Ferrell has UCD in stitches
Hollywood comic actor Will Ferrell turned one of Ireland's most esteemed college debating societies into a frenzied laughter theatre.
Dressed in the full Irish rugby kit, the movie star was at University College Dublin's Literary and Historical Society (L&H) to receive the prestigious James Joyce Award for his tremendous contribution to comedy and entertainment.
Now Ferrell not only finds himself earning up to $20m (€13.6m) a film but has also been honoured in the same way as United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix and former South African President FW de Clerk.
"I'm truly honoured to be in the same company as previous recipients," he told the society.
Earlier on his arrival, he joked with the media over the honour and said: "He (Hans Blix) said: 'I got a feeling you're gonna get the same award as I got' and sure enough he's right."
Ferrell, star of box office hits such as 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy', 'Elf' and 'Blades of Glory', offered his thoughts on how the world would cope with the recent financial downturn.
Adopting his Burgundy role he said: "I would just have to say that we are in a bit of a pickle. Markets are collapsing, right now as I speak in fact the sound of my voice is actually probably dropping the Dow Jones by a few hundred points. But I know that people are resilient, like a brand new pair of underwear, and I think we will land on our feet."
Around 1,500 L&H members and a handful of local school children crammed into UCD's O'Reilly Hall for the actor's irreverent address.
His speech included a dig at UCD's bitter rival Trinity College Dublin with Ferrell quipping: "The truth of the matter is those guys are going to be working for you."
The actor's sarcasm shone through from start to finish. Talking about retracing his Irish roots over the last fortnight, he said: "It was a good start and we were asked never to come back so that door is probably closed."
Ferrell also spent a night partying with locals in Longford and he added: "I made off with some very antique crystal that is stunning."
