followers appreciate the captions on her videos.

Emily said: “A lot of people in the comments on social media will try to write out what I’m saying. Some people do a really good job of writing it out phonetically.

“Then I read it, and it sounds normal to my ear. I’m like, ‘okay, I definitely have an accent then’.

“I still think I talk totally normally. I was talking to some people and they wanted me to say the word ‘caretaker.’

“Everybody has been very, very nice. That’s a surprising thing. One of the crazy important things, to me, has been, everyone has been overwhelmingly positive.”

For all the latest news straight to your inbox, sign up for our FREE newsletters here.