Sega's Irish the Hedgehog Character Boasts a Hilariously Online Origin Story

A wise anthropomorphic hedgehog once said "Gotta go fast!" No matter your age, if this is unfamiliar to you, you're likely not a huge consumer of mainstream media, let alone a gamer. No shade, though.

Sega's spiky, speedy little mascot Sonic the Hedgehog was created in 1991 to go head-to-head against Nintendo's uber-popular Mario Bros. Well, not literally, but the Japanese video game company needed an edge, and Sonic proved to be the answer.

With his blue spines and red trainers, Sonic the Hedgehog is now a legendary video game character, having spawned dozens of games, TV shows, and movies since the '90s. But just because Sonic is the titular character, that doesn't mean he's the only star in the franchise. Other characters in the Sonic universe include the evil Doctor Eggman, Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, and Miles 'Tails' Prower.

We're here to talk about a Kelly green character, however — one who goes by the name Irish the Hedgehog.

The Sonic the Hedgehog universe only got bigger with the Dec. 15, 2022, release of Netflix's TV-Y7-rated animated series Sonic Prime. Currently ranked at No. 4 on Netflix's Top 10 list of TV shows in the U.S., Sonic Prime follows Sonic (D. Mack Jr.) as he fights to save the world after a battle with his arch-nemesis, Dr. Eggman (Brian Drummond), literally shatters the universe. Yeah, it's a pretty intense feat for one little super-powered mammal.

And while Sonic meets plenty of friends and foes along the way, Irish the Hedgehog isn't one of them.

Let's wind the clock back to March 2019, when famous gaming YouTuber Jacksepticeye — whose real name is Seán William McLoughlin — personally asked Sega to create a new Sonic character called Irish the Hedgehog. Naturally, he hoped to voice the lad. At the time, Irish was just a pipe dream.

Fast-forward to March 17, 2020, and Jacksepticeye's fantasy became a reality. Perhaps it was the luck of the Irish.

"One year later, Irish the Hedgehog is real. Happy St. Paddy's Day!" the official Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account wrote.

The tweet is accompanied by an official Illustration of the character, who appears donning a brimmed leprechaun-like hat, buckled shoes, and holds a four-leaf clover. Per Polygon, Sega credited Mark Hughes as the artist who brought the now-canon character to life. And yes, the post includes a campy voiceover by Jacksepticeye himself.

The online gamer — who boasts a whopping 28.9 million YouTube subscribers — is in fact Irish, but he hammed up his accent for the sake of Irish the Hedgehog. Put it this way, Irish the Hedgehog sounds a bit like the Lucky Charms mascot.

Given that Netflix originally ordered 24 episodes of Sonic Prime, and Season 1 is only comprised of eight episodes, there will be many more opportunities for Irish the Hedgehog to make his presence known. Do we think that'll happen? Well, perhaps luck will be on our side.