Heroic Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy played a comedy gig in Ireland four years ago, it has emerged.
The 44-year-old fearless politician and former comedian was part of a show to packed eastern European audiences here.
He appeared on stage in Drogheda during the visit in 2018.
Some of the production was a spin-off from his hit TV comedy sitcom back in Ukraine.
The whole show was organised and brought here by a Ukrainian showbiz agent living in Ireland.
Almost 1,000 attended the Drogheda performance at the Tommy Leddy Theatre where Zelenskyy and the rest of the act got a standing ovation.
A few months later he gave up comedy and stood for the presidential election in his native country.
He was elected by a landslide with a 73% majority vote almost three years ago in late March 2019.
The owner of the Drogheda theatre Patrick Leddy met him and shook his hand after the gig there.
He said: “It was a fantastic gig. There were people from all over eastern Europe living here, Poles, Russians and Ukrainians, they all loved the show and had a great night.
“Everyone seemed to be very familiar with the TV sitcom that made him famous.
“I spoke to him briefly afterwards to thank him. I hadn’t a clue who he was but he was very nice and polite.
“I believe they stayed in Ireland for a week.
“My understanding is that a couple of months afterwards he decided to go into politics and rest, as they say, is history.
“He is a very courageous man and we feel honoured to have had him perform here.
“The ironic thing is there were both Ukrainians and Russians performing in the show and there was no issue between them.
“The whole world has changed in a couple of years. “
The Ukrainian president so far has been the target of three different Russian assassination attempts ordered by President Vladamir Putin - all of which failed.
Zelenskyy has vowed to stay in his capital Kyiv with his people and fight the Russians to the death.
