Limerick promotes regional location filming

An industry open day showcased Troy Studios over the weekend and was used to launch the new portal.

Troy Studios itself offers three sound stages that offer a combined 70,000 sq ft of floor space in addition to other resources that include production offices and workshop facilities.

“Innovate Limerick has created Film in Limerick which is a shop window for national and international film producers looking for possible locations to shoot in Limerick and the Mid-West Region,” said Mike Cantwell, head of Innovate Limerick.

“This one-stop shop will provide all the information a film producer needs while showcasing the landscapes, buildings, accommodation and expertise which the region has to offer.”

A Production and Digital Skills Academy is also being set up in Limerick city centre to help build the local crew pool with specialist training programmes. The plan is to have Troy Studios staffed entirely by Irish crew within four years.

“With the development of Troy Studios in Limerick, we believe there is a major opportunity to grow film and television production activity across the Mid-West region,” said James Hickey, chief executive of the Irish Film Board.

The launch of Film in Limerick comes days after the Irish Film Board was awarded an additional €2m by the government for 2017, which increases the organisation’s capital budget allocation to €12.7m for the year.

Ireland continues to build its profile as an international filming location, partly through its generous incentive programme.

Star Wars: Episode VIII shot scenes along the country’s west coast earlier this year. Dublin and the surrounding counties remain Ireland’s production hub – and the focus of studio development plans – but Limerick will be hoping to attract more productions on a similar scale to Star Wars in the coming months and years.