Paul Ireland (born 1970) is a Scottish actor from

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the ' Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

, North Ayrshire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. He is best known for his role as Superintendent Duncan Hayes in '' Neighbours''.

Career

Ireland originally started off as a fishmonger in his father's shop in Greenock,

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

for five years before deciding to learn acting. In 1995, Ireland acted in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government build ...

at the Ambassadors Theatre in a theatrical adaptation of the novel '' Trainspotting''. During its run, the show won the '' Sunday Times'' Best New Play award. During his career, Ireland has acted in numerous British television programmes such as ''

Judge John Deed ''Judge John Deed'' is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Mr Justice Deed, a High Court judge who tries to seek real j ...

'',

Two Thousand Acres of Sky ''Two Thousand Acres of Sky '' is a TV drama which aired on BBC Television from 2001 to 2003. It was created and written by Timothy Prager. The Executive Producer was Adrian Bate. The show takes place on the fictional island of Ronansay off the ...

, ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...

'' and '' Midsomer Murders''. In April 2011, he gained a role in Australian

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, ''Neighbours'' as Superintendent Duncan Hayes. Ireland was initially cast to play the role for thirteen episodes. Ireland made his debut in ''Neighbours'' in Episode 6183. In 2012, he also acted in

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

comedy, '' Outland'' after auditioning and meeting the writers, who told him that they wanted a British actor in the role in the programme. In 2013, Ireland made a return appearance on ''Neighbours'' as Duncan Hayes. In 2006, Ireland appeared in the

BBC History ''BBC History Magazine'' is a British publication devoted to both British and world history and aimed at all levels of knowledge and interest. The publication releases thirteen editions a year, one per month and a Christmas special edition, an ...

online interactive game ''CDX'' as MacKinnon, a Mithraist soldier. In 2016, he co-produced and directed the Australian drama film ''

Pawno ''Pawno'' is a 2016 Australian romantic comedy drama film set in the diverse and multicultural Melbourne suburb of Footscray. It was released in cinemas around Australia on 21 April 2016 by Mind Blowing World. The film was directed by Paul Irel ...

''. Since 2018, Ireland appeared in the Australian

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

drama Playing for Keeps as Andrew Macleish, president of the Southern Jets football club.

Personal life

Ireland is married to casting director Thea McLeod, with whom he has one son, actor Finn Ireland. He also has a daughter, Georgia Blue Ireland from his first marriage. After leaving Scotland, he moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for thirteen years before leaving the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for Australia in 2009, where he currently resides.

Filmography

* ''

'' (2016) * '' Christ the Lord'' (2016) * '' The King's Daughter'' (2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland, Paul Living people 1970 births Scottish male soap opera actors Scottish male television actors Scottish male stage actors Scottish male video game actors Scottish expatriates in Australia