The Hollywood actor and former motor-racing driver, Paul Newman (79), was at Mondello racetrack yesterday as part of a weekend celebration of the 10th anniversary of Barretstown Castle in Co Kildare, the camp he founded for children recovering from serious illnesses.
Newman's spin in a "New Generation" Porsche 911 was to highlight a charity auction for the camp of the car and a fund-raising gala ball tonight.
The Oscar-winning star of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Hustler also had a distinguished second career as a motor-racing driver and took part in the Le Mans 24-hour race.
Some 700 children and their families who attended the camp over the last 10 years will also celebrate at Barretstown Castle today.
Welcoming the star, Ms Hilary Makin of Barretstown Castle said: "It is fantastic that Paul Newman can come back to celebrate. In 10 years we have helped 10,000 children and their families. It costs €4 million a year to help them."
She said the camp still needed voluntary donations despite receiving financial help from the star. "The camp caters for up to 1,400 children each year, and we have the facilities to increase this to 2,500 each year if we had the funding, so we are always keen to get more funds in."