A Hollywood actor-turned-pop star is on a quest to discover his ancestral home in Mayo.
Patrick Muldoon from the early nineties American hit series Days Of Our Lives went on to become a Melrose Place heart-throb before starring in the sci fi blockbuster Starship Troopers.
Ten years ago Mr Muldoon first visited Ireland as an actor and now as a musician is planning a return visit to discover his Irish roots.
"I came to Ireland when we were filming the movie Bad Karma with Patsy Kensit in 2001. While shooting in Galway I got the chance to go to the village of Pulbaun in Co Mayo where my ancestors had emigrated from, and stood in the foundations of their old house. I spoke to a lot of people in the area who were all so nice and even met an old man who remembered my family living in the area. It was such an amazing experience to see where the journey of my family began and hopefully, next time around, I will get to spend a little longer there and have a few pints in one of the locals.”
Nowadays, Mr Muldoon has swapped life in front of the camera for his first passion of music. With his band The Sleeping Masses he released the Become Everything album (2009 ) and has performed on the circuit at The Viper Room, The Whiskey, The Roxy, and The Gig in Hollywood.
One of the band’s songs, ‘The Woman Is The Way’, was chosen for use in Powder Blue starring Jessica Biel and Forest Whitaker.
“Through this our band received a lot of attention and the songs was subsequently also used on the hit show The Hills, and the video continues to be shown on music channels in Ireland and the UK,” he said.
Mr Muldoon enjoyed an insight into the Irish music scene on his last visit. “People are really into their music in Ireland, especially the people I met in Galway and Mayo. They don’t look at the whole package, it’s about the music and so the song always wins, which is just great,” he said.
The Hollywood star would now love nothing better than to come to Ireland and visit County Mayo again, this time with his band.
“I’ve been dying to get back. While I’m mainly working on our music, I’m still doing some acting and also work as a creative executive with Seven Star Pictures. It would give me an opportunity to check out some locations, like Mayo especially.”
