Stars align as Irish film and TV ready for a new 'golden age'

Generous tax breaks, perfect locations, and a willing workforce are the perfect recipe for success

Adam Scott will star in Hokum which is released on May 1.

There was plenty to get worked up about for the Irish film industry this week when Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland unveiled its 2026 slate of upcoming Irish-made productions.

As Screen Ireland unveiled 22 feature films among 87 projects made in Ireland set for release this year, it also revealed production spend hit record levels in 2025 contributing €544m to the Irish economy.

While the bulk of spending has been centred in Ireland’s traditional film hub of Dublin and Wicklow, Ireland’s regional film sector could finally be on the cusp of its own blockbuster era.

The €544m spend figures released by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland on local jobs and services across film, television, documentary, and animation built on a €430m total production spend in 2024, which was itself 33% higher than in 2023.

But in the past, it has sometimes proved hard to convince filmmakers to leave the familiar surrounds of Dublin and Wicklow. In 2024, Munster hosted 13 projects, with total eligible expenditure valued at €25.5m. Leinster hosted 62 projects in 2024, with total eligible expenditure of €402.9m.

While Dublin and the East is the powerhouse for Irish film, Screen Ireland chair Ray Harman believes the 2026 list provides a window into the world of opportunity for the sector available in Ireland’s regions.

“There's obvious reason why international productions want to stay near Dublin Airport. But the perception changes over time. Now they realise they can go to Limerick, or go to Cork,” said Mr Harman.

One of the film’s slated for release is Hokum, starring Adam Scott, which was filmed at West Cork Film Studios on Skibbereen’s Baltimore Road. The creepy thriller by Bantry director Damien McCarthy was filmed in and around West Cork in 2025, and hits US screens on May 1.

West Cork Film Studios at Baltimore Road, Skibbereen.

“ Hokum is a good example of how film showcases the country. It is going to get a big international audience. That showcases Damian McCarthy as a brilliant Irish filmmaker but it also shows that Cork is a brilliant destination for making a film, entirely made with Irish crew. It shows the production facilities that are on the ground at West Cork Film Studios.

“Cork is a brilliant film destination. It can be Ireland or it could be New England. Or Washington State. Or the UK. Films like Hokum give it a showcase.” 

In just two years, West Cork Film Studios set up by Édaín O’Donnell and Steve Park, has made its mark in the business. After a challenging first year coinciding with the writers’ strike in the US, 2025 saw five films made at the purpose-built studio on Skibbereen’s Baltimore Road, including two simultaneously. Hokum, The Body Is Water, Everybody Loves Bill Evans, The Love of the Irish, and the widely awaited Jimmy Stewart biopic Jimmy were all made in and around West Cork Film Studios. Budgets varied from about €3m to €14m for Jimmy, which stars KJ Apa.

The signs are good for 2026. “We are in discussion with almost 20 producers and writers for work for the next two years," said Ms O'Donnell.

In late February, pre-production work will get underway on the latest multimillion euro film coming to West Cork, called Out of the Fog, which has been written by Daniel Adams who will also direct. His films include The Lightkeepers and Golden Boys and he has worked with actors including like Richard Dreyfuss, Sandra Bullock, and Gabriel Byrne. It is understood another A-listers cast is on board for the new film in Cork.

Meanwhile Neil Jordan is set to work on a new film adaption of his own novel, The Well Of St Nobody, in West Cork later this year, with a cast believed to include Jeremy Irons, Helena Bonham Carter, and Aidan Quinn.

Other projects include a live action series developed in West Cork with former The Simpsons animator and creator of Disney show Phineas and Ferb, Jeff ‘Swampy’ Marsh, while former Love/Hate star Robert Sheehan is also working with Ms O’Donnell on another West Cork production.

The scale of the work going on at West Cork Film Studios — which has recently extended, taking over the former O’Donnell’s Furniture building adjacent to the studio — shows how far the regional film industry has come. “Filming Jimmy was big in size and numbers,” said Ms O’Donnell. “We had 1,000 extras. We had seven tonnes of military costumes shipped from the US, not including military boots. We built an airplane in the studio.” Years after his death, Jimmy Stewart remains a beloved figure in the US for all ages thanks to It’s A Wonderful Life, and the Jimmy biopic will hit screens before Christmas.

