Wild Geese Stories: Hollywood (Co. Wicklow) Star Tom Cruise Shares His Irish Ancestry

Posted on April 17, 2013 by aaron

Photo by Thais Araujo2 via Flickr Creative Commons

Our story begins in 1691 when Patrick Sarsfield and his followers left Ireland, hoping and believing that they would one day return. Since then countless ‘Wild Geese’ have left Ireland, their extraordinary stories being interwoven with the Legend of The Wild Geese.

Recently Hollywood (that’s Hollywood Co. Wicklow) mega-star Tom Cruise discovered his Wild Geese story when he was presented with a ‘Certificate of Irish Heritage’ during his visit to Dublin for the Irish premiere of Oblivion.

‘It was incredible. As a gift they went and researched my family. They traced my family back to the ninth century in Ireland

‘I had no idea it went back that far. I found our my ancestors were the rulers on north Ireland and they owned a town called Hollywood [in Co. Wicklow]‘

As it turns out, one of Cruise’s ancestors, Patrick Russell Cruise, was most definitely a ‘Man of Action’:

‘He was in New York and this guy who helped with running the family estates wanted to throw the tenants off the farm and he got on a boat, went all the way back, reinstated the tenants on the farm, fired the lawyer and they had this big dinner for him’

His family owned most of Dublin and genealogists showed Cruise the location of the family castle on a map, which he is keen to visit one day.

‘To learn about the history of my family – it was incredible. It’s a great honour for me and my whole family – I can’t wait to bring it back to them and enlighten them on their history… I’m very proud to be Irish’

Men of Action: ‘Majestic’ O’Connell Leads Victory Against Harlequins

Posted on April 8, 2013 by aaron

There was tough competition for the man of the match during the weekend’s Heineken Cup quarter final, when Munster beat back old rivals the Harlequins. Although the game didn’t see any tries scored, we were all treated to classic, get-stuck-in rugby.

Paul O’Connell in Ireland kit, playing against Argentina

Munster secured a win against the London team with a final score of 18-12. While it was Ronan O’Gara who landed 6 penalties, the might Lions charged into battle under the leadership of a returning Paul O’Connell. And since he first stepped onto the pitch this past Sunday all eyes have been on O’Connell. His effect on the team has been undeniable, with a powerful display of leadership that reminds us of Patrick Sarsfield.

‘He has this empathetic outlook on life – he sees things through other people’s eyes, and he has this understanding that makes everyone feel good to be around him. You couple that with his rugby ability and he is just a really complete man’

He even won praise from the rival Harlequin’s rugby director Conor O’Shea:

‘He was majestic. The whole team was physical but he was the totem that the whole team just rose around. He is arguably one of the greatest second rows, if not the greatest second row, that Ireland has ever produced’

Munster will now head into their 10th semi-final against Clermont Auvergne in Montpellier.

Travel Retail’s Wild Geese: Dominick O’Reilly

Posted on March 18, 2013 by aaron

You can enjoy our latest column in The Moodie Report below. Thank you to Dominick O’Reilly for providing some fantastic answers to our questions!

Travel Retail’s Wild Geese: Colm McLoughlin

Posted on March 1, 2013 by aaron

Here’s our latest column from The Moodie Report where Dubai Duty Free Executive Chairman Colm McLoughlin answers our questions. Thank you for taking part!

Click here to read issue 70 of The Moodie Report.

Remember The Wild Geese This St Patrick’s Day

Posted on February 27, 2013 by aaron

The St Patrick’s Day celebrations have always been important to Wild geese found throughout the world.

Traditionally, it was a special feast in Ireland, a day for prayer and remembrance. But over time, as many Wild Geese travelled to all corners of the world, St Patrick’s Day became a time for those abroad to connect with their countrymen and remember Ireland: a celebration of the bonds of solidarity.

Solidarity bound The Wild Geese together in 1691. United under their beautiful dream of freedom for everyone, they chose to leave Ireland, thinking they had secured liberty for their country. As they boarded ships bound for France they took the name The Wild Geese in the hope and belief that this would be a temporary strategic exile.

Today St Patrick’s Day incorporates everyone. Its a day that the world can stand together and celebrate the important bonds of the courageous. On this day everyone is a little bit Irish.

So this St Patrick’s Day we’re celebrating those bonds of solidarity and have loads of exciting events coming up in the UK. Join us on Facebook to keep up to date with our events.

Your St Patrick’s Day celebrations start here. Join us in remembering The Wild Geese.

Wherever you are in the world, if you are of Irish descent you are part of this story and entitled to call yourself Wild Geese.

Men of Action: Daniel Day-Lewis Makes Oscar History With Third Best Actor Win

Posted on February 25, 2013 by aaron

First came the Golden Globe. Then came the SAG awards. Then the BAFTA. And now Daniel Day-Lewis has made cinema history by being the only man to win three Best Leading Man Oscars.

Daniel Day-Lewis accepts his third Best Actor Academy Award making Oscar history (Image by Disney ABC Television Group, via Flickr Creative Commons)

At the Academy Awards last night, he echoed the success he’s seen during this year’s awards season:

‘I really don’t know how any of this happened. I do know that I’ve received so much more than my fair share of good fortune in my life and I’m so grateful to the Academy for this beautiful honour’

Courage
We think we have an idea how this happened. He’s been acting since the age of 14 has come to every role with a hugh level of respect and ambition for what may lay a head. When he accepted the role of Abraham Lincoln he found it had a ‘paralysing quality’ to it and the prospect of portraying one of the great American heroes was daunting. He initially declined the role, but his courageous spirit won out and he soon set to work researching the American President.

