Was C.S. Lewis an Irish Author? RTÉ Documentary Explores Belfast Roots

That’s a caricature of an Oxford accent, former Ireland rugby international Andrew Trimble observes in a new television documentary exploring the complex Northern Irish roots of The Chronicles of Narnia author C.S. Lewis. The documentary, titled The Lion, the Witch and the Ulsterman, is scheduled to air on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player on October 8, at 10.15pm.

Andrew Trimble Investigates the Author’s Accent and Belfast Upbringing

Trimble, a former Christian theology student from Coleraine, examines why Lewis is rarely categorized as an Irish writer despite growing up in Belfast to a family from Cork. During a visit to Oxford, where Lewis worked as a fellow and tutor for 29 years, Trimble listens to a 1950s recording of the author. The recording reveals pronounced British pronunciations, such as saying pray-ah for prayer and idea-r for idea. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb tells Trimble in the documentary that Lewis was sent to English boarding schools at age nine following his mother’s death, where he faced brutal conditions and his Irish accent was likely beaten out of him.

Scholars Trace Childhood Trauma and Political Division in Belfast

The documentary follows Trimble to a Lewis-themed coffee shop in East Belfast and explores how the city’s sectarian divisions influenced the author’s work. Professor Margaret O’Callaghan states in the broadcast that Lewis would have known growing up that Belfast was riven with divisions between unionists and nationalists, suggesting his escapism into ideal rurality served as a reaction to a polarized city. Additional contributors to the Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund-supported project include writer Jan Carson, historian Dr. Margaret O’Callaghan, and scholars Dr. Frank Ferguson, Rev. Dr. Reggie Weems, and Dr. David Clare.

Lewis Uses Narnia as an Ideological Vehicle

Lewis remains a beloved yet controversial figure due to his Christian beliefs and his use of fiction as an ideological vehicle, notably featuring the wise lion Aslan as a stand-in for Jesus in the Narnia books, which have sold hundreds of millions of copies. British fantasy author Philip Pullman was so displeased by Lewis’s theology—particularly in the final Narnia novel, The Last Battle, where character Susan Pevensie is condemned for growing up and taking an interest in lipstick and nylon—that he wrote His Dark Materials to scold Lewis. Trimble avoids dwelling on these ideological divisions, focusing instead on Lewis’s enduring connection to Belfast.

What surprised me most was the depth of Lewis’s connection to Belfast and the lasting influence the city had on his life and imagination. As a fellow Belfast man, I was proud to explore his remarkable story and shine a light on the Irish roots of a writer whose work has inspired millions around the world.

Andrew Trimble