THE LATE Oscar-winning actor and film legend Marlon Brando wanted to become an Irish citizen and met with a government minister on a number of occasions to advance his cause.

Former minister for arts, culture and the gaeltacht Michael D Higgins has revealed that he met Brando a number of times in 1995 – and the Hollywood star, who is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time, lobbied Higgins to help him obtain Irish citizenship.

The meetings took place when Brando was in Ballycotton, Co Cork for the filming of Divine Rapture, the "film that was never finished" due to funding difficulties.

Higgins is set to reveal details of the meetings between himself and Brando at an event on Tuesday evening that will mark Higgins' 40 years in public life.

Higgins contested his first Dáil election in the Galway West constituency in 1969 and the Dublin branch of the NUI Galway alumni group will honour this achievement with an 'In conversation with Michael D Higgins' evening in the Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square at 7.30pm on Tuesday.

Recalling his tenure as minister from 1993-97, Higgins said, "The first film I commissioned as minister was Braveheart and the last film was Saving Private Ryan."

In the middle of Higgins' period as minister, shooting of Divine Rapture began on 10 July 1995 in Ballycotton.

A number of huge Hollywood actors including Brando, Johnny Depp, Debra Winger and John Hurt were involved in the film, which was a comedy about a priest who believes in miracles.

The film was never completed due to financial difficulties and shooting came to an abrupt end on 23 July 1995.

Brando had lived in Ireland for a brief period and it was reported in the US press that he was seeking Irish citizenship as he claimed that a group of Tahitian gangsters had placed a contract on his life.

It has now emerged that the US reports at the time were not purely Hollywood gossip and Higgins had actually met the star of The Godfather, A Streetcar Named Desire and Apocalypse Now to discuss the star's citizenship bid. However, the reports of the Tahitian gang were wide of the mark and Higgins, who met Brando on four occasions, said, "That was not the reason for him looking for Irish citizenship, it was about his partner being insulted in a racist way.

"His grandfather was in his great-grandmother's womb when they left Ireland so there was an Irish connection and he was just one stage out from it. The other side of his family was Eastern European."

Higgins' encounters with Brando will be one of a series of anecdotes that the Labour TD will recount on Tuesday evening. He will also talk about the establishment of TG4, contesting 12 general elections and other career landmarks.