Cillian Murphy may be a global superstar but the Oscar winning actor lives a quiet life in Monkstown, Dublin, after relocating his family from London for a less chaotic life
Liam McInerney Content Editor
19:00, 03 Oct 2025
Cillian Murphy is the lead man in Netflix film Steve(Image: Roy Rochlin, Getty Images)
Despite being among the most accomplished actors globally, Oscar winner Cillian Murphy relishes a peaceful existence in Dublin alongside his wife and two children.
While he discovers solace in his coastal home in Monkstown, the demands of his acting career occasionally require Cillian to step back into the spotlight.
This week provided the ideal illustration, as Cillian journeyed to London, a city he previously inhabited for 14 years, to record The Graham Norton Show with celebrities including Taylor Swift, Lewis Capaldi and Domhnall Gleeson.
The programme broadcast on BBC One on Friday (October 3) with Cillian appearing to publicise his latest Netflix picture, Steve, in which he portrays a headmaster at a reform school.
Beyond the cameras, Cillian prefers his privacy, and whilse remaining a devoted Cork native, he currently lives in Monkstown with spouse Yvonne McGuinness and his sons Malachy, born in 2005, and Aran, born two years later.
Yvonne McGuinness and Cillian Murphy at the 81st Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 7, 2024(Image: Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Ima)
When questioned about departing London in 2015, he told The Guardian: “We wanted [the boys] to be Irish, I suppose. It’s amazing how quickly their accents have adapted. Even within a year of moving back, they are fading into this rakish west Brit kind of thing. Which I think, hopefully, will get them lots of girls.”
He also revealed to The Irish Times that opting for a more tranquil existence in south Dublin was “the best thing we did” and he continued: “The kids are of a certain age. I think if you live in a world capital – like New York or London or wherever – it’s excellent and exciting and stimulating in your 20s and 30s. Then there’s a point where the things that were excellent and stimulating are now a bit sort of tedious and draining. You want something quieter and that’s what we did.”
The family reside beside the coast in a Victorian dwelling valued at €1.7million boasting six double bedrooms and a drawing room. The property dates back to the 1860s.
Cillian strolling along the beach during his profile interview on 60 Minutes (Image: 60 Minutes/Youtube)
Estate agents described it as an “elegant and comfortable home” featuring “magnificent original features” when it went on the market.
The Peaky Blinders star, who claimed an Academy Award for best actor in Oppenheimer, now maintains a low-key lifestyle and revealed most locals tend to leave him be.
He said: “I think Irish people are generally really decent. If they know what sort of person you are, they respect that. We moved back about five or six years ago and it’s been the best thing we did.”
The performer spends his downtime strolling along the shoreline with his dog Scout – a pastime he relished whilst memorising his lines for Oppenheimer.
Cillian, 49, also shared with CBS programme 60 Minutes that Ireland is “Just home” and has “defined who I am as a person and my values”.
He also featured on the Armchair Expert podcast where he delved deeper into his decision to move to Dublin.
Cillian had a pint of Guinness in his local pub in Monkstown during a 60 Minutes interview(Image: 60 Minutes/Youtube)
“It’s kind of an Irish story, you know, to move away, do your own thing and then come home,” he shared.
“That seems to be a common narrative for Irish people. We wanted the kids to be Irish, and they were sort of at that age where they were preteens and they had very posh English accents and I wasn’t appreciating that too much.”
Cillian, who cherishes his “nice little normal life” in Dublin, added: “Our parents are also a certain age and it was just a nice time to come home.”