SMOTHER’s production crew have returned to Co Clare days after RTÉ confirmed a third series has been given the green light.Season two of the popular drama starring Dervla Kirwan concluded on Sunday night in the coveted RTÉ ONE slot previously held by shows such as Love/Hate, RAW, Single-Handed and Kin.
Moy House is the home of the Ahern family in the show which was filmed across North-West Clare with Lahinch, Fanore, Ennistymon, Liscannor, Spanish Point and the Burren primary locations featured throughout the show.
Filming of the next series is to commence in the next week with members of the cast due to arrive in Co Clare over the coming days.
Locals have bought into the series from the get-go by providing a warm welcome with others such as Ennistymon senior football captain, Sean Rouine assisting with security, the defender has remained tight-lipped on whether he could step in front of the camera for series three.
Shooting the drama in the county has brought a lift to morale and the local economy, co-owner of the Lahinch Coast Hotel, Brid O’Meara told The Clare Echo. Production company, Treasure Entertainment set up their base at the hotel including all offices with some suites dismantled and used as hospital settings during the show as well as the bar and lounge for some scenes.
“It has been hugely beneficial for us, it is hard to put it into figures. It has helped hugely in extending our season. Myself and John (O’Meara co-owner) reopened the hotel in 2019 with a big focus on growth and extension of the season, with the Irish Open in 2019 it helped to extend the season to December, then we secured the contract for Smother to go ahead in February 2020 when all of COVID-19 started,” she outlined.
Due to COVID-19, Brid felt the welcome extended to the cast and crew from the communities of Lahinch, Liscannor and Ennistymon was even greater while also praising the compliance with regulations adhered to by the production company and how they stayed committed to the show despite the pandemic.
Benefits have been already experienced from the show’s popularity, Brid said. “It has brought a huge spin-off for the whole community. All of the people working on the show are literally moving and integrating into the area, they are using the local shops, restaurants and pharmacies, some of them rented houses and had their families visiting, they integrated very well and the full area benefitted”.
Guests that have stayed at Lahinch Coast Hotel since the show began have approached Brid asking where particular scenes were shot so they could take their own pictures. This coupled with the rise in staycations last year has been a timely aid to the hospitality industry in North-West Clare. “The benefit is much bigger, it’s not just us in the hotel or the services used which was great, they used local bus companies and food suppliers but outweighing all of that was how the production showed Clare and its beauty”.
