Movie star’s memories of life at Tyrella

Movie star’s memories of life at Tyrella

24 October 2012

HOLLYWOOD actor Sam Neill has been reminiscing about his childhood days spent at Tyrella beach.

The movie star, famous for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in the hit movie Jurassic Park, was in Northern Ireland on a three day visit to promote another role he is currently winning plaudits for — as a winemaker.

Neill, who revealed that his family owned a beach house at Tyrella in the 1950s, was back home to showcase his highly rated Pinot Noirs and Rieslings which he produces at his own winery in New Zealand’s South Island.

Talking about his early childhood, Neill said his family owned a house on the beach at Tyrella called The Watch House.

He continued: “It used to be a Customs & Excise building; my parents loved that place. I returned in 2006 and the nice people who lived there showed me around. I remembered it as being quite a big house but of course it was a lot smaller than I had imagined.”

The actor, who has appeared in 60 plus movies and 50 or more television productions, was born in Omagh and lived in Armagh for a while. But he has very fond memories of Tyrella beach.

His father was originally from New Zealand and his family returned there in 1954 when Sam was aged seven.

During his recent visit to Northern Ireland, the Hollywood star revealed he’s currently working on his Ulster accent for a part he is playing in a new BBC series called Peaky Blinders.

He explained: “I play a cop originally from Ulster brought in to clean up the lawless neighbourhoods of post-war Birmingham in 1919. At the moment I’m being tutored by Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt, so if my accent’s dust, you can blame them.”