Have you seen the one where Tom Cruise nearly gets knocked out for stealing a pack of smokes down in Kerry? You wouldn’t have because unlike most of the Mission Impossible star’s escapades, this one wasn’t documented on the big screen and in fact happened in real life.
That’s according to Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae who was telling Pat Kenny all about the near-scuffle earlier this week. Speaking on The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk, Healy-Rae explained that the incident occurred while Cruise was filming 1992 drama Far And Away in the Kingdom.
The incident allegedly occurred at the Loo Bridge Bar outside Kilgarvan, which Cruise entered with his co-star and then-wife Nicole Kidman. The Top Gun actor, at this stage one of the most recognisable names in Hollywood, was happily sipping away on a Diet Coke, when he managed to ran afoul of a regular.
Healy-Rae explained that “there was a man sitting down the end of the counter called Ger the Manny. He was an elderly man and he had his stick up on the counter and he was sipping away at a little glass of Guinness.”
At this point, a barman by the name of Matt went into the back of the pub and while he was gone, Healy-Rae says that Cruise “leaned behind the counter and he had his hand dipped inside the counter.” Ger clearly didn’t take kindly to this and according to the politician “jumped up off his stool, he caught his stick and drew a belt at yer man’s hand trying to hit him across the hand.”
Hearing the ruckus, Matt returned to the bar to find Cruise protesting his innocence by saying “my goodness, I was just leaning in to get a bit more ice,” which Ger disputed by saying “you bastard, you were trying to steal Matt’s fags!”
Healy-Rae said that it was at this point that Cruise and Kidman finished their drinks and went on their way. Let this be a lesson to all the Hollywood stars out there – if you need more ice, best ask the barman.
It certainly wasn’t the first time a celebrity has caused a stir on a trip to these shores and it certainly won’t be the last. If you’re interested, some more of our favourite star-studded Irish stories can be found here.
Cruise will next be seen in the much anticipated Top Gun:Maverick, a sequel to the 1986 classic which helped catapult Cruise to international fame.
