Irish magician Rua has gone viral after honouring a cherished diaspora tradition: ensuring his newborn’s first touch of soil was from Ireland. Though his Catalan partner chose to give birth in Barcelona, Rua brought a small lunchbox of Irish soil from their home in Ireland, fulfilling a custom observed by some Irish families abroad.

The video, which has reached nearly 2 million views, shows Rua gently placing the soil beneath his baby’s feet shortly after birth. While many praised the gesture as heartfelt and symbolic, others questioned its relevance and safety, sparking lively debate in the comments.

Rua is a Magician who lives with his Catalan partner in Ireland, but she chose to finish the last stage of their first child’s birth surrounded by her family in Barcelona. As Ireland is their home, they wanted to ensure that their new baby would get to take part in a cherished Irish ritual whereby the first soil his feet touched after he was born, was Irish soil. Rua brought the soil over from Ireland in a small lunchbox after his last show before the baby was born. Rua is a proud Irishman and is delighted to continue this ritual, which has sparked conversation and a lot of controversy online in the comments section, as the video has hit almost 2M views. Not everybody agrees!