George Clooney (Francois Durand / Getty)

There were rumors floating around Cork a few days ago claiming that George Clooney finally made good on his promise to motorcycle around Ireland. 

The lovely town of Cobh in particular was trending as a “Clooney in Ireland” Twitter topic, and according to the Cork Independent, women flocked to the town when “sightings” of the Oscar winning hunk were reported.

The Irish Sun even nabbed one excited fan who claims to have run into Clooney at a Titanic memorial in the town. “We couldn’t believe our eyes when George Clooney walked in,” the unnamed fan said. 
“There were a few double takes before people realized it was really him. But he was really nice.”

Really? The Independent doesn’t seem to think Clooney was in the vicinity at all, nor do any other members of the Irish media who didn’t report his presence at all. And a verifiable George Clooney sighting in Ireland would definitely make front page news.

“The rumor was all over social networking site Twitter and it may all have been a canny marketing stunt by some enterprising Cobh people,” reported the Independent.

No doubt Clooney will make Irish women swoon in person at some point.  And in addition to hanging with his friend Bono while in Ireland, he’d also have a place to rest his head with Colm Meaney, the Dublin actor who says he’s good pals with George.

 “I’ve been friends with George for years, since I went out to Hollywood in the early eighties. Both of us were starting out in LA and doing the audition circuits and I used to meet him at the same castings for the same parts, if you can believe that,” Meaney told the Irish Sun.

“We used to hang out at the same parties and he crashed on my couch a few times.  He’s honestly one of the nicest men you will ever meet in your life, I can understand why no one has a bad word to say about him.

“It’s funny to think we went for the same roles back then, you wouldn’t think it looking at us. They must have been casting on a very broad level.”