US actor Paul Rudd got a front-row seat as members of Hermitage Green, one of Ireland’s most popular bands, performed a rendition of “The Parting Glass” in Dublin pub Ryan’s on Thursday, December 5.
Rudd, with a glass in his hand, offered a heartfelt “sláinte” to the lads when they finished their impromptu performance.
Explaining the unexpected seisiún, Hermitage Green said on social media on Friday: “We finished sound check in the Olympia yesterday and slipped out for a quiet pint of Guinness and a poitín chaser.
“If anyone sees Paul Rudd walking around Dublin wearing a Hermitage Green tshirt go up and say hello to him, he’s a lovely fella.”
However, the Irish band cheekily added: “And Paul if you’re reading this – you forgot to give us the 15 euro for it.”
“We had just finished sound check in The 3Olympia so we nipped out to Ryan’s pub for a quick pint,” Hermitage Green’s Danny Murphy told Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio on Friday.
“Paul Rudd was in there having a quiet drink with a friend.
“Next thing we knew we were arm in arm with him singing songs, and there was a bottle of poitín being passed around.
“It must have been a bewildering experience for Paul but he seemed to enjoy the madness of it all – he’s a really lovely fella!”
Limerick-based Hermitage Green includes members Barry Murphy, Dan Murphy, Darragh Griffin, Darragh Graham, and Dermot Sheedy.
Rudd has been spotted around Dublin in recent days filming for his new movie “Power Ballad.”
🎥: Paul Rudd spotted filming in Dublin this morning pic.twitter.com/bC2dkemtrB
— 98FM (@98FM) December 5, 2024
Deadline reported in May that Rudd is co-starring in “Power Ballad” with US musician Nick Jonas, formerly of boyband The Jonas Brothers, and that the movie was filming in Dublin.
The new movie “will chart the story of a wedding singer (Rudd), a rock star (Jonas), and the song that comes between them,” Deadline reported.
“Power Ballad” is being directed by John Carney, the mastermind behind the recent Apple TV+ series “Flora and Son” and the Oscar-winning film “Once.”
“I’m delighted to be working with so many great people,” Carney said in May.
“I’ve been working on this script with my buddy Peter for years, and now Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas are in my kitchen.”
In July, when it was announced that the film had been picked up by Lionsgate, Carney said: “I am so delighted this film, which has been in my heart for so long, has found its home.
“Musically themed films are meant to be watched together, and what better studio than Lionsgate to bring this movie to the world in the way it was intended: with a crowd, in the dark, next to strangers who, for a few hours, become friends.”
Paul Rudd’s Irish links
As it happens, Paul Rudd has his own personal links to Ireland after spending many childhood summers on Irish shores. His father, Michael, a historical tour guide, had planned to retire to Kinsale in Co Cork, but sadly passed before being able to.
Rudd has previously said: “We spent so much time in Ireland, both when I was a kid and as an adult and we always loved it.
“They were really happy times. Most of the time we spent in Cork and Kerry, which I love and Sligo is also a pretty special place. It was always my father’s intention to find a place in Kinsale to see out his retirement, but sadly this was not to be.”
Rudd’s father’s ashes were eventually scattered in various locations around Ireland.
In 2011, Rudd was declared an “Honorary Irishman” at the Oscar Wilde: Honoring the Irish in Film Gala in Los Angeles. At the event, starlet Julia Roberts presented him with the award.
That same year, Rudd and late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien humorously recalled their visits to The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin:
The US actor’s love for Ireland has gone so far that he even built an Irish pub in the basement of his home called O’Sullivan’s, named after his son, Jack Sullivan.
In 2014, during an appearance on the “Late Show with David Letterman,” Rudd reflected on spending time in Co Donegal while promoting “Anchorman 2.”
“Ireland is the best place on Earth,” he gushed. “It is hands-down, the best country, the greatest place.”
