Oppenheimer lead star Cillian Murphy famously visited Weirs Bar & Restaurant in Multyfarnham alongside Johnny Depp one Sunday in November 2013.
The pair had dinner with the late Irish American author JP Donleavy who lived on the shores of Lough Owel and had invited the actors for dinner.
The group washed down their meal with a few pints and were uninterrupted by other customers during a busy Sunday service, before taking pictures and signing autographs for anyone who asked once they had finished.
In the years since, Cillian Murphy’s stock has risen substantially and while Depp was the star attraction for locals in Multyfarnham in 2013, that may not be the case if a repeat of the event was to occur again.
Cillian stars as Robert Oppenheimer, often referred to as the father of the nuclear bomb, in the Christopher Nolan biopic Oppenheimer.
It was released worldwide last July and had global box office takings of $174m on its opening weekend.
“Cillian would have been very famous in his own right too when he visited us in 2013,” said Una Weir, of Weirs Bar & Restaurant.
“He was a very nice man though I must say, he was quiet and reserved, but very nice.”
Cillian Murphy also starred as Thomas Shelby in the hugely successful BBC TV drama Peaky Blinders which first aired two months before his visit to Multyfarnham and ran for six series, finishing in 2022.
“He had very piercing eyes, very blue and unique – they would be hard to forget,” Una said, who added that while Johnny Depp went around to every table in Weir’s to say hello, Cillian stood back but was very friendly to anyone who approached him.
“He was very obliging if anyone wanted a picture or anything like that and he left a good impression on anyone who met him.”
