Mayo island named among Ireland's most popular filming locations

Achill Island, the home of The Banshees of Inisherin, has been named one of the most popular filming locations in Ireland.

A study of the average monthly searches for various terms relating to each location on social media showed that Achill was the third most popular location just behind the Wicklow Mountains and the Cliffs of Moher.

Achill Island has long been a favoured location by film producers due to its unspoilt landscape and stunning scenery.

The picturesque area is home to tranquil beaches and a distinct coastline that recently provided the setting to the 2022 film The Banshees of Inisherin starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson – which went onto become a critical hit and receive nine Oscar nominations.

According to Screen Ireland, the total production spend in the Irish economy reached a record high of €500 million in 2021. With that in mind, Sports betting and casino site Tonybet decided to investigate which of 20 Irish filming locations are the most popular according to Instagram and Google search data.

The study looked at the average number of monthly searches for various terms relating to each location, such as ‘Cliffs of Moher’, ‘Visit Achill Island’, ‘Ashford Castle Ireland’, and the location with its most famous onscreen appearance, such as ‘Skellig Michael Star Wars’.

This was combined with the number of Instagram posts featured under the location’s respective hashtag, and an equal weighting was applied to both criteria to create a total index score out of 100.

Achill Island received an index score of 69.01 out of 100. This corresponded to 66,900 Instagram posts and a global average of 47,158 Google searches per month.

Rounding out the top five was Ashford Castle, receiving an index score of 67.43 out of 100, with 42,600 Instagram posts and an average monthly search count of 58,736 searches globally.

The mediaeval fortress sits near Cong on the County Mayo-Galway border and has operated as a hotel since the mid-20th century. While it serves a more contemporary purpose now, it has provided the historic setting on films such as The Quiet Man (1952) and television period drama Reign.