Bobby Ewing turned up in east Mayo yesterday - and it wasn’t all a dream.
Southfork met Skeheen as Patrick Duffy, the star of the famous TV show Dallas, dropped in the secluded and quiet village to say ‘Howdy’ to long lost cousins.
Duffy, who played Bobby Ewing in the TV hit series, seemed bemused by the number of Duffys who turned out to greet him while on a visit to Kilmovee, his ancestral parish.
“It seems that just about everybody around here carries the surname Duffy”, he wryly observed as a crowd gathered around him and his partner fellow actor, Linda Purl.
It was left to scientist and biotechnologist Dr Tyrone Bowes, who firmly established the actor’s Irish ancestry, to later explain to him that in centuries past a large number of Duffys had migrated to east Mayo from Ulster counties.
In Griffith’s Valuation lists (1853) for the parish of Kilmovee, no less than 70 Duffy property owners are recorded.
Led by local community leaders the visiting dignatories called to an ancient, long closed, graveyard where generations of Duffys were laid to rest as well as the imposing and remarkably untouched stone fort at Kilcashel.
But their declared highlight was the house in Skeheen townland – renovated to slate from thatch in the 1960s – from which Patrick’s great grandfather,
Terence Duffy, emigrated in search of a better life in the 1800s.
That homestead now has a non-Duffy occupant, Barbara Everest.
At Kilmovee Community Centre, a homely meal was prepared for the distinguished visitors which included boxty, courtesy of Bridie Langan, and buns followed by traditional bacon and cabbage.
Local parish priest, Fr. Joseph Gavigan said Patrick Duffy’s visit had boosted the spirit of the community.
He added: “Patrick Duffy’s ancestors left Ireland in difficult times.
Their success as emigrants is one of the positive stories about the exodus from Ireland in the 19th century”.
The day’s festivities ended with a visit to the local pub in Kilmovee. It is owned by a family of – yes you’ve guessed it - Duffys.
No doubt Patrick Duffy felt very much at home as he raised a glass to his newly discovered Irish cousins here.
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