Kirrary the rural village created in west Kerry for the film 'Ryan's Daughter' is available for free to a willing taker.
Built as a film set for 'Ryan's Daughter' the fictional village of Kirrary in County Kerry overlooks the Blasket Islands and claims to be the most westerly inhabited part of Ireland. A reconstruction of a village from the 1916 period, was made for the David Lean film.
Unlike regular film sets built from fibreglass, Kirrary was made to last. Rather than demolish the village when filming wraps, producer Anthony Havelock-Allan is offering Kirrary for free to a willing taker.
It’s all a gift from Faraway Productions to the people of the Dingle Peninsula because we’ve been so happy here and they’ve been so nice to us.
Ideally Anthony Havelock-Allan would like see Bord Fáilte or a body of similar standing take over the village. If that option fails the offer is open to all interested parties.
If we don’t give it away, we have to knock it down brick by brick, and just leave it as it was as bare mountain side, and this seems an awful waste.
He believes fans of ‘Ryan’s Daughter’ would be interested in visiting the film location and therefore Kirrary has great tourism potential. A prospective owner would have to calculate the cost to maintain the village on an annual basis, and would also have to compensate the people on whose land it is built.
It’s just a question of whether it can be turned into anything that will earn its keep.
Irish actress Marie Kean who plays the role of Mrs McCardle in ‘Ryan’s Daughter’ does not want to see the village levelled and has plenty of ideas for how it could be re-purposed.
If a firm offer for the village is not received, it will be demolished at the end of October 1969.
A ‘Newsbeat’ report broadcast on 1 October 1969. The reporter is Michael Ryan.
