That Wicklow mafia just won't stop expanding. Whispers of the high life in the hills that are home to director John Boorman, singer Chris de Burgh and his wife Diane Davidson; U2 manager Paul McGuinness and his wife Kathy Gilfillan; and artist Susan Morley and her husband, bon vivant and author Paolo Tullio; have long been trickling down to us dowdy city slickers.
The most recent high-profile addition is, of course, Mia Farrow, who fell in love with Ireland's garden when filming Widow's Peak and called on her friends to suggest a - ahem - cottage for her to buy in the area.
The latest rumour circulating is that Wicklow is to have yet another transfusion of Hollywood blood. Meryl Streep, who is shortly to begin filming Brian Friel's play, Dancing At Lughnasa, under the direction of Pat O'Connor, is said to be looking into buying a little pied a terre in the area so that she and her family will have a base for the duration of the production. So if Meryl plays the part with a Wicklah accent, we'll all know why.