The actor's brother, Eamon, had to marry his partner in Canada

Colin Farrell Fights for Gay Marriage in Ireland: 'This Is Personal to Me'

Colin Farrell is asking his country to support gay rights for one very personal reason: his brother.

In a letter published in Ireland’s Sunday World, the actor recalls how his older brother was bullied as a child for being different – and calls the government out for making it impossible for him to marry in his homeland.

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“My brother Eamon didn’t choose to be gay. Yes, he chose to wear eyeliner to school and that probably wasn’t the most pragmatic response to the daily torture he experienced at the hands of school bullies,” he writes. “But he was always proud of who he was. Proud and defiant and, of course, provocative.”

The True Detective star explains that Eamon and his now-husband, Steven, wed in Canada due to Ireland’s laws.

“That’s why this is personal to me,” writes Farrell, 38. “The fact that my brother had to leave Ireland to have his dream of being married become real is insane. INSANE.”

Ireland has seen a huge push to legally recognize same-sex marriage, a move that will be decided by vote in the spring.

According to an Irish Times poll, 67 percent of the nation’s voters are in favor of the referendum.

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