Gregory Peck goes back to his roots in Dingle

May 1992

HOLLYWOOD’S legendary Gregory Peck enjoyed one of the great occasions of his life this week when he met twenty of his cousins at a family get together in Dingle.

“It’s a great feeling to come back and create a bond one’s own people,” he told his Curran, Ashe, Prendeville and Sheehy cousins at a family gathering in the Skellig Hotel on Tuesday night.

The tall and gentle speaking Gregory, who has worked in films for almost fifty years, drank pints of Guinness, happily posed for pictures and exchanged addresses with cousins he had never met before.

He moved through the gathering and eagerly greeted his cousins individually, from two years old Niall Prendiville of Aglaish to 88 years old Kate Farrell, from Lispole.

His closest relatives in the group were the Curran family from Minard, whose father, Jack, who died just a few months ago, was a second cousin of Gregory.

Tom Ashe, from Kinard, made the star’s night special by being able to point out to him from a family tree that he was related to Tomas Ashe, the patriot.

“I knew he had to be related because of the strong facial resemblance, said Mrs Vcronique Peck, who was accompanied to the party by the couple’s actress daughter, Cecelia.

“I was given a book about Tomas years ago in Los Angeles and when I saw his picture I knew there had to be a connection.”

The Pecks had a walkabout in Dingle on Wednesday morning before heading off around the Ring of Kerry on their way back to Dublin and home.

Eilish Creedon, a third cousin of the film slar, said the get together was like a dream and the happy memory of meeting “cousin Gregory” would stay with them always.

Earlier on Tuesday the Pecks stopped off at the emigration exhibition at Blennerville Windmill to be greeted by Manager John Griffin and taken on a guided tour by Susan Foley.