Cillian Murphy and the tale of his Cork band who almost made it

Before he dipped his toes into acting, Cillian Murphy was frontman for Sons of Mr Green Genes, a Leeside band who turned down a record contract with a prestigious UK label at a crucial junction in his career. This is their story

Sons of Mr Green Genes in 1997: Bob Jackson, Cillian Murphy, John Ahern, Chris McCarthy, Padraig Murphy. 

Bob Jackson was 12 years of age when he first met Cillian Murphy. It was in September 1989. The pair were starting secondary school in Presentation Brothers College in Cork city. They hit it off immediately, and they’re still good mates 35 years later – Jackson is godfather to Murphy’s son, Malachy; Murphy is godfather to Jackson’s daughter, Nina.

Jackson says a shared, surreal sense of humour has been one of the things they both have in common. “Cillian’s humour often gets lost. It rarely comes across in the serious, troubled characters that he plays,” relates Jackson. “He's the funniest person I know. I’ve had the best laughs of my life with him. We grew up in stitches, messing with each other’s heads, messing with the teachers’ heads, getting up to devilment.