SHOPPERS in Scally’s SuperValu in Clonakilty may have had to do a double take last Saturday when Oscar-nominated actor and star of Normal People and Gladiator 2, Paul Mescal popped into the supermarket with his girlfriend, singer Gracie Abrams, to buy some eggs.
Despite keeping a low profile in black and in baseball caps, one eagle-eyed worker in the Clon store, Eva Coleman, spotted the celebrity couple and managed to get a picture with them and some of her work colleagues, which she shared on TikTok.
Eva posted: ‘Tryna act cool but Gracie Abrams and Paul Mescal walked into the shop and asked me where the eggs were.’
Her post has already been viewed over a million times on her page as fans of the celebrity couple react to the fact she met them in the local supermarket.
It’s likely the celebrity pair were on their way down to Paul’s house in Schull, which he purchased for more than €600,000 over two years ago.
Mescal is a regular in the South West and was a patron of last year’s Fastnet Film Festival in Schull and even got to reunite with his Normal People co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones and director Lenny Abrahamson at the festival.
The Maynooth-born actor attended the premiere of his film ‘Gladiator 2’ in Los Angeles with Gracie last November after months of speculation about their relationship.
She is the daughter of Star Wars director J.J. Abrams and television producer Katie McGrath.
Meanwhile West Cork tourism received an unexpected Christmas gift after acclaimed English actor, Richard E Grant extolled the joys of visiting Ballydehob while on a break over the Christmas period.
The star of acclaimed films such as Withnail & I, who was Oscar-nominated for Can You ever Forgive Me? touched down in Cork Airport just before Christmas to spend time down south, staying in Ballymaloe with his friends, Cork chef Clodagh McKenna and another friend Harry Herbert.
With over 741,000 followers on Instagram, his videos in Cork could do more for tourism than any Fáilte Ireland ad campaign.
He posted on Instagram of what were an ‘unforgettable few days’ in Ballymaloe and Cork with Clodagh McKenna and Harry Herbert, extolling the ‘delicious food and seaside walks’.
His Cork journey then took him westwards where he, Clodagh and Harry met up with Gubeen cheesemaker, Fingal Ferguson.
‘Falling in love with Cork & the countryside beyond, atmosphere drive south for lunch with Fingal Ferguson, who demo’d ‘Irish handcuffs’ with two pints of Guinness and then to @LevisBallydehob to experience its magical interior with my great pals,’ he posted online.
In the same video, Clodagh McKenna can be seen behind the bar counter in Levis, filling pints of stout.
