When you stay at Killarney’s Holiday Village, you have the perfect base for a tour of movies filmed in Kerry. From Ryan’s Daughter to Far and Away, Kerry has long drawn moviemakers from top studios as a location for a variety of productions. Here are our pick of movies filmed in Kerry:

Ryan’s Daughter

Dingle came to worldwide attention in 1970 as the setting for David Lean’s epic Ryan’s Daughter. The old schoolhouse built for the movie still stands on a headland overlooking the Blasket Islands. Other Kerry locations used in the film include Inch Beach, where the doomed couple at the heart of the story are seen horse riding. They also appear among the bluebells in the woods of Killarney National Park.

Excalibur

John Boorman’s epic tale of the Knights of the Round Table was filmed in Derrynane in 1981. It launched the careers of stars like Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, and Helen Mirren. A hugely ambitious retelling of the legendary story of King Arthur, the film depicts a memorable if violent version of the Dark Ages and the heroes who lived in them

Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince

You might know that the most famous Irish scene from Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince was shot at the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare, but did you know that Kerry also makes an appearance in the 2009 movie? Following the scene at the cliffs, Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry and Michael Gambon’s Dumbledore appear on the Lemon Rock in Kerry. Lemon Rock is located close to Little Skellig and Skellig Michael, the setting for another famous movie…

The Lobster

An unconventional romance released in 2015, The Lobster stars Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz in a story of In a dystopian society where single people must find a partner within 45 days or face being transformed into an animal of their choice. It was shot in the Parknasilla resort in Sneem and in the Dromore Woods nearby.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Of all the movies filmed in Kerry, J.J. Abrams’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens is probably the most famous. J.J. Abrams fell in love with Skellig Michael, choosing it as the setting for the Jedi Monastery where Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker retreats. It does not feature until the final seven minutes of the movie, however.

What is your favourite movie filmed in Kerry? We’d love to hear from you!