Commitment
Daniel Daniel-Lewis is infamous for the intensity he brings to his roles. His method acting has lead to him learning to build canoes and hunt for The Last of the Mohicans, studying as a butcher for Gangs of New York and visiting disabled people at Dublin’s Sandymount School Clinic for his role in My Left Foot, for which he won his first Academy award. While visiting Sandymount he built strong relationships with those at the clinic.

However, this intensity hasn’t diminished his charm. In all his acceptance speeches this year he has displayed a humble gratitude and respect for all his colleagues. When accepting the Oscar for Lincoln, he paid tribute to the ‘mysteriously beautiful mind, body and spirit of Abraham Lincoln’

Flight
Daniel Day-Lewis has always been ambitious and horizons ever widening. When he was younger he was enthralled by Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, with lit a fire in him to explore American stories:

‘I just kept going back – I didn’t know America, but that was a glimpse of what America might be, and I realised that, contrary to expectation, I wanted to tell American stories’

By bringing to life one of the country’s greatest leaders he has certainly achieved this. No force seems to be able to quell Day-Lewis’ ambition and has made a significant impact on a culture he admires and loves. Just like a true Wild Geese.

Travel Retail’s Wild Geese

Posted on February 22, 2013 by aaron

Our second column in The Moodie Report is out! Another one of today’s Wild Geese has let us into his world.

John Moriarty is Vice President of Operations at Runway Duty Free in Russia and gave us some fantastic answers. Thank you for contributing John!

Click here to read issue 69 of The Moodie Report.

Men of Action: Ireland’s Rural Landscape Inspires John Rocha’s Latest Collection

Posted on February 19, 2013 by aaron

John Rocha often fuses his Chinese heritage with his adopted country (Image from M. J. Dibb, via Google Images)

John Rocha often fuses his Chinese heritage with his adopted country (Image from KaiChanVong, via Flickr Creative Commons)

The catwalks at London Fashion Week came alive with the beauty of Ireland over the weekend, when design power house John Rocha brought his adopted home to proceedings.

John Rocha settled in Dublin after graduating from art college and since then Ireland has been a hub of creativity for him. Its where he launched his first label, Chinatown, before going on to design lines for many of Dublin’s luxury stores, including the renowned Brown Thomas.

He clearly shares a love of the country displayed by The Wild Geese. Although they hoped and believed that they would see Ireland again, many of The Wild Geese did not return. But the country was always in their hearts.

In his latest designs John Rocha has embraced the powerful colours of the rural Irish landscape:

‘The collection is inspired by the Wicklow countryside. The colours and texture of the Sally Gap on a winter’s day’

The Sally Gap in the Wicklow Mountains, John Rocha’s latest inspiration (Image from Brian.Mo via Flickr Creative Commons)

This has helped him envisage what outfits would suit this stunning backdrop:

‘I like the idea of some old-fashioned charm, coat and dresses together. For me, at this stage of my career, it’s all about making women as beautiful as possible – it’s not just about the clothes’

Check out John Rocha’s latest collection inspired by Ireland on his website:
http://www.johnrocha.ie/

Irish Talent: Zoe Jordan Builds Strong Foundations

Posted on February 18, 2013 by aaron

Dublin-born designer Zoe Jordan opened London Fashion Week last Friday with a collection that showed how much her work has evolved. ‘Foundations’ was Jordan’s fifth collection, and although her signature ‘boyish elegance’ offered a very fresh, very grown up opening to one of the major weeks in the fashion industry.

The Duomo in Florence was one of Jordan’s inspirations for her latest collection, ‘Foundations’ (Photo by Steph Gray lesteph, via Flickr Creative Commons)

‘My autumn/winter 2013 collection is inspired by Italian renaissance architecture, specially the Duomo in Florence. Juxtaposed with this opulence, I have also been looking at stark, minimalist, monochrome interiors. I studied architecture, so it has always been a strong influence in my work’ – Zoe Jordan

This intrepid spirit reminds us of The Wild Geese, who journeyed far and wide in their pursuit of freedom for everyone. The fusion of this spirit with her design skills has resulted in the creation of something very special by Jordan. Something very Untamed.

Jordan’s designs really started to garner interest in Ireland back in 2008, where she debuted her label Irwin & Jordan. She also hosted a pop-up shop un Dublin’s Brown Thomas department store in March 2011 – the ‘House of Irish design’ and a great place to start young clothing labels – where people really started to understand the philosophy behind her designs: a love not just of tailoring and fine cuts, which she still channels in her work today.

Like The Wild Geese, Jordan has left Ireland bringing her talent to people all over the world. She still draws on that intrepid spirit, which is evident in her latest collection.

Take a look at some of Zoe’s designs on her website:
http://www.zoe-jordan.com/

Travel Retail’s Wild Geese: Steve O’Connor

Posted on February 14, 2013 by aaron

Throughout 2013 we’ll be running a special column in The Moodie Report profiling some of today’s Wild geese working in travel retail, to find out what keeps them ticking.

Our first column is out today which features Steve O’Connor at Delhi Duty Free. We feel like we’ve really gotten to now Steve – thanks for taking part!

Click here to read issue 68 of The Moodie Report.

Tag Archives: Irish Talent