Paul Mescal brings his beloved mom Dearbhla to Gladiator II’s Irish premiere in Dublin in her first purple carpet look because it was revealed her most cancers is in remission

Paul Mescal was joined by his beloved mother Dearbhla as he attended the Irish premiere of Gladiator II in Dublin on Thursday.

The Normal People star, 28, has been travelling the globe to promote the much-anticipated sequel, which hits cinemas on November 22.

And while Paul would typically be surrounded by his co-stars, for his return to his home country, he chose to bring his mum to the premiere instead.

It was also Dearbhla’s first red carpet appearance since it was revealed back in July that her cancer was in remission.  

Paul was mobbed by fans as he made his way into the premiere, posing for snaps in a sharp grey suit and a crisp white shirt.

Meanwhile Dearbhla opted for a black sequinned gown as she rushed to embrace her son on the red carpet.

In July, Paul’s sister Nell revealed that his mother’s cancer was in remission two years after being diagnosed with bone marrow cancer.

The Hollywood actor’s family was plunged into crisis in 2022 when Dearbhla, 55, was told she was battling multiple myeloma and needed to undergo treatment, but she’s now in remission and doesn’t have to undergo any more gruelling chemotherapy sessions.

Paul’s sister Nell told Sunday Times: ‘She’s currently in remission but the cancer that she has is never going to be gone, which is something that you have to learn to be OK with.  But, for now, she doesn’t have to do any more chemo. You have to feel grateful and I do.’

Dearbhla also gave an update on her condition in a candid post on Instagram, revealing she feels ‘lucky’ and ‘excited’ about the future.

She wrote: ‘I AM IN REMISSION!!! I am blessed. Yes I will continue to take tablets, have blood tests but I am Dearbhla, just Dearbhla not Dearbhla with Cancer and I am lucky, joyous and feeling very, very excited about where my life will take me and oh the places I will go … ‘

She added: ‘Gratitude does not encompass all I feel for [the doctors and medical staff]. 

‘The love of my children, my husband, my family and dearest friends, the audience of you, the prayers of so many, the vibes sent out to the universe carried me through the hard times and lifted me when I truly felt done in. 

‘My cup runneth over and my heart will forever hold yours. Thank you … now guys what’s next ???’

Normal People star Paul previously admitted he had a panic attack on set when he found out his mother had been diagnosed with cancer.

The actor was in the middle of shooting All of Us Strangers with Andrew Scott, Claire Foy, and Jamie Bell and he struggled to cope with the news.

Speaking to Esquire UK, he explained: ‘I think I kind of pushed it under the carpet for a bit when we found out. 

Then there was a bad old day when we were setting up to do a shot and I had a panic attack, and I haven’t had one of those in f****** years.

‘That was probably the biggest one I’ve had, to be honest. It’s embarrassing – not that I think they are embarrassing – but there was just something very public about it.

‘I think I was like, ‘I just don’t have the space to feel anything now, and I’m probably feeling it in the work itself’, but then there’s only so much of that that’s healthy. I think my body was like, ‘No. You’ve got to feel something here that’s your own’.’

Gladiator II – which also stars Denzel Washington, Connie and Joseph Quinn – follows Lucius Verus (Mescal), the former heir to the Roman Empire who is forced into slavery and eventually pushed to fight in the Colosseum in an effort to restore glory.

Early review from critics have called Gladiator II the ‘best movie of the year’ and a ‘true epic’ as they hailed Paul and Denzel‘s performances. 

With Russell Crowe’s legendary Maximus long-since dead and buried, it is vengeful Lucius (Mescal) who must fight for his liberty in the film after being taken into slavery and ripped away from his wife and daughter by general Marcus (Pedro Pascal).

The newest trailer for the film saw Paul‘s Lucius Verus seek vengeance against Rome in a blood-soaked battle with his captor general Marcus Acacius.

Revenge-seeking Lucius is mentored as a Gladiator by Macrinus (Denzel) – a former slave who plots to control Rome. The pair use one another to achieve their goals: Macrinus’s invasion of Rome and Lucius slaying the general. 

‘Whose head can I give you to satisfy your fury?’ Macrinus asks Lucius, to which the Gladiator replies: ‘The general will do. Rome has taken everything from me but I will have my vengeance.’

A former heir to the Roman empire, Lucius lives with his wife and child in a coastal town in Numidia. He hasn’t been in touch with his mother Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) in 15 years. 

But he is imprisoned by Marcus , a feared general who honed his fighting skills under the tutelage of Maximus, and his marauding army of troops. 

Played by a then 12-year old Spencer Treat Clark in Scott’s original film, Lucius is now an adult and intent on forcing his way out of the notorious fighting pits, at all costs. 

Along the way he encounters and befriends Denzel Washington’s Macrinus, a power broker who keeps a stable of gladiators and sees battle-hungry Lucius as a promising investment.