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07th Mar 2023

Colin Farrell names West Cork town as his favourite in Ireland

Fiona Frawley

side by side images of the town of castletownbere and colin farrell during an interview

Inisherin found reeling.

Oscar-nominated actor Colin Farrell spent time on Achill Island and Inis Mór to film the Banshees but ultimately, this West Cork town came out on top.

During an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden last weekend, Farrell explained why Castletownbere on the Beara Peninsula in West Cork has such a special place in his heart.

“There’s a town, at one stage was the second biggest white fish port in Europe, and it’s called Castletownbere,” said the actor, who spent time there in the 90s to film tv movie Falling For A Dancer and again in 2008 during the filming of Neil Jordan’s Ondine.

“It’s in a part of Ireland, down the south west, called the Beara Peninsula, and it’s incredibly rugged, and can almost feel hostile, but not fully. The people are really extraordinary, and they’re tough, but they are fundamentally so, so decent”.

“But the landscape is beautiful, of course, and it’s right on the lip of the Atlantic there,” he added.

“It’s also where I did my first professional job when I was 20 or 21 and I’ve been back there since, I’ve taken my kids there so that place holds a special place in my heart.”

On a recent trip back to Castletownbere, Mr. Farrell was reunited with publican Adrienne Maccarthy of the famous Maccarthy’s Bar, who had actually barred the actor from the pub for his “outrageous behaviour” while he was filming there in 1998.

The barring order has since been lifted, with Adrienne concluding that Colin was “just young and enjoying life”.

Maccarthy’s has enjoyed many a shout out during recent interviews with the actor, with interviewers from all over the world enquiring about the pub.

In comparison, Brendan Gleeson remained tight lipped about his favourite places in Ireland,  explaining that he’d rather keep them to himself.

“My favourite places in Ireland are places I’m going to keep to myself a bit because they’re really quiet places I can go – there’s a place in Roscommon I go to a lot, there’s a place in Clare I go to a lot…”

“I’ve been kind of all around, and.. if you’ve the time and the wherewithal just to kind of let it happen to ya, anywhere around the West coast of Ireland’s going to suit your tastes”.

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