Gibson was born in New York but moved to Australia at the age of 12, and his Irish roots hail from his mother Anne Reilly, who was born in the village of Ardagh in County Longford, Ireland. Gibson was named after a local saint, St Mel, who is commemorated at Longford cathedral, which was devastated in a blaze on Christmas Day (25Dec09).

And now the Bishop has come forward asking the area's most famous son to help with the restoration.

Bishop Colm O'Reilly says, "It would be nice for him to get involved, it certainly would be appreciated. We've never had any contact with him up until now. His name of course, comes from here. Longford people would be positive about such a move. We're all like a big bereaved family at this stage."