Five celebrities who have made Ireland their second home
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We often tell ourselves that when the sun shines, Ireland is the most beautiful place in the world. But it isn't only us that think that. Many celebrities have made the Emerald Isle their home away from home, and not just when the weather is good.
From Oscar-winning actors to the people behind some of TV’s most iconic characters, several famous faces escape to Ireland for relaxation, respite — and a pint of Guinness.
Spotting Matt Damon in Dalkey became a great source of entertainment for many over the lockdown as the American actor made the seaside Dublin village his home for several months. Now, another famous face is in town.
Damon's property of choice is owned by ex-Ferrari Formula 1 driver, Eddie Irvine and consists of a plunge pool, jacuzzi, sauna and five bedrooms.
The stunning home is spread across 5,000-square-foot and was the perfect place for Damon and his family during lockdown.
“There’s trees and forests and woods and oceans, I can’t think of any place else you’d rather want to be in a 2-kilometre radius of,” the actor told .
Following Matt Damon's famous stint in Dalkey, actor and filmmaker Russell Crowe took up residency in the same mansion, according to the .
Crowe was said to be staying in the Dalkey home while he filmed for the movie, .
star Sarah Jessica Parker often escapes New York City with her family for their holiday home outside Kilcar, Co Donegal.
The home, renovated in 2018, was bought by her husband Matthew Broderick’s family over four decades ago. The Donegal village even has an underage GAA tournament, called the Broderick Cup tournament, after Broderick’s parents who often supported the local club.
In August 2022, SJP, Broderick and their children arrived in Co Donegal for another visit and attended the GAA tournament. It is known that locals rarely bother the stars as they go about everyday tasks like shopping in the local Supervalu.
The family regularly spent Christmas in the holiday home with SJP describing Donegal as a “beautiful place” to spend the holidays.
West Cork is the home away from home for Oscar-winning English actor Jeremy Irons. Irons and his wife, Irish actress Sinéad Cusack began restoring Kilcoe Castle between Skibbereen and Ballydehob in 1998. The 15th-century castle took six years to renovate with Irons and Cusack finally finishing up work in 2004.
“Jeremy can’t bear waste,” said his wife, Sinéad Cusack in an interview with in 2017. “I think he saw that castle as a beautiful ruin that needed to be saved.”
“There’s something about the castle that generates the most extraordinary energy,” Irons said of the striking terracotta-coloured castle in the same interview.
“Everybody stays up ‘til three, four in the morning—talking, listening to music, drinking. You just want to go on, go on. It takes a bit of getting used to, this place. Because it does somehow produce an energy.”
Another fan of West Cork, American supermodel and actress Emily Ratajkowski was rumoured to have been laying low in the Bantry area in 2022.
The 31-year-old's parents have had a home in the area for many years and have close ties with the community with Ratajkowski hitting headlines when she sponsored the Bantry Basketball Club last summer.
Both of Ratajkowski’s grandmothers are Irish and throughout her childhood, her family visited Bantry most summers and continues to do so. Ratajkowski frequently refers to the West Cork town as her second home.
After sharing a number of images with her father and one-year-old son in what looks to be their West Cork home, some believed that the supermodel was back in the area during the summer of 2022 following her split from husband Sebastian Bear-McClard.
Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis is also known for making Ireland his second home. The actor has a home near the village of Annamoe, Co Wicklow where he lives with his wife Rebecca Miller and their children.
Day-Lewis has described Wicklow as the place he returns to as a refuge to restore himself and has lived there for many years. The Hollywood star has been known to stop off in local pubs for a pint of Guinness but enjoys keeping to himself. It was at his local Roundwood Inn that Steven Spielberg convinced him to take the role of , which he would go on to win an Oscar for.
When he was made a Freeman of Wicklow in 2009, Day-Lewis noted how he doesn’t feel the pressure of celebrity when in the county, because he is “allowed to live”.
“I notice it elsewhere,” he added.