Beloved toy soldier factory to reopen in North Cork on Monday

The Prince August factory in Kilnamartyra, in Co Cork, is one of the few places licensed to produce collectibles based on JRR Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' books (rather than the films) 

Bilbo Baggins's first meeting with Gandalf, in the Shire, outside his hobbit home. The original miniature had the door and the figures, the rest was added by the vignette creator. By Alexandre Renault

The Inn of the Prancing Pony might still be closed, but Ireland's only toy-soldier factory is reopening to the public on Monday, although its workshops, showing how to make its licensed Lord of the Rings figurines, will have to wait until public-health advice allows.

The Prince August toy soldier factory, in Kilnamartyra, in Co Cork — it was founded in 1976 by Swedish nationals Lars and Gunilla Edman —  reopens its on-site shop on Monday.