It’s a novel, it’s a play, it’s a film and it was set in Omeath in 1912
Gertrude Page was married to Alexander Dobbin The Dobbin family were held in high social multitudes as they had interests in banking and military circles and were also land agents who collected rent for the landlords in the Omeath and County Down area.
Gertrude spent a lot of time in the village, and stayed in Drummullagh House and it was here that her most famous novel, ‘Paddy the Next Best Thing’, was set and wrote in 1912.. The house where Paddy lived in the story Gaan House (Drummullagh House), and the rectory {The former St Andew’s Church), the two main location in the book, are still retained in the village today.
The romantic comedy novel set in Omeath was such a success that in 1933 it became a Hollywood produced film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Janet Gaynor, Warner Baxter and Walter Connolly of the same name “Paddy The Next Best Thing”.
If you want to step back to Omeath in 1912 and learn about the romantic comedy of a girl called Paddy, you can still find a copy on amazon or kindle download.
