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#Scotland, Three Towns'. Ardrossan is loca ...

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire (, ) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and s ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He is best known for his role as Superintendent

Duncan Hayes ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that was first broadcast on 18 March 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2011, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the shows executi ...

in ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

''.

Career

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

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

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, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...

at the Ambassadors Theatre in a theatrical adaptation of the novel ''

Trainspotting Trainspotting may refer to: * Trainspotting (hobby), an amateur interest in railways/railroads * ''Trainspotting'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh ** ''Trainspotting'' (film), a 1996 film based on the novel *** ''Trainspotting'' (soundt ...

''. During its run, the show won the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' 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 ...

'',

Two Thousand Acres of Sky ''Two Thousand Acres of Sky '' is a British television drama series which aired on BBC One 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 ...

, ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' and ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

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

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

, ''Neighbours'' as Superintendent

. 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 Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

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'' is a British magazine devoted to both British and world history, and aimed at readers of all levels of knowledge and interest. There are thirteen issues a year, one each month and a Christmas special. The magazine is published, ...

online interactive game ''CDX'' as MacKinnon, a

Mithraist Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion focused on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras was link ...

soldier. In 2016, he co-produced and directed the Australian drama film '' Pawno''. Since 2018, Ireland appeared in the Australian

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for Australia in 2009, where he currently resides.

Filmography

Film appearances

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