The ambitious vision that Limerick City and County Council had of Limerick becoming a Film and TV production hub has become a reality as the US series Nightflyers begins production at Troy Studios in Plassey.
The series is a production of NBC Universal and Universal Cable Productions and is adapted from the 1987 George RR Martin novella of the same name. It is due to air on the Syfy Channel in the US and on Netflix worldwide.
As filming begins on Nightflyers, it marks the end of an ambitious journey four years ago that Limerick could be home to world class studio production facilities and attract some of the world’s best Film and TV makers to the Limerick City region to film.
Limerick City and County Council bought the old Dell factory after realising it's potential following the successful staging of a number of events during the National City of Culture 2014 celebrations and discussions begun about converting it into studios.
The facility is one of the four key strategy sites for development as part of the Limerick 2030 plan.
Innovate Limerick, Limerick City and County Council’s Innovation arm, worked to transform the facility which has resulted in the doubling of Ireland’s entire movie making capacity.
Troy Studios have taken a 20-year lease. The Nightflyers production at Troy Studios has already resulted in the creation of over 400 jobs and it is estimated that the Studio could generate additional annual revenues of €70 million for the mid west economy.
In tandem with the development of the studios, Innovate Limerick and Limerick City and County Council have put in place the supporting services such as a dedicated Film In Limerick and the production and digital skills academy at Engine to develop a supply of skilled people locally to work on future productions.
Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Stephen Keary said: “Having Nightflyers start production is the culmination of years of hard work and a belief that a major studio production facility could be located here. The studios will be a great asset to the entire region and as a result, Hollywood has come to Limerick and we hope it will be here for years to come.”
Pat Daly, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Economic Development with Limerick City and County Council said: “Limerick City and County Council had the ambition and courage to look outside the box to see what we could do to develop the Limerick city region. We knew we had the facilities and Limerick is an ideal base, so we worked hard to make the vision of having international film studios in Limerick a reality. Nightflyers is the culmination of years of hard work on all sides and we look forward to more productions in the future.”
“We are also very aware of the need to develop the skills needed for the industry locally, so the region can benefit as well. We have developed the training facilities at ENGINE to create a supply of skills needed across a range of sectors for example to meet the needs of the international film sector at Troy Studios, while the hospitality sector will gain also.”
Mike Cantwell from Innovate Limerick said: “This is a hugely significant day for Limerick. Having worked with Nightflyers prior to and since their arrival at Troy Studios, Innovate Limerick is delighted with the scale and success of the project and it's benefit to the Mid West Region.”