The Banshees of Inisherin star was speaking to the Second Captains Saturday on RTÉ Radio 1 this afternoon, competing to be named ‘Ireland’s Greatest Non-Sportsperson Sportsperson’ where guests share their own sporting achievements and highlights throughout their life.
Previous guests include Conan O’Brien, Malcolm Gladwell, Aisling and Hollywood star Michael Sheen, who earned the title last year.
The Dubliner – and Aston Villa fan – told the show that his Gaelic football career, during which he played full-forward for St Finian’s GAA club in Swords for seven or eight years, included “great craic”.
“I was a lover not a fighter for the most part, but there were a couple of incidents,” he said, laughing as he recalled “clocking” a competitor on the pitch during one match.
“It was really funny. I remember hitting a fella in the face in Portmarnock entirely by accident because he was hanging onto my jersey and I swung back – and I had been a great advocate of fair play.
“I was never in dirt really – anyway, I swung back to free myself and the jersey and I absolutely clocked him straight in the nose.
“I frightened the poor fella and he was afraid to come near me, and it was a pure accident – I swear, I didn’t mean to do it.”
Gleeson said he had “no interest in fighting on a football pitch” but it was where he learned “to stand up for yourself”.
“I hate bullies, I really do. I always have… the lessons of sport definitely helped me to stand my ground a little bit. So I’m grateful for that,” he said.
He admitted his training attitude and performance “wasn’t the best” and so he assumed the position of full forward, with his role in the club’s first team now immortalised on a plaque in the club.
The actor, who was scouted by Mel Gibson for Braveheart when he was performing a play in the Gaiety Theatre during his teaching career, also said he has “a lot to thank Michael D (Higgins) for”.
The President was then the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht and was responsible for reinstating the Film Board, an achievement Gleeson described as “instrumental”.
“I have a lot to thank Michael D for, reinstituting the Film Board,” he said. “Not just talking about it but doing it and it was totally invigorating.”
He also recounted the journey of looking for a Hollywood agent, laughing as he remembered buying a “collarless shirt and skinny trousers” on Grafton Street with his wife Mary, who dressed him for the occasion.
