Movie Locations

Four Letters of Love

Originally published in 1997 and translated into more than 30 languages, Niall Williams’ beloved novel “Four Letters of Love” can now be seen on the big screen!  Directed by Polly Steele, the movie features Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter, Gabriel Byrne, Ann Skelly and Fionn O’Shea.

It was filmed across Northern Ireland and in County Donegal, on the Northwest coast of Ireland, part of the Wild Atlantic Way.  Discussing the decision to film in Ireland, director Polly Steele said she was in awe of the landscapes available.

“Ireland was the perfect backdrop,” Steele says. “The landscape is more than just a setting – it’s a character in the story. The west coast, with its raw beauty and elemental nature, was instrumental in capturing the film’s essence.”

“The Irish landscape is like another character in the film,” says Gabriel Byrne. “It’s poetic and moody, sometimes overwhelmingly beautiful. A part of Ireland that had never really been seen on screen before.”

“There’s a certain sense of aloneness in a beautiful landscape,” Pierce Brosnan said about filming in Ireland. “It holds a special place in my heart—Ireland—and the mystery of Ireland, the beauty of Ireland, my own kinship with Ireland—being Irish, from the banks of the River Boyne, Navan, County Meath.”

Brosnan was also able to blend his own work / life balance in a beautiful way. “I get to travel with my wife, Keeley, and to bring my mother back home to Ireland,” he says, adding “you have this great novelist who has penned the script, you don’t get that very often. It was a very strong, seductive package of life and definitely left a piece of my heart here in Donegal.”

“People will want to know where those locations are,” Byrne says. “A lot of them are hidden; undiscovered; bleak; baron, at times; but also, intensely beautiful and inaccessible.”

Game of Thrones

A new “Game of Thrones” season is about to hit the screen, and once again, Tollymore Forest Park in Co. Down is one of the stars!  The six-episode, first season of A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, based on The Hedge Knight, premiers around the world on January 18, 2026.

Covering an area of 1,500 acres at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, Tollymore Forest Park has panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and the sea at Newcastle. It’s open to the public all year. The River Shimna is crossed by 16 bridges, the oldest dating back to 1726, and the park has several walking and hiking trails to explore this beautiful place.

ireland.com