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FROM the bright lights, glitz and glamour of Hollywood to the warm embrace of the town he calls home, Michael Fassbender is to be honoured in Killarney today with the greatest accolade the town he grew up in can bestow.

He will be inducted to the Order of Innisfallen this evening in recognition of his remarkable achievements in the film industry which has seen him nominated for Academy Awards, Golden Globes and BAFTAs and, in the process, for availing of every opportunity to promote Killarney on an international scale.

The 39-year-old actor will be feted by the town’s Chamber of Tourism & Commerce and the Killarney Municipal Area Council at a reception at Muckross House in Killarney National Park.

The award will be presented to the star of such movie blockbusters as 12 Years A Slave, Hunger, Steve Jobs, Prometheus, Frank, Shame, Macbeth and Jane Eyre and the event will be followed by the Killarney Chamber of Tourism & Commerce gala blacktie ball

Michael’s family home is in Fossa, where his parents, Josef and Adele, still reside.

He was once an altar boy at the nearby Prince of Peace Church in Fossa and he attended the local national school before going on to St Brendan’s College and, later, successfully chasing his dream to become one of the world’s most in-demand actors.

He was bitten by the acting bug when he joined the Bricriú Theatre Company, run by local man Donie Courtney, in Killarney, and he later moved to London which is still his base.

The Order of Innisfallen is presented annually to recipients who have made a significant contribution to the economy of Killarney. Previous recipients include singer Daniel O’Donnell who attracts thousands of fans to his concerts in Killarney every year, Isolde Liebherr whose family has been a premier employer in Killarney for decades, Margaret Cahill, the former head of Tourism Ireland Europe and Brian Stack of CIE Tours International.
 

 
Above: Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander during the 73rd Venice Film Festival 2016 in September. PICTURE: MATTEO CHINELLATO/SHUTTERSTOCK