"Bali...haunis"

Breakout Irish star Paul Mescal made his debut onto our TV screens last week with the arrival of Sally Rooney's adaptation of 'Normal People'. And eagle-eyed viewers may notice the Kildare man from some previous escapades in the past.

Making his way from stage to screen, Paul Mescal has predominantly been known for acting in a number of Dublin plays in recent years. His most recent was Martin McDonagh's Gaiety Theatre production of 'The Lieutenant of Inishmore' at the beginning of the year, where he played the scene-stealing Mad Padraic.

However, it turns out that before stealing our hearts as Connell in 'Normal People', Paul made another appearance on TV you might remember. If the most recent Denny sausages and bacon adverts ring a bell with you, it's because they urged viewers to "seize the day" but swapped the word "day" with "Denny" of course.

One such version of the advert saw a young lad embarking on a world-renowned trip to... Ballyhaunis. And Paul is just that lad.

You should probably also know that Paul Mescal played GGA for the county Kildare minors, and won Man of the Match six years ago in Croke Park. Who knew that his previous GAA background would come in handy for those pitch moments in 'Normal People'.

If can you've missed the boat, there's still plenty of time to catch up on the first two episodes of 'Normal People' over on the RTE Player. The series continues Tuesday nights on RTE One. Viewers have been praising the series online, exclaiming that it is a faithful adaptation of the source material. Lenny Abrahamson and his team (the director of 'Room' and 'Frank') have done a stellar job on the series.

You can check out our interview with Paul, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Lenny Abrahamson and the rest of the cast and crew of 'Normal People' right here.