10 great film and TV locations on the Wild Atlantic Way

The fictional island of Inisherin, off Ireland’s west coast, was the base for this Oscar-nominated tragicomedy from 2022, which featured Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan and showed off some of the Wild Atlantic Way’s best island scenery.

The filmmakers used locations on Inis Mór, County Galway and Achill Island, County Mayo to create the fictional island of Inisherin. JJ Devine’s Pub was on a cliff on the coast of Cloughmore on Achill Island (the set was removed after filming), while other locations included Achill Island’s Corrymore Lake, Purteen Harbour and Keem Bay, where Colm’s cottage overlooked the beach and was the setting for some of the most memorable final scenes.

Who can forget that iconic scene in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, when the camera zooms in to Skellig Michael, the steep pyramid-shaped rock off the Kerry coast? Monks lived here in ancient times and this is where Luke Skywalker takes refuge in the fictional location Ahch-To. Rey later trains here, with Skellig Michael appearing again in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.

It’s not the only Wild Atlantic Way spot used as a location for Star Wars though, as scenes were also filmed at Malin Head on Donegal’s Inishowen Peninsula, Loop Head in County Clare, and Ceann Sibéal (Sybil Head) on the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry.

When this TV series, based on the popular novel by Irish writer Sally Rooney, first hit the small screen in 2020, viewers instantly recognised some of the scenic locations in County Sligo where it was filmed.

These included Streedagh Beach, 18km north of Sligo town, where the characters Marianne and Connell went for walks. The 3km-long beach has an interesting history – three Spanish Armada ships were said to have been wrecked here in the 1600s, and nowadays it is popular for surfing. Normal People was set in a fictional town called Carricklea, which was filmed in the Sligo town of Tobercurry, just inland.

In Cong in County Mayo, a statue of John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara is a permanent reminder that the village and surrounding area was the location for this 1952 classic, directed by John Ford. Many of the scenes were shot at Pat Cohan’s pub, which is still there today and Cong Market Cross.

Much of the Quiet Man was also filmed in some of Mayo and Galway’s most beautiful coastal locations along the Wild Atlantic Way, such as Lettergesh Beach in Connemara, where the scene with the Inishfree Cup horse race took place.

While most of this 2024 romantic comedy starring Lindsay Lohan was filmed in the east of Ireland, the film also showed off parts of County Mayo and County Clare, with the characters landing at Ireland West Airport in Mayo before moving to Westport. 

Westport’s real-life Matt Molloy’s pub, famed for traditional Irish music sessions, was transformed into Scruffy Murphy’s for the film. The picturesque buildings of the town’s Octagon also appeared (where Maddie falls into James’s car), with real-life shops West Coast Rare Books and Westport Florist also used. Landscape-wise, viewers are sure to recognise the striking Cliffs of Moher, which stretch for 12km along the coast of County Clare.

This 2020 romantic comedy had an all-star cast, with Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Jon Hamm, Dearbhla Molloy and Christopher Walken, and while the Irish accents were not always authentic, the film’s stunning scenery was, thanks to its setting in County Mayo.

The fictional story, set on two neighbouring farms, was filmed near the stunning Wild Atlantic Way coast at Ballina, County Mayo, as well as inland in nearby Crossmolina, with the backdrop of Nephin mountain.

One of the most iconic locations in this 2023 action-adventure was at Downpatrick Head, in County Mayo and the 45m-high Dún Briste sea stack. Downpatrick’s grassy cliffs were home to the film’s fictional Korinn’s Keep, where the gang made a heist. The sea stack was once connected to the land but was worn away from erosion and is now home to thousands of sea birds who nest there.

The Cliffs of Moher in County Clare and the Skellig Islands in County Kerry featured in a scene from this 2009 fantasy, the sixth instalment in the JK Rowling series.

A cave where Harry and Dumbledore hunt magic horcruxes was filmed at the Cliffs of Moher (nowadays it can be seen on a boat tour of the cliffs). A small island, Lemon Rock off the Skelligs in County Kerry was also used in filming – it was added to the scene in post-production, where Harry and Dumbledore stand surrounded by the Atlantic’s stormy seas.