The Kingdom on the big screen

THE Last Jedi might be the most famous film shot in Kerry but it is far from the only major movie to be filmed in the county.

After Star Wars the best known movie filmed in the Kingdom is David Lean’s epic Ryan’s Daughter which was filmed in and around Dún Chaoin in west Kerry in 1969.

Lean and his cast - led by Hollywood superstar Robert Mitchum and screen icon John Mills – spent months filming in the area injecting vast sums of cash into the region and helping forge west Kerry’s tourism industry in the process.

The film was a critical and financial flop but it did win two Oscars, including one for the stunning cinematography that captured the Dingle peninsula in all its glory.

While the village set near Dún Chaoin was demolished soon after filming wrapped the stone schoolhouse set is still in situ at Cill Gobnait near Dún Chaoin.

The film is most famous for its beach scenes and the locations where most of these were filmed – at Inch Strand and Coumeenoole Strand – are easily accessible.

Film trivia fans might be interested to know that Ryan’s Daughter was the last film to be shoot the Super Panavision format until Ron Howard’s Far and Away in 1992.

The opening of Howard’s movie – which starred Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman and is frequently pilloried for its outrageously bad “Irish” accents – was filmed just down the road and another mock village was built for the film. Like the Ryan’s Daughter village it too is long gone as the entire set was burned down as part of the shoot.

In south Kerry a quick stop at Killarney Train Station should be included on your itinerary.

The picturesque station was used as the backdrop for a number of scenes in Ken Loach’s 2006 Palme d’Or winning Irish Civil War drama The Wind That Shakes The Barley starring Cillian Murphy.

A trip around the Ring Of Kerry will bring you to Caherdaniel and Derrynane Beach where in 1980 John Boorman filmed the closing scenes of his Arthurian sword and sorcery epic Excalibur.

The finale of the hit film - which was nominated for a cinematography Oscar – was shot on Lambs Head overlooking Derrynane beach.

Finally to round out your Kerry movie journey head further along the ring towards Sneem and Kenmare where you can explore the locations – including the Kenmare Park Hotel – where arthouse director Yorgos Lanthimos shot his critically acclaimed 2015 independent hit The Lobster.