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GALWAY CITY TRIBUNE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2021
● Half of Hollywood’s most glamourous couple sings the praises of Galway after trip BY DENISE McNAMARA denise.mcnamara@ctribune.ie
HE may be married to the highest paid actress in the world, but that did not stop Magic Mike star Joe Manganiello savouring the best that Galway had to offer – hailing the people, the cheese, chocolate and salmon during his trip west. The American actor, who played stripper Big Dick Richie in Steven Soderbergh's box office hit Magic Mike, was not joined by Modern Family’s Sofía Vergara until a week later on his trip around Cork. But he did ring his wife of six years in the US while exploring the countryside of south Galway and Clare with guide, Fergus Lally, who had picked him and his chihuahua Bubbles up from the Glenlo Abbey Hotel in Bushypark on the city’s edge. “I had a great time with him. I brought him to the Cliffs of Moher and along the way we stopped off at the Hazel Mountain Chocolate factory, the cheese shop at the Aillwee Caves and he had a tasting at the Burren Smoke House in Lisdoonvarna,” reveals Fergus. “He had an amazing time tasting all the foods. The back of the car was full – everybody did well out of him. He was blown away with the places I brought him. He loved the history of the Corcomroe Abbey and Duanguaire Castle in Kinvara. He was a great guy. I was delighted to drive him. The two of us just clicked.” They most certainly did as Joe singled Fergus out on his Instagram feed, which was 2.4 million followers, which will surely prove a boon to his business among Americans. He even posted a selfie of the pair at the Cliffs of Moher. "Had a short break from work on #moonhaven and took off for a true Irish experience this weekend in Galway and beyond.
The people were fantastic, and the food was delicious… full of homemade cheeses and chocolates and oak smoked salmon. A big shout out to Fergus at @celticchauffeurs for planning an unforgettable trip into the countryside. Good craic!" Joe is in Dublin until Christmas to film Moonhaven, a sixpart sci-fi drama about a utopian colony on the moon that might hold the key to preserving life on Earth. He told his followers that he had recently discovered he had roots in Cork, which will further be explored in a TV series. This is why he flew Sofía to join him “in the land of my ancestors” for a jaunt down south. The pair stayed in Hayfield Manor and the Montenotte Hotel, dining on chips from Cork institution Jackie Lennox in Fitzgerald’s Park before sampling the delights of Ballymaloe House. They visited Blarney Castle, Drombeg stone circle, Dunlough Castle, Schull and Mizen Head on their whirlwind trip. She is the third star of Modern Family to visit Ireland in recent months, following in the footsteps of Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who played Mitch, and Sarah Hyland, who stars as his niece Haley. Both spent time here while filming projects. Sofía, a native of Colombia, was the highest paid actress on American television from 2013 to 2020 in her role as Gloria on the multi-award-winning sitcom. By season six, she was making over $190,000 for each episode (roughly $4 million per season). And in 2018, Vergara started earning $500,000 for each episode, netting a cool $12 million each year for the final three seasons. Last year Forbes declared her the world’s highest-paid actress, making $43 million thanks to Modern Family, as well as her role as a judge on America’s Got
IT’S MAGIC!
Magic Mike star Joe Manganiello, with his chihuahua Bubbles, with Fergus Lally of Galway’s Celtic Chauffeurs. RIGHT: Sofia Vergara: singing Ireland’s praises.
Talent, said to be worth at least $10 million each season, alongside a series of endorsement and licensing deals. The couple were introduced by Jesse Tyler Ferguson at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2014 when she was engaged to Nick Loeb. Three weeks later, Sofía and
Nick officially announced their split. One month later, the pair had their first date which involved Joe flying from Los Angeles to New Orleans. And within six months they were engaged, before walking down the aisle 11 months later in a lavish ceremony with 400 guests at Palm Beach.
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