Liam Neeson and Ciaran Hinds brought smiles to the faces of a group of Ukrainian refugees during a surprise visit.
The Hollywood stars, who are also close friends, have been filming their latest movie, 'In The Land Of Saints And Sinners', in south west Donegal for the past month.
But when they heard that there were over 80 women and children from the war-torn country staying in Killybegs, they wanted to lift their spirits by paying them a visit.
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Their representatives contacted members of Donegal Local Development Company (DLDC), a community-led organisation which is helping Ukrainian refugee families based in the fishing port town and surrounding areas.
The Niall Mor Centre in Killybegs hosted the emotional and heart-warming event, which saw the two Oscar-nominated actors meet around 80 Ukrainians now based in the area.
And what was expected to be a 15-minute meet-and-greet event ended up lasting a couple of hours.
The pair introduced themselves, took questions from the group and produced goody bags of sweets and colouring books for the children to take away with them.
The children had also made posters for the stars which they took away with them after signing autographs and posing for photographs.
The Ukrainian women also spoke to them about what it was like living in Ireland now and praised the local community for their generosity, support and warm welcome.
A DLDC spokesperson said: "There is no average week in DLDC but this week had a little more excitement than most! DLDC was contacted by the team from the movie 'In The Land Of Saints And Sinners', starring Liam Neeson and Ciaran Hinds, which is being filmed in Glencolumbkille, Kilcar and Killybegs.
"They heard some of our team were supporting Ukrainian families in the area, and said Liam and Ciaran wanted to meet with the Ukrainian families and give the children a gift. We happily obliged!
"Niall Mor Centre in Killybegs was delighted to host the event and 80 Ukrainian women and children came along, and it was a very emotional and heart-warming event. A huge thanks to Liam and Ciaran for their time and generosity."
Neeson is starring alongside Ciaran Hinds, who recently earned his first Oscar nomination for his performance in Kenneth Branagh's ' Belfast ', in the big budget blockbuster 'In the Land of Saints and Sinners'.
In the big budget blockbuster 'In the Land of Saints and Sinners', Neeson plays the newly retired assassin who finds himself drawn into a lethal game of cat and mouse with a trio of vengeful terrorists.
The Ballymena man, who turns 70 next week, has previously been spotted shooting the Netflix movie in Donegal.
His co-star, Hinds, has also visited a number of local pubs and restaurants during his stay.
Set in a remote Irish village, In the Land of Saints and Sinners also features stars including Colm Meaney and Kerry Condon.
The villages of Glencolmcille and Kilcar along with the fishing port of Killybegs and surrounding areas were the chosen locations for two months of filming.
The film is being directed by Robert Lorenz and is written by Terry Loane and Mark Michael McNally.
Lorenz previously directed Neeson in 'The Marksman', which topped the box office in early 2021.
A cast and crew of around 300 people have descended on the area to shoot scenes for the action adventure.
A number of locals have also been hired as extras for the filming, which is set to be a major economic boost for the area.
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