Barry Keoghan delights staff during surprise visit to stables in Scotland

The Dublin actor happily posed for photos during a visit to a stables in Dundee, Scotland.

The Summerhill native delighted staff at the Claverhouse Equestrian Centre during a surprise visit and spent time chatting and taking photos.

The images were later shared on the centre’s Facebook page with the caption: “Not every day your yard gets a visit from a Hollywood star.”

It’s understood that the actor owns a house in the nearby town of Broughty Ferry and previously lived in Dundee during his relationship with Scottish dental nurse Alyson Kierans.

The pair later split but have a two-year-old son together, Brando, and while Barry splits his time between Hollywood and London for work, his son is his main priority.

Alyson hails from Dundee and her mother previously spoke to the Daily Mail from her Scottish home where she said the ex partners, who met in 2021, are on good terms for the sake of their little boy.

At the time, Barry was in relationship with American superstar Sabrina Carpenter and had been spotted supporting her at concerts around the world, but it’s reported that the couple are no longer together.

Alyson’s mum Kathy told the publication that Barry had contacted her daughter to tell her about his relationship with Sabrina before anyone else found out.

“They’re on talking terms and need to be for wee Brando. Barry had the decency to give Alyson the heads up about his new girlfriend and we can’t fault him for that. Alyson is now focusing on herself and her son.”

She remained tight-lipped when asked why Alyson and Barry split up, replying: “I’m not getting into that.”

When asked if the couple were no longer together in a separate interview, Barry said: “She’s done a great job and she’s an incredible mother.”

The 32-year-old previously said that being a dad hasn’t changed who he is, but it does affect how he chooses his acting gigs and makes him reconsider how long he’s prepared to shoot on location away from home.

“I feel a responsibility. I feel an enormous amount of pressure, which is good. And I can’t get the little boy off my mind. It’s beautiful.

“Y’know, it’s crazy, but when he looks at you, you feel like the most important person in the world. That’s the effect he has on me. He smiles at you and you’re like, Wow. You’re smiling at me like that? I don’t deserve that, but anyways, thanks.”

Last month, Barry revealed that he had deactivated his Instagram account as he asked people to be respectful and he hit out at “hatred” and “absolute lies” about him online.

In a post to X, he said: “I can only sit and take so much. My name has been dragged across the internet in ways I usually don’t respond to.

“I have to respond now because it’s getting to a place where there are too many lines being crossed.

“I deactivated my account (on Instagram) because I can no longer let this stuff distract from my family and my work.

“The messages I have received – no person should ever have to read them.

“Absolute lies, hatred, disgusting commentary about my appearance, character, how I am as a parent and every other inhumane thing you can imagine.

“Dragging my character and everything I worked extremely hard for and stand for.

“Talking about how I was a heroin baby and how I grew up and dragging my dear mother into it also.”

He added: “Each and every day I work harder to push myself on every level to be the healthiest and strongest person for that boy (his son).

“I want to provide opportunities for him to learn, fail and grow.

“I want him to be able to look up to his daddy, to have full trust in me and know I will have his back no matter what.

“I need you to remember he has to read ALL of this about his father when he is older.

“Please be respectful to all. Thank u x.”

Appearing on the The Louis Theroux Podcast last month, Barry spoke about he has been accused of being “an absent father” by trolls online.

“If I didn’t have tough skin or the strength to have, I wouldn’t be sitting here. Of course, (my childhood is) going to affect me being a father when I had no blueprint to take from,” he said.

“People just read that (as) laziness and go, ‘Oh, that’s no excuse to be an absent father’. I’m not an absent father.

“But it’s just, again, people love to use my son as ammunition or whatever. ”

In 2023, Keoghan won the Bafta best supporting actor prize for his role in dark comedy The Banshees Of Inisherin and also received an Academy Award nod for the role.

His other film roles include Martin in The Killing Of A Sacred Deer (2017) and Dympna in Calm With Horses (2019).

He recently wrapped filming alongside Cork star Cillian Murphy on the movie adaption of hit drama Peaky Blinders.