By Mike McBride, BBC News NI
BBCThe rural Irish village of Muff is an unlikely place for an Oscar-winning actor, a former member of Irish boy band royalty and an award-winning radio host to meet on a rainy Tuesday.
While all eyes were on Dublin last week as global superstar Taylor Swift rolled into the Republic of Ireland’s capital as part of her Eras Tour, it was the turn of this tiny spot in County Donegal to roll out the red carpet (quite literally).
Hopeful locals lined the streets to catch a glimpse of Gladiator star Russell Crowe, Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating and Irish TV and radio presenter Ryan Tubridy as they arrived to open a new state-of-the-art distillery, which has been described as a huge boost to local economy.
They, along with pop megastar Ed Sheeran and British comedian Jimmy Carr, are all investors in the Muff Liquor Company.
The firm was set up by Laura Bonner back in 2017, and the company has now transformed a former car dealership in the centre of the village into a distillery.
Crowe’s arrival was cheered by a large crowd, including some who had waited for hours in the rain.
He told BBC News NI he had received a phenomenal reception since arriving in Ireland.
The Oscar-winning actor added it was his first visit to County Donegal and that he was delighted to come to this picturesque part of the island.
The star of films such as A Beautiful Mind, The Nice Guys and Robin Hood joked that he didn’t know this many people owned cameras here as he was swarmed by the media and the many locals hoping to get a picture of the movie star.
Crowe added that he and the other celebrities involved in the project wanted the new distillery in Muff to be somewhere that “employs local people and is something that local people in the village can be proud of”.
‘I think I scared Ronan Keating’
Alicia O’Kane, who has lived in Muff for 17 years but is originally from Londonderry, said she wouldn’t miss today for the world.
She waited in the rain for more than two hours in the hope she would meet some of the famous visitors.
Ms O’Kane said she has “never seen such a buzz about the village” and wanted to be there today to give the celebrities a “proper Donegal welcome”.
She confessed she may have frightened Ronan Keating off after shouting ‘welcome to Muff, Ronan’ very loudly at him, but believes he took the “warm welcome” in good spirits as he posed for a quick selfie afterwards.
‘I was allowed out of work early’
Kara Saunders, who is also from Derry, was allowed to leave work early to make the short journey over the border from Northern Ireland to try to catch a glimpse of her idol Ronan Keating.
“All my friends were tagging me in posts on Facebook when they heard he would be coming here,” she told BBC News NI.
Kara has been a fan of Ronan since she was a teenager, from his days in Boyzone, and has followed him right through his solo career.
She said she is a huge fan of his music and, despite other well-known names being here, she only has eyes for him.
Speaking to BBC News NI, Keating, who hails from Dublin, said he enjoyed many family holidays to Donegal as a child and is really excited about being involved in a business on this beautiful spot on the island.
He said hard-working small Irish communities like this one in Muff are the “backbone of Ireland” and he is excited about the potential here.
“It’s nice for us to be a part of this, my Irish heritage is really important to me.
“We used to pass through small villages like this all the time and it’s great to be able to spread the village of Muff all over the world.”
‘Take the village of Muff more seriously’
Grainne McCool, a writer from Muff, said she is delighted that some big names are in the village.
She hoped it will bring a boost to tourism and increase footfall for other local businesses
“Things like this bring the village alive, it brings people out and makes us feel special,” she said.
“The village is known for its name and people sort of laugh about us, but this will make people take the village of Muff a lot more seriously.”