By Claire Corrigan
The day that Johnny Depp visited Weir’s pub in November 2013 is one that is etched in the minds of owners Pat and Una Weir and indeed, their customers who were there.
The story of Johnny Depp’s Sunday lunch in Weir’s came about through American-Irish writer JP Donleavy, who created the character of Sebastian Dangerfield – the “heavy-drinking, casually promiscuous hero” of his first novel, The Ginger Man, when Johnny became extremely interested in portraying him in a movie – and that was what brought the actor to rural Westmeath.
“Bob Mitchell, an entertainment lawyer from New York, had been coming to the pub every summer for years,” said Pat Weir when we spoke to him on Monday morning.
Bob stayed with JP Donleavy and was trying to put the film together. He’d have a couple of pints and a packet of crisps and used to say: “I must bring Johnny Depp here. He’d love a traditional Irish pub like this.”