West Cork Film Studios has hailed the support from the industry across Ireland, including Dublin producer John Norton, who along with Edwina Forkin brought the studio’s first film to West Cork and has continues to support.

'Ireland... where reality still beats AI'

Another of the productions due for release this year is The Body Is Water, written and directed by Cork-born Vicky Wight Waldron and also filmed at West Cork Film Studios. The cast includes Aidan Quinn, Eva Birthwhistle, Saoirse-Monica Jackson of Derry Girls fame, Stephen Rea, and former The Wire star, the late Isiah Whitlock Jr, in his last screen role. Director Wight Waldron told the Examiner during filming of the appeal of filming in Cork that “everything we get in the United States is also here. So it's not that hard to convince production companies. Everyone speaks English. It's an exotic location without being unattainable.”

The film has an added poignancy, as it is the last filmed by Whitlock Jr — fans of The Wire would know him as the corrupt Senator Clay Davis with the ‘shiiiiiiiitttt’ catchphrase. 

He died on December 30 but was captivated by his surroundings during his time in Ireland. Posting on social media while in West Cork, his words about the region show just what makes it a gem for filmmakers: 

Shooting a movie in Ireland... where reality still beats AI. 

Our natural beauty and chameleon quality landscapes aside, there’s clearly a bottom line reason to bring more film to Ireland. Much like the pull of our educated workforce to the pharma and tech industries, the cherry on top for film production is our generous tax breaks.

Budget 2025 introduced another  tax credit to support the visual effects sector in Ireland providing a 40% rate of relief for productions with a minimum of €1m of eligible expenditure on visual effects. The rate applies up to a maximum of €10m per production.

The flagship Section 481 tax credits are already worth up to 32% of eligible Irish expenditure to film productions up to €125m. A further 8% 'uplift' for films of budgets below €20m but this was halted in Budget 2025. 

Anthony Muldoon, director of strategic policy at Screen Producers Ireland representing  over 200 independent film, television, animation and digital production companies in Ireland, said it is crucial this uplift is restored.

“Minister [for Culture, Communications and Sport] Patrick O'Donovan has told us the uplift will be priority in the next budget. We're really leaning into that. That could get a regional uplift functioning for summer 2027. If we can bring that incentive back, we can build a constant flow of work to have consistency of production, and that is vital. The east coast is going to have another incredibly busy year. If there are productions that can't find space in Dublin, then the regional centres can take them.

 “Consistent production means crew can work where they live, keeping a driver in the local economy.”

Ireland's other regional studios include Errigal Studios in Donegal, Studio@5 in Galway, and the sprawling Troy Studios in Limerick. This week, Troy Studios has agreed a deal with Dublin-based film production company BiggerStage and studio operator MBS Group to make the studios a hub for unscripted production — projects like game shows and reality shows. 

Troy Studios in Limerick, which is set to become a hub for unscripted television.

The deal will take advantage of the new corporation tax credit announced earlier this month on expenditure incurred on the development of unscripted programmes, with a rate of 20% of production expenditure up to a maximum limit of €15m per project. The tax credit will run until the end of 2028. BiggerStage has already brought hit US game shows like Rob Lowe's The Floor to film in Dublin, the new credit will likely bring major new shows to the MidWest.

“The new deal firmly positions Limerick and Ireland at the forefront of global television production, supported by the unique advantages presented by Ireland’s unscripted tax credit," said Troy Studios managing director Elaine Geraghty. "Together, we are dedicated to building a global production hub that will benefit the creative sector, generate employment, and deliver outstanding original content for audiences worldwide.”

Screen Producers Ireland's Anthony Muldoon said this will be another gamechanger for the film industry here. "This brings a whole new level of production into the regions that hasn’t been there before. Again, this will allow people working in the industry in the regions to work where they live. It's bringing a whole new level of production to Troy Studios."  

Pat Kiely, chief executive and founder of BiggerStage agrees. “We are truly entering a golden age for the television industry in Ireland."