Making it in L.A. with an Irish accent

You hear a lot about how hard it is to 'make it' in Los Angeles. The competition is fierce, the city’s sprawling, and unless you’ve been gifted industry contacts or millionaire parents, you almost have to invent a notoriety if you don’t actually deserve one. So, in an era when influencers and celebrities adopt American accents as soon as they develop a following (never mind actually moving to the United States), it’s refreshing to come across someone who makes it not by pretending to be anything else, but by being exactly, unapologetically Irish. Someone like Saoirse McCabe.

If her name sounds familiar, it might be because she went viral back home in 2018 for a photo she posted from a glamorous dinner in Los Angeles, seated beside Oprah Winfrey, who was clearly enjoying herself. But Saoirse’s success is far from being a fan-girl story or the tale of a hanger-on. After encountering her through our shared Irish-in-L.A. community, I sat down for a chat with the inspiring 31-year-old Corkonian.

“I didn’t even realise it was Oprah at first,” Saoirse laughs, still sounding slightly bemused. “She was just so warm and down to earth. We just got chatting.” 

But thinking of her friends back home who wouldn’t believe her, she asked for an impromptu photo, to which the first Black woman billionaire happily agreed.

That mix of modesty and authenticity is at the heart of Saoirse’s story: an ambitious young businesswoman who moves in celebrity circles and luxury brand launches without ever losing the run of herself. Raised in a pub-owning Cork City family that long promoted traditional Irish music, culture, and community, her early life was steeped in hospitality and cultural identity.

After university, she found her calling in the drinks industry, joining a graduate programme run by Irish Distillers and honing her skills in luxury branding and trade strategy. But it was when she moved to America on an intra-company transfer through the owners - global spirits giant Pernod Ricard - that everything changed. Unlike many of her colleagues, Saoirse became involved in marketing and media training with the entertainment industry in her role as brand ambassador for Jameson Irish Whiskey.

After six valuable and enjoyable years with Pernod, and a short return home, Saoirse came back to Los Angeles on the prestigious O-1B visa - granted only to individuals with “extraordinary ability” in their field. It’s a visa normally associated with actors, artists, and tech innovators, but Saoirse earned it as a branding expert in the luxury spirits world.

She is now a founding team member and equity partner of Martingale Cognac, a next-generation French cognac brand disrupting the industry. As part of the small team, she took on the role of California and Nevada Market Manager.

“It was daunting at first. You’re stepping into this huge market where everyone’s competing. But I also knew that I had a different voice - and the Irish thing helps, it really does.” 

So what gives an Irish woman an edge in the highly competitive, male-dominated world of luxury branding? According to Saoirse, women have traditionally stayed in the promotional and marketing side of the drinks industry, but she has embraced the more “masculine” sales and customer-facing roles.

She credits growing up working in the family pub with helping her read people, handle pressure, and build trust - skills that translate surprisingly well to L.A. While representing her brand at high-profile or celebrity events, she also finds that subverting people’s initial underestimation of her - as a young woman in the industry - can work to her advantage.

Her meeting with Oprah happened at one such event in Santa Barbara. As a brand ambassador, Saoirse’s job has brought her into contact with some of the biggest names in entertainment - Selena Gomez and Priscilla Presley among them. 

“It’s mad when you think about it. From pouring pints to hosting events where you’re introducing celebrities to a brand you helped build.” 

She has a favourite: “Priscilla was one of the most down-to-earth celebrities… for twenty minutes she talked to me as if she knew me.” 

But in the age of social media, the definition of “celebrity” has changed. Saoirse has worked on numerous online influencer partnerships, but prefers working with “micro-influencers” - people with niche expertise and loyal followings.

“It’s less about huge audiences or follower counts and more about how the content creator engages with their audience.” 

The Cork woman also notices key cultural differences when doing business in the United States.

“Here, people are a lot more direct.” 

It was only after arriving in L.A. that she realised how indirect Irish people can be, whereas in America “you don’t have to read between the lines as much". While Americans often display what seems to Irish people like unfiltered enthusiasm or confidence - “which to us might come across as rude or arrogant” - she says it’s simply a matter of cultural norms.

For the most part, she finds being Irish helpful in the US, though less so in Los Angeles itself. 

“L.A. is so diverse - everyone’s from everywhere,” she notes. “Some of my clients probably don’t even know I’m Irish.” 

But once she travels outside to smaller cities or the Midwest or East Coast, she finds people “adore the accent and gravitate to it". Places like Chicago, she says, are where the Irishness becomes a superpower, though some people still carry outdated views of Ireland “as a bit backward". For Saoirse, the real Irish superpower is character: knowing how to be professional, but also knowing when “to have the craic". She attributes her success to long experience in the Irish hospitality industry, the key Irish trait of “not having notions,” staying grounded, and not taking oneself too seriously.

She loves working with fellow Irish people in America.

“It brings things back down to normal,” she says, so long as they remember to bring her some Ballymaloe Relish, Tayto, and Dairymilk chocolate (obviously).

Unsurprisingly, she’s deeply involved in the close-knit Irish community in Los Angeles and continues to be “blown away by how supportive and lovely everyone is”, especially since Irish friendships abroad often run deeper through shared comparisons with home.

“It’s a big risk to come to the States. It’s not as comfortable as staying in Ireland,” she reflects. 

But for this young entrepreneur, success comes down to one thing: “I think you have to be authentic - to others and to yourself. And no matter what happens, I believe you’ll never regret just chasing your dreams.” 

Then she pauses - just for a moment - and the internal Irish modesty kicks in.

“God,” she laughs, “that’s so American of me.”