Set-jetting in Northern Ireland | The West Australian
One of the catalysts behind Northern Ireland’s tourism boom since the end of “The Troubles” has been TV shows. Tens of millions of pounds have been injected into the economy by screen productions and their knock-on effects, including the spike in visitors keen on “set-jetting” in the province.
Game of Thrones is, of course, the biggest money-spinner of all, and throughout the 2010s, studios in and around Belfast and across the breathtaking countryside on the city’s doorstep pulled in fans of the fantasy drama eager for a glimpse of their favourite actors and locations.
Despite its last episode airing in 2019, the show’s legacy endures — rather like New Zealand and Lord of The Rings — and interest has been revived by the current spin-off series, House of the Dragon. Though that’s not filmed here but in Britain (and Spain), “Thronies” are still a common sight on this side of the Irish Sea. Some even wear costumes like the fictional Starks and Targaryens and take bus tours to the thrillingly rugged Causeway Coast and Glens, which stood in for numerous locations in Westeros, the fictional world in which the saga plays out.
Camera IconThe Game of Thrones Studio Tour is packed with sets and props. Credit: @GameofThronesStudioTour/The West Australian
Bus transfers also run south of Belfast to Banbridge, home to the excellent immersive Game of Thrones Studio Tour, which is packed with sets and props (I was there for the launch back in 2022 and Northern Irish actor Ian Beattie, who plays Ser Meryn Trant, described the show as the “biggest gift ever given to this province”).
Fans also look to tick off and photograph the Doors of Thrones — 10 intricately-carved Thrones-themed doorways scattered around Northern Ireland. They were fashioned from beech trees blown down by a storm that tore through the Dark Hedges, a picturesque shaded stretch that was on the Kingsroad in the show. You can see one door in Belfast — at The Dark Horse bar — but the city’s most vivid Thrones-inspired art trail is Glass of Thrones, which portrays scenes from the show in six colourful stained-glass windows on the waterfront by the Titanic Quarter.
Another thing about Belfast: jump in a taxi here and there’s a decent chance your driver will have some interesting anecdotes about Game of Thrones or other shows filmed locally. Some cabbies will have appeared as extras or driven around well-known actors. Speaking from experience, I’ve been in taxis with chatty drivers who have previously transported Adrian Dunbar, who plays Ted Hastings in Line of Duty (a gripping show that’s set in England but mostly filmed here in Belfast), and James Nesbitt, who shot the murky drama Bloodlands in the city and around Strangford Lough, a sea loch in neighbouring County Down.
Jamie Dornan is another local actor — he was born in Hollywood, just outside Belfast — and his performance as a serial killer in The Fall, opposite Gillian Anderson, wowed the critics before his career skyrocketed with the Fifty Shades franchise. The