Dara O’Briain reflects on watching All-Ireland football final with TV stars

Dara O’Briain said he was “delighted” to be part of the first BBC national broadcast of an All-Ireland Gaelic football final alongside TV stars Paul Mescal, Adrian Dunbar and Patrick Kielty.

The Irish comedian, 51, shared a picture with Oscar-nominated actor Mescal, Line Of Duty’s Dunbar and RTE’s new Late Late Show presenter Kielty after the four watched from the stands as Dublin edged rivals Kerry to reclaim the title at Croke Park in Dublin.

On Twitter, O’Briain wrote: “Wonderful afternoon at the All-Ireland football final yesterday.

“Delighted to be part of the first BBC national broadcast of the final, and to be in such good company.”

He joked: “Obviously after the final we all parted company quietly to return to our homes and reflect; and I am not HANGIN’.”

It comes after the group were praised for their appearance during the BBC’s coverage ahead of the match.

Normal People star Mescal, who played Gaelic football at a “high level”, said he had lined up against some of the Dublin players “for my sins”.

He told the BBC: “For a lot of us, it was the defining factor of my childhood and teenage years. I’ve marked (players) Con O’Callaghan, (Ryan) Basquel and Cormac Costello.

“They are fantastic footballers, but they’re very difficult to mark.”

Mescal said it was “so hard to quantify” how much he missed playing the game, adding: “The world of acting and Gaelic football don’t seem to match up very well.

“I broke my jaw two days before starting my final year of drama school and that was the nail in the coffin.”

Meanwhile, Kielty described the final as a “bucket list event” for people in and outside of Ireland.

“This is the Irish Superbowl,” he told the BBC.