The Dublin shop with Daniel Day Lewis, Brendan Gleeson and Eric Cantona as former customers
Mellon’s in Ringsend celebrates their place in movie history as new plaque unveiled
Colm Heneghan, owner of Mellon's shop on South Lotts Road in Dublin. Pic: Mark Condren
Colm Heneghan shows off the scones in honour of The Cranberries who filmed outside the shop. Pic: Mark Condren
Colm Heneghan has 'great memories' of celebrities visiting Mellon's shop. Pic: Mark Condren
A Ringsend shop owner, who has had Daniel Day Lewis, Brendan Gleeson, Eric Cantona and the late Dolores O’Riordan as customers, said it’s “great to have the memories”.
Colm Heneghan, of Mellon’s on the South Lotts Road, has spent his whole life working in the shop and over the years has enjoyed the company of many celebrity customers.
The local streets have had a number of movies filmed there, including Jim Sheridan’s In the Name of the Father, with Daniel Day Lewis, and The General, starring Brendan Gleeson.
Scenes for Educating Rita and Into the West were also shot there, while music videos include those from The Cranberries, The Shoos and Boyzone.
Colm Heneghan shows off the scones in honour of The Cranberries who filmed outside the shop. Pic: Mark Condren
A special plaque has now been unveiled celebrating all the pop videos, movies and documentaries filmed in the area down through the years.
To celebrate the special occasion, the shop is even selling “limited edition” cranberry scones as a nod to the band who shot the video for their hit song, Dreams, outside.
“The plaque incorporates all the movies and music videos that have been recorded here over the years,” Mr Heneghan told the Irish Independent.
“This stretches back from the 1970s to the 2000s. The one that stands out for me is Eric Cantona, because he was such a star.
“He recorded the EuroMillions ad when it was launched here. He was just out the front of the shop and crowds were here looking for his autograph, it was great craic.
“We’d Cantona, Daniel Day Lewis, Boyzone and Brendan Gleeson as customers. Things have changed so much; the shop is all deli now. There were no mobile phones in the 90s so it was mad.
“When the actors and actresses were here, there was just a kettle down the back of the shop and they made their own tea and Maxwell House coffee, that’s the way it was. It’s great to have the memories now.”
Several different films related to the Troubles were filmed in the area due to the unique brickwork on some of the houses that resembled those of Belfast.
Colm Heneghan has 'great memories' of celebrities visiting Mellon's shop. Pic: Mark Condren
“It was just mad, we’d English soldiers and an armoured car here for In the Name of the Father with Daniel Day Lewis,” Mr Heneghan said.
“He was knocking around for a couple of weeks here. We’d Dolores O’Riordan here too, she recorded around the corner.
“You can see, these are two-bedroom terraced houses, if you’ve ever been in Belfast, the houses were similar. You had that Belfast background for the movies.
“My family has been here since the start; the houses were built in 1910. We don’t have a lot of memorabilia from the 1910s to 1930s, but to have this plaque on the wall is great.
“Time passes by so fast; it’s just going to be a memory of all that was filmed here. There was an IRA film made here in 1979. I can’t remember that, but it’s great to be able to see what was made here.
“It’s nice for people to come back and see it, people have been priced out of the area. They can’t afford to live here anymore, but I suppose it’s nice for them to come back and say that they were here,” he added.
