A quick guide to the locations coming to our screens soon...
Rough Diamond
(Co Meath and Kildare)
Rough Diamond, a new primetime series from the makers of Ballykissangel, is set in the Irish horse-racing world. The project is produced by World Productions and co-produced by Element Films for the BBC and RTÉ. The series is in pre-production and will film for 14 weeks in counties Meath and Kildare.
Becoming Jane
(Co Offaly)
Becoming Jane, a film about Jane Austen's life, starring Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy, has just finished filming in Ireland and is due for cinema release next year. A lavish ball from the late 18th century was recreated in Charleville Forest Castle in Tullamore, Co Offaly, for the story of the real-life love of Austen for a roguish Irishman, Tom Lefroy. This one sounds like a winner for Co Offaly.
Northanger
Abbey
Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, a TV film for Granada, is to be filmed entirely in Ireland, much to the chagrin of Austenites in Jane's native Bath, who lost the film to Ireland's superior tax breaks for TV. The series is written by Andrew Davies (Circle of Friends) and will be directed by Jon Jones. No cast has been confirmed yet. But will tourists visit Ireland or Bath as a result?
Kitchen
(Cabra, Dublin)
Kitchen is another project in pre-production this summer. A two-part drama for UK Channel 5, it will be filmed on location in Ireland for six weeks. The TV drama is based on Anthony Bourdain's book, Kitchen Confidential, an exposé about chefs in New York. The book has nothing to do with Ireland, but filming ended up here due to Film Board finance and tax breaks. Kitchen will be directed by Irishman Kieran J Walsh (When Brendan Met Trudy) with a budget of €3.7 million. Produced by Octagon Films and Ecosse Films, it will be shot in Hannaywood Studios in Cabra, Dublin. But will it prove a draw to Cabra (photo left)?
The Tudors
(Co Wicklow)
The Tudors (photo far left) is a TV series currently filming in Ardmore Studios, Dublin and Wicklow, focusing on the turbulent early years of Henry VIII's reign as king of England (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers). The production, which received finance from the Irish Film Board, has a budget of €29 million. More than €19 million will be spent in Ireland on Irish personnel, goods and services, and 95 per cent of the heads of department on the production are Irish production talent. But whether the film will draw Anglophiles here on holiday, or to England, remains to be seen.