Over the past 15 years, Dr Mehmet Oz has become one of America's biggest television stars, attracting millions of fans and nearly as many critics with his eponymous daytime talk show.
Now the former surgeon is hoping to follow the Donald Trump route from television to political office with his run for US Senate in Pennsylvania, which has revealed his family connection to a Georgian manor in Co Wexford.
Financial disclosures made by Dr Oz as part of his candidacy show that his wife, Lisa Oz, is a part owner of the luxury Dunbrody House Hotel in Arthurstown, which was purchased by her family, the Lemoles, for a reported €2.9m, although the hotel is valued at just $500,000 to $1m in the documents.
The private residence on site was sold by celebrity chef Kevin Dundon to the family for €2.15m before being leased back to him and wife Catherine. The Dundons continue to operate the hotel as a going concern. Dunbrody House has also undergone a €2m renovation undertaken by architect Hugh Wallace.
Gerard Lemole, Lisa Oz's father, is a heart and lung surgeon and a former visiting professor at Trinity College Dublin, and he, his wife Emily Lemole Smith, and Dundon are listed as directors of Dunbrody Country House Ltd, which was incorporated last April.
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Dr Oz himself is a former heart surgeon and the long-time host of The Dr Oz Show, produced by Oprah Winfrey, which aired for 1,681 episodes between 2009 and 2022 before concluding so he could focus on his Senate bid.
In that time, the programme received an avalanche of criticism from medical professionals for its endorsement of pseudoscience, alternative medicine and faith healing, while becoming "among the most highly rated daily television programs," according to The New Yorker.
After securing the Republican nomination in May, Dr Oz went dark over the summer months and was reported to have travelled to Ireland to visit family in June and July.
Despite receiving the endorsement of Donald Trump, on whose council on sports, fitness and nutrition he served, Dr Oz has failed to consolidate support among Republican operators in Pennsylvania.
He will face off against Bernie Sanders-endorsed Democrat Jon Fetterman in November, and the most recent polls show Oz trailing by at least eight points and as much as 16 points -- despite Fetterman having suffered a stroke in May and returning to the campaign trail two weeks ago.
Photo: (l-r) Dr Oz and Kevin Dundon.
