When the Sexiest Man Alive came to Ireland: Revisiting Patrick Dempsey's Irish road trip
Patrick Dempsey attending the world premiere of Bridget Jones's Baby at the Odeon cinema, Leicester Square, London.
In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, Disney’s decision to film a fairytale in one Irish town brought much excitement to people across the country.
It also brought us People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, Patrick Dempsey.
The actor, who starred in Disney's Disenchanted alongside Amy Adams, was officially awarded the title by People on Wednesday.
“I’m just happy they made a decision and it was me this year, I’m very grateful,” the 57-year-old joked.
Filming for Disenchanted started in Enniskerry in the summer of 2021, transforming the Wicklow town into a fairytale setting for the very special occasion. During that time, Dempsey went on a bit of a road trip across Ireland and has gushed about our little island ever since.
Speaking at the Disenchanted world premiere, he told the PA news agency: “I love Ireland. I like the west coast the best and getting out of the cities."
While in Ireland, McDreamy — I mean, Dempsey— certainly made the most of it, sharing glimpses of his adventures along the way. And we just couldn’t get enough.
Here are some of the highlights of that magical time.
Where it all started. The people of Co Wicklow could hardly contain their excitement as spectacular sets and Hollywood stars began to appear in Enniskerry. In June 2021, filming officially got underway with locals flocking to the town centre in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the action —and if they were lucky, Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey.
While the town was mid-makeover, ride-hailing app, Free Now reported that taxi requests had been up 142% for Enniskerry.
The actor really made the most of local attractions and sites and in July, he even climbed Dublin’s Sugarloaf Mountain.
Posting from the summit, he proclaimed: "It has been calling me and today I answered!".
Throughout his time in Ireland, Patrick Dempsey was active on social media, sharing various pictures and images with his 6.6 million Instagram followers as he made his way around the Emerald Isle.
One stand-out moment was an adorable smiling selfie with a Donkey in Co Derry while wearing a very Irish flat cap.
“My new trusty steed”, he wrote alongside the photo that quickly gained attention from fans and followers of the so-called ‘McDreamy’.
The donkey, who we later found out was called Neddy, enjoyed his time in the limelight and became ‘Insta famous’ following the post.
Olivia Burns, fragrance maker for Northern Irish brand Olivia's Haven posted pics from her HQ on the North Coast in May, revealing that she had hosted Dempsey for a fortnight before he started filming for the new Disney flick.
"It has been very surreal going to work and seeing McDreamy every day. We have enjoyed lots of daily chats with Patrick about the beautiful Northern Irish countryside,” she said.
"Mr Dempsey was also a big hit with our donkey, Neddy, who is now Insta famous with over 1.1 million views on Instagram!” she added.
Before bidding farewell to Ireland and the many Irish people who will be keeping a watchful eye for his return, Dempsey took a trip to the Aran Islands.
While filming in Ireland, the actor also made the most of Irish fashion including Inis Meáin's knitwear. After wearing a couple of their gorgeous geansaí, the Grey's Anatomy star took a trip to the Aran Islands to visit the Inis Meáin studio.
According to the team behind the knitwear, Dempsey discovered their jumpers while in Dublin and after falling in love, he became curious about their background and visited their Island studio — even posing for a couple of pictures with a very excited knitwear team.
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