Mel Gibson poses for selfies with fans in Co Meath to mark 30 years of Braveheart film

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Mel Gibson posed for selfies and signed posters in Co Meath to mark 30 years since Braveheart was filmed in Ireland.

Fans travelled from all over Ireland to get a chance of meeting the Oscar-winning actor and director, who starred as the Scottish hero in the historical epic.

The film was mostly shot in Ireland – despite the story being set in Scotland – after the Irish Government lobbied and offered to supply 1,600 army reserves as extras.

People queued at Trim Castle Hotel to meet Gibson and other Braveheart cast members.

The event was held as part of the local King John Summer Prom festival, with proceeds raised for the Irish Equity Support Fund.

Maksim Okhotnikov, eight, dressed up as Braveheart hero William Wallace in a costume created by his mother, who also sketched a charcoal drawing of Gibson.

“I didn’t watch all of the film, I just watched pieces because it’s (rated) 16+,” Maksim told the PA news agency.

Asked what he likes about the film, he said: “I like himself”.

Adam Walker and his son Nathan (7) from Dublin, were among the first people into the room to meet the cast.

“Obviously he’s too young to watch the full movie, so I was trying to show him the quotes, the big freedom speech at the end of the movie. We were watching that, we were watching the mad Irishman of course: David O’Hara who plays Stephen of Ireland,” Mr Walker told PA.

“We were at the Q&A yesterday and a lot of the lads pointed out that the actors said the thing that it did was it really changed things, Ireland seemed to really latch onto it, there was a lot of similarities between the Irish and the Scottish, but it seemed to call out to everybody.

“We were looking for a wedding venue 12 years back and we were looking everywhere and we found here, it was lovely, the prices were great, and then I read at the end the castle was where Braveheart was filmed.

“I said to my wife ‘we’re doing it’ so we got married in the room just there and we had the castle as the backdrop.

“So it’s very interesting to be able to come back 12 years later and actually meet Mel Gibson here, and this little lad wasn’t even alive at the time.”

Elaine Coyle, who travelled with her mother from Dublin, said watching Braveheart was a family tradition.

“My dad would be a big fan, it’s what we grew up with. It’s a Christmas tradition in our house,” she said.

She said of the film: “You can relate to it as an Irish person a little bit too, it’s iconic.

“It definitely opened the door to the Irish economy around films, it completely changed how the industry worked going forward, but I think in general people recognise that it made such an impact on Ireland, and we can also relate to the history of it. It’s generational.”

Cousins Eileen Shields and Anita McGrath travelled from Galway at 6am to meet the star.

They said they are fans of Gibson’s films Lethal Weapon and Daddy’s Home 2.

“He has a wicked wink in his eye,” Eileen Shields said.

“It was lovely to meet him, short and sweet but it’s nice to have the opportunity.

“Hopefully we see a lot more of him in Ireland. You know his family are from Longford, he was named after St Mel’s Cathedral.”

Anita McGrath said: “I crocheted a shamrock for him, for good luck, so I gave it to him and he said ‘thanks very much’. Just something different.”

Ms Shields added: “He wiped his brow with it.”

Sevinc Ozogul, who lives across the road from the hotel, said she was excited to see the castle from Braveheart when she moved to Trim.

She said Gibson is also one of her favourite actors, adding: “I was so excited to see him.”

She added: “He was a bit tired but he looks great.”