Who ya gonna call? (when you crave a potato sandwich)

When Erin met Hollywood legend Bill Murray

By complete chance we had a family movie night a couple of weeks ago with my son James 14, daughters Erin 5 and Eila 3. It's sometimes hard to find something everyone enjoys once you've exhausted the Pixar catalogue. But we agreed to watch the original Ghostbusters. Both James and Erin LOVE cuddling up to watch spooky (and funny) movies.

So when we were driving to our mini staycation in Connemara last week it was great to hear Hollywood legend and Ghostbuster star Bill Murray talk about his own current golfing tour of Ireland on the radio. In the interview he talked about his want for a ‘Potato Chip Sandwich’, the pinnacle of Irish cuisine! Aside from telling Erin that the voice on the radio was one of the Ghostbusters I didn't think about it further. Erin then asked me what a Potato chip sandwich was like and I promised to make her one soon.

But the next day a little birdy told me that Bill was actually playing a round of golf at their golf club, The Connemara Links the following day! A lightbulb moment in the shape of a packet of Tayto went off in my head. “Erin, would you like a Tayto sandwich and maybe we can make one of the guy from Ghostbusters”. So after a trip to Supervalu Supermarket we sourced all of the ingredients… a sliced pan ( healthier brown bread) and a packet of cheese and onion Tayto crisps. Then the operation went into full swing (pardon the golf pun) as Erin tackled the sandwich construction while I went full Inspector Clouseau on Mr Murrays movements. Yes it was a little cringy at times but what movie star visiting the Emerald Isle wouldn't love a ‘Potato Sandwich’ from a cute Irish girl named Erin? Especially when he had already said he wanted to try one! With my sluething abilities turned all the way up to 11 I found out Bills Tee off time and we set off to present him with his 9th hole snack.

As we drove out through the beautiful Connemara countryside we got stuck behind a small bus. Anxious that we might miss our 5min window we contemplated trying to pass the bus on the narrow county road, until another lightbulb moment made me think… wait, is that Bill’s bus? When the curtains matched a pic that was swirling online of his entourage we knew it for sure. We were now literally stalking!

But the timing couldn't have been better. The gods wanted Bill to have that sandwich! We pulled into the club carpark right behind Bill and co and Erin waited patiently for him to disembark.

To his credit Bill was delightful… “Ah, you whipped up a Potato sandwich for me, thank you”… “its called a Tayto sandwich” replied a confident Erin. After a few more exchanges where Bill told Erin she had beautiful eyes we left him to get on with his game. Bill tucked the famous sandwich into his golf bag and Erin was left smiling for an hour.