Russell Crowe and Richard Harris became firm friends on the set of Gladiators, in 1999.
The friendship between the two men was so deep that Russell agreed to take a break from filming, to unveil a Richard Harris memorial statue in Kilkee, last Saturday.
Most of the large crowd were made up of people from Limerick, who holiday in Kilkee every year, as did the family of Richard Harris.
"This is a wonderful, happy occasion for the Harris family and I’m very proud to be associated with it,” said the Mayor of Limerick, Joe Leddin, who was joined on the podium by the Mayor of Kilkee.
Richard’s brother Bill, addressed the crowd. He was there with Richard’s other two surviving brothers, Noel and Ivan.
"Of all the eight children in our family, Richard adored Kilkee. The rugged waves and towering cliffs seemed to unleash that wild yearning to achieve the unachievable against the odds, which was embedded in his psyche.
He cycled along the edge of the 30 foot walls, was one of the first people to dive off the dangerous rocks in ‘newfoundout’, and was the first person to swim across the dangerous currents of Kilkee Bay, unaccompanied by a rescue boat.
He also holds the unbroken record for winning the Tivoli racquetball championships five years in-a-row”.
Richard’s three sons, Richard, Jared and Jamie, gathered to pay tribute to their famous father. "He had a great pride in us and encouraged us in everything we wanted to do,” Jared told the audience.
Jamie said the family are overwhelmed at the thoughtfulness of the Kilkee people for honouring their father.
"We, as his family, want to thank very deeply and sincerely the people in this town of Kilkee for this great honour which you’ve bestowed on our father. This statue is a living memorial to my father. He’d have loved to have been here”,
When Russell Crowe was announced, a huge roar could be heard reverberating from the cliffs around the bay. The famous Oscar winner mixed freely with the crowd and allowed photographs to be taken.
"Richard and I had a very deep friendship, We had many deep conversations. His main topics of conversation were rugby, followed by his love of Limerick, the crack in the pubs he drank in, and his passionate love affair with Kilkee.
"When we first met on the set of Gladiators in full armour, Richard strode up to me and said, ‘Crowe, am I correct in assuming you were born in New Zealand but choose to live in Australia.’
"When I agreed, he replied:, ‘Then you don’t mind if I yell abuse at the Wallabies and talk about the All Blacks in hushed tones’.
Russell and Richard had bought tickets for the Ireland/Australia match at Lansdowne Road, in 2003.
"Unfortunately, he died before the match. I was so upset about his death, I decided to come on a pilgrimage to Ireland as soon as I got a break from filming and take in many of the places he’d talked about.
"I went to Limerick and drank a pint of Guinness in Richard’s local, Charlie St. Georges, then went on to sample a pint in several other of his favourite pubs. I then visited the Cliffs of Moher and found myself in Dublin on the day of the match.
"Because we had the tickets booked, I decided to go. Well, the Australians couldn’t do anything right on that day. The Irish team rang rings around them.
Tears flowed down my face at the final whistle, and I found myself saying silently, ‘Richard, you’re not dead. You’re here to see what you’ve waited 37 years for. You’re here to see Ireland beat the Australians’.”
At that point in Russell’s speech, he paused emotionally, then pointed and said, "Look, there’s a rainbow, Hello Richard”.
Russell unveiled the memorial statue, which is at present located on private land near the Kilkee’s famous Pollock Holes.
