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First, it was Joe Biden, then the Hollywood elites. Accents aside, North Mayo is having a moment.
nd when the Irish independent visited, it’s hard to see why not.
In these problems Sometimes, there is magic in the air in Crossmolina, as the area prepares to be the next Cong, from The Quiet Man fame.
This week, commentators declared an Irish accent code crisis following the release of promotional clips for the soon-to-be-released romantic comedy. Wild mountain thyme.
Joe Duffy, almost out of breath with laughter, spent more than an hour lamenting the outright piracy on display.
He even wondered if the multi-million dollar production had bothered to hire a voice coach.
But locals who spent months in the company of the cast and crew say nothing was left to chance.
Filmed largely on Billy Connor’s idyllic farm set under the Nephin Mountain Range, it stars Hollywood stars Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Christopher Walken and John Hamm, and is directed by Oscar winner John Patrick Shanely.
This was a big-budget Hollywood production and millions were spent in the area, a fact that the locals will not forget.
Eamon Moore, who runs The Thatch Inn, where Emily Blunt was photographed having her first pint of Guinness, said the critics got it wrong.
“We can talk about the accents, but the simple fact is that the audience the film is aimed at is not Mayo or even the Irish.
“It’s aimed at America, Europe or Asia where Jamie Dornan is absolutely huge.”
And if you could make Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan do the same thing John Wayne and O’Hara did for Cong, then we’re in for a winner. We have hotels, restaurants, pubs and cafes and when tourists come, we have all the facilities for them ”.
Moore believes that Crossmolina should connect with the Wild Atlantic Way.
“Maybe we could do a Wild mountain thyme emigrate. You could climb Nephin, do some fishing in Lough Conn, go to Billy Connors and milk a cow and come here and have a pint of Guinness, make a weekend of it.
“If people come to visit us because of the movie, even if we have to learn to speak with that kind of accent, we will.
“If you googled Crossmolina before this, it was about us having five feet of water flooding all of our homes and businesses.
“Now, it’s because we had a Hollywood-directed movie and top-notch actors and film crews here.”
Billy and Deirdre Connor’s Farm, in nearby Ballycorroon, was where the film was largely shot.
The Connors, along with their sons Liam (17), Ronan (15) and Holly (10), described the experience as one of the happiest times of their lives.
Your home is joyful and your experience of Wild mountain thyme has left a lasting mark on the family.
“We all had a great time, and why not? They (the cast and crew) were the strongest people, ”Billy said.
Filming was split between the Connors, another local farm, and the Mount Falcon Hotel, where the cast and crew stayed.
“I was hoping they’d do all the filming here at once, but they came here first and to another farm for a couple of weeks, then to Mount Falcon.
But they came back to us again. It was great to see all the trucks and taxis coming back down the road, and we were back in the middle of all this, “says Billy.
During filming, the Connors moved into Billy’s mother’s house down the street, but the family was there every day soaking up the atmosphere.
Marveling at the scale of production, Billy says “there was a lot of work involved.”
Deirdre Connor said the whole operation was hugely impressive. “They painted the whole place. The art department was amazing how they could make things look worn and worn.
“It was so impressive,” he said.
While the entire family played extras in the film, Deirdre Connor had a significant role, she and her sister Mary played Jamie Dornan’s sisters.
“We had no lines, we just had to sit there, but it was brilliant. In 50 lifetimes we wouldn’t have an experience like this. “
On the last day of filming, the Connors marked the occasion explosively.
“It was pitch black around 9pm and the director screamed; “That’s it, that’s a wrap,” Billy said.
“Me, Liam, Ronan and my nephew from Sligo, we set off a lot of fireworks. It was magical, ”Billy said.
Alan Maloney, the owner of the Mount Falcon Hotel, which has been home to the stars for months, said the film is “a great thing for May.”
“Aside from the global exposure that the region is going to have, the economic result for us and the local area was simply phenomenal.
“It was huge. Remember this is the west of Ireland and given the seasonality we have, it was shot in October and November. It was a godsend to everyone … This is one of the most beautiful places in the world but people haven’t fully figured it out yet. “
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