Irish American star John C Reilly has said he cannot “contain his excitement” about meeting President Michael D Higgins.
The Stepbrother’s star flew into Dublin on Tuesday morning as our international guest of honour at the St Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin.
Speaking at a press conference at the Guinness Storehouse, Reilly said it was an “honour” to be part of the celebrations – admitting he cannot wait to meet President Higgins.
He said: “This is a big honour for me, actually. It might seem like a goof to just appear at a parade but to me, it has deep meaning as an Irish-American. I know that my father who is watching somewhere right now couldn’t be more proud.
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“I’ve always been a big supporter of Ireland. I’ve worked here many many times over the years. I’ve vacationed here, I’ve worked here, but it feels especially important to come here now to let people know that Ireland is open for business again.
“We’ve all been through so much, when this opportunity came along, I thought ‘what a great opportunity to spread some joy’. Obviously it’s a very difficult time in the world in many different ways for many different people, but we can’t let that stop us from expressing our joy. Joy is a great way to dispel darkness in all its forms.
“It feels especially important to come here now to let people know that Ireland is open for business again. We’ve all been through so much. Obviously it’s a very difficult time in the world in many different ways and for many different people, but we can’t let that stop us from expressing our joy.
“Good things happen in Ireland one after the other if you stay open to it. It’s a special place for that reason. When you come here, people are just so welcoming. It’s good craic, as they say. Right now, I’m focused on this week and I’m so excited to meet Michael Higgins, I can’t even contain myself. I’m looking forward to the parade tomorrow and all the music.”
Reilly plans to stay in Ireland for a few weeks and has plans to go west after he’s done with his parade duties before he returns back to Chicago.
"I’ll here for a few weeks this time. I’m going to go out travelling around the West a little bit," he said.
Reilly was last here in 2019 and had nothing but admiration for actors Colin Farrell and Saoirse Ronan. He worked with Farrell on The Lobster but has yet to find the perfect project to work with Saoirse on.
“The great Saoirse Ronan would be the one I’d be most excited to work with in the future somehow, somewhere. I met her one time when I was the Late Late Show, which I’ll be doing again on Thursday night. The last time I was on it I ran into Saoirse backstage and I thought “man that’s a special person”. I hope somehow we cross paths,” he said.
Reilly also opened up about our pub culture, jokingly admitting he wants to try all the pubs in Dublin while he’s in town.
“As far as favourite pubs, I’ll only get myself in trouble by naming any particular pub, I plan on visiting all of them if I can. Pub life here is one of the great joys.
“That’s something Americans really crave, the sense of community. In the traditional pub scene in a rural area in Ireland where it’s a generation of family and the dog running through, that sense of being part of a community.
“Not just the drinking… what we Americans really crave is that sense of belonging. Even the TV show Cheers is about that, yes it’s a bar but coming to a place where you belong and people know your name,” he said.
More than 400,000 people are expected to descend onto the streets of Dublin for the parade, which kicks off at 12 noon until 2pm.
“I’m looking forward to the parade and all the music. Growing up in Chicago, one of the big days of the year for Irish Americans if not the biggest is St Patrick’s Day.
“I would go to downtown Chicago with my father and it was a chance to hear those bagpipes, it wasn’t like the bagpipes would show up in force throughout the year.
“On St Patrick’s Day it was this glorious thing to see Police Benevolent Associations, Hibernian societies and all these things coming down the street. It made your heart swell with pride,” he said.
