US star visits pubs on Leeside

A new programme looking at some of Ireland’s most famous pubs from the point of view of a member of the diaspora will be airing on RTÉ this month.

‘Duffy’s Pub’, which follows the journey of American actor Patrick Duffy to pubs around Ireland bearing his namesake, as well as other famous spots in Dublin, Galway, Donegal, Mayo, and Cork.

Duffy, who was a regular fixture on Irish screens during the 1980s in his role as Bobby Ewing in 'Dallas', is joined in the venture by his partner, actress Linda Purl (‘Happy Days’, ‘Matlock’).

Their trip brings them to the Hi-B in Cork, Jim O The Mills in Tipperary, The Flowing Tide in Dublin, and many more. Along the way, they meet TR Dallas to reminisce about JR, drop in on The Happy Pear, meet poet Thomas McCarthy and historian Dónal Fallon, and Patrick visits Inis Mór where he scouted movie locations 40 years ago.

Duffy, originally from Montana, has fond memories of the Owl Bar in his hometown, which was run by his grandfather, Patrick Duffy, who moved to the area from Kilmovee, Mayo. He said that his earliest memories involve doing his homework at the bar where the regulars became like an extended family. He currently runs his own bar in Hollywood with his son.

This sense of community is what has led Duffy to return to Ireland for this project, to explore Ireland’s pub culture and track the changes pubs have undergone in Ireland while looking at how the country itself has changed.

His journey culminates in a trip to Kilmovee, where he meets with extended family, and reminisces about his grandfather over a pint in the family pub, before visiting family graves and scattering some of his father’s ashes.