:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/6Z5QOPTZ6TYOCAHVLXYFBWQRBU.jpg)
The company behind the Co Wicklow studios where the hit series Vikings was shot saw profits rise by 42 per cent last year despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The state-of-the-art, purpose-built film and television studios, which are led by Joe O’Connell and his daughter, Shelley, offer a diverse range of urban and rural film locations.
Accounts filed by Ashford Studios Ireland show the company made a profit of €2.7 million in the year to June last, which was up from €1.9 million the year before. It paid tax of €417,005, which was up from €298,283 the year before.
The company had current assets of €8.5 million at the end of the financial period, up from €5.2 million the year before. It had total assets less current liabilities of €17.2 million, which was up from €14.6 million. It employed three individuals compared with seven the year before.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/7RXHBFA6GBGPDPKBEYCD6H4SJY.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/XONHLDASUH5YZBDGHA3AKFRYCY.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VCHGVVX7OEF5OE5OVXRMQXX2AU.jpg)
:quality(70):focal(4135x1925:4145x1935)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/N2BRQTJAV5BBDOVIH7SVYQRDH4.jpg)
The studios are also the site of the Vikings spin-off Vikings: Valhalla which was streamed on Netflix. Figures published by Netflix showed it racked up more than 113 million hours of viewing in its first week, becoming the top series worldwide on the streaming platform.
The first season climbed into Netflix’s top 10 in 90 countries, bringing Lough Dan, Avondale, Lough Tay, Childers Woods and other locations near Ashford Studios to a global audience.
The screen tourism potential of the show – a beneficiary of the Section 481 tax credit – has already made its lead actors hot properties for Tourism Ireland.
The first eight episodes, filmed in late 2020 and early 2021, employed 59 cast and 554 crew and had more than 600 extras on set.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/e0baa6dc-0d1e-42c0-8173-93878e529c64.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/OEJH4J26O5AYXCS2RGZU5JOCXY.png)