Film to showcase Mayo’s beauty spots

Film to showcase Mayo’s beauty spots to eight million people


Neill O’Neill

WESTPORT Town and Westport House are among the many beautiful Mayo locations which will feature in the film ‘Heart’s Desire’, which is currently being shot by the German TV company, FFP New Media GmbH in the county. 
In recent weeks scores of film crews have been spotted on location around the county, and were blessed with some of the best weather in months last week, as they filmed outdoor scenes on the grounds of Westport House. Large numbers of cast and crew members have been staying locally while the production is on-going, and locals have been getting to see first hand the magic of the movies – with an ornate new fountain, complete with rows of flowers, appearing in the yard of Westport House last Wednesday morning, as a children’s birthday party scene was filmed on the front lawn.
‘Heart’s Desire’ is based on a story by Rosamund Pilcher, a British author of romance novels and mainstream women’s fiction. Her books are especially popular in Germany due to the fact that the national TV station, ZDF, has filmed more than seventy of her stories for TV. These TV films are some of the most popular programmes on German television and Pilcher and ZDF programme director, Dr Claus Beling, were jointly awarded the ‘British Tourism Award’ in 2002, for the positive effect the books and the TV versions had on tourism.
The film will broadcast on TV in Germany in November to an audience of over eight million people, and will later be shown in many countries throughout the world. The hope locally is that this will have a positive effect on tourism here, and will open the beauty of Mayo up to a whole new audience.
“This is great news for Mayo as filming for this project stretches from Foxford to Silver Strand and from Delphi to Achill Island and Clew Bay. Also featuring in the film are highlights of Mayo such as Turlough House, Westport House and Westport Town,” said Westport Town Councillor, Keith Martin, who also serves as a liaison officer for Mayo with the Irish Film Board.
“This film is built on the success of an earlier production ‘Return to the River’, which was also filmed in Mayo. Like all productions coming to Westport and Mayo there has been huge support from Westport Town Council and Mayo County Council, and these productions would not be possible were it not for the support of the local authority and the Town Manager and his staff, who have worked tirelessly to assist the filmmakers.”
Westport Town Manager, Peter Hynes, welcomed the selection of Westport as a base for filming.
“This kind of exposure and marketing for both Westport and for the county at large is extremely valuable and will help to promote Mayo as a visitor destination in a way in which formal advertising cannot,” he said.
Since he was appointed to his liaison role in 2004, Cllr Martin has overseen the establishment of Ireland’s smallest film office – in Westport.
To date, the Westport film office has assisted 12 productions in the town and in Mayo, and Cllr Martin estimates the value of these productions to the county to run to millions of euros.
Currently, Cllr Martin is preparing the Westport Town Council Film Office website for launch, with a database of local filmmaking talent, locations, accommodation and suppliers to follow as the office establishes itself