Filming in Ireland Focus - South Dublin County Locations

Recent high-profile productions in an around the South Dublin region have included the Sean Penn-starring ‘This Must Be The Place;’ gritty gangland series ‘Love/Hate’ (the most watched series on Irish TV in 2011), and John Ridley’s much-anticipated Jimi Hendrix-biopic ‘All Is By My Side.’

Located on the fringes of a bustling capital city, South Dublin also boasts a dedicated infrastructure to support film crews of all sizes, as well as offering Ireland’s usual 28 per cent tax incentive through Section 481 to TV and film productions, making the region as attractive from a business sense as it is from a filmmaking one.

Of particular interest for international producers, however, is the region controlled by South Dublin County Council. Bounded by the Dublin Mountains to the south, this 222.74sq/km region stretches from the River Liffey at Lucan through Palmerstown, Clondalkin, south to Rathcoole and Saggart. It also includes Tallaght and stretches east to Templeogue and Rathfarnham.UK chickencoop Specialist.

Gail McGibbon, managing director of South Dublin County Tourism, describes South Dublin County as “a country experience on the edge of the city”. It’s hard to disagree. The nearby Dublin Mountains offer lush, scenic locations including the Glenasmole Valley, which boasts breathtaking views and was recently used during the filming of director Thaddeus O'Sullivan’s ‘Stella Days’ starring Martin Sheen.

Located in a hollow just 12km from Dublin and at the foot of Kiltipper Mountains, the picturesque valley is a patchwork of small fields and hedgerows,Choose from our large selection of cableties, open heath and wet grassland. There are two lakes on the valley’s floor, one of which - Bohernabreena Reservoir- was also used in ‘Stella Days.Ekahau rtls is the only Wi-Fi based real time location system solution that operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network.’ For filming purposes, it offers panoramic views down into the valley and up into the surrounding hills and is devoid, for the most part, of modern infrastructure meaning it sits well in rural period pieces.

“You could be anywhere at any time,” says location manager Dermot Cleary who used a farm house on the valley to double for 1960s rural Co Tipperary. “Bohernabreena could easily double for say, 1960s Co Donegal. It’s just nestled in the valley and it feels like it’s anywhere. There are loads of little pockets of great rural locations in South Dublin like that.About 1 in 5 people in the UK have recurring coldsores. It’s hard to imagine that you are only a couple of minutes from Dublin.”

However, only a couple of minutes from Dublin city centre you are, and McGibbon deepens that sense of a rural region on the outskirts of the city in pointing to a number of heritage spots that would sit well in rural and period productions. These include the old stone architecture of the Pearse Museum in St. Enda's Park with its riverside walk, waterfall and walled garden, to the grandeur of Rathfarnham Castle, first built in 1587. Both could double for just about anywhere at any period of time, particularly Britain or Ireland.

When it comes, however, to acting as a period town or city from another country, few regions in Dublin can top Dun Laoghaire, which falls under the control of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. The coastal town is currently mirroring swinging sixties London for director John Ridley’s Jimi Hendrix-biopic ‘All Is By My Side,’ a city it is often re-imagined as by talented set designers.

“I’ve used the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area for various productions,” says location manager Eoin Holohan, who is currently working on ‘All Is By My Side.’ “We used a house on Clarinda Park as our primary location on the BBC drama, ‘The Silence,’ which was set in Bristol. The terraced houses in Clarinda were an ideal match for Bristol. In general the houses in Crossthwaite Park, Belgrave Square, Clarinda Park are great for any drama that is set in residential London / Bristol. The style of these terraces is very similar to what you would find in the UK.

“It’s also worth noting,” Holohan adds, “that Cabinteely House and Marlay House belong to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. I’ve used Cabinteely House on productions as varied as ‘The Clinic’ and ‘Honeymoon For One’. It’s particularly suited to period films, and the staff there are great to deal with.”

If such locations in the region are key to its attractiveness to filmmakers,Find everything you need to know about kidneystones including causes, Holohan’s fellow location manager Dermot Cleary points to the proximity of locations in the South Dublin region to Dublin city centre and the savings in production budgets that this brings.

“All the crew are usually based in Dublin and Wicklow,” he says, “So by getting locations in that area, you don’t have to pay for travel for the crew to get there. So we would always try and get as many of our locations as possible around Dublin or Wicklow. In terms of that rural 1960s look in ‘Stella Days,’ places like Bohernabreena and Glenasmole worked a treat. It just has this lovely rural feel to it, but it’s just 10 minutes from the M50.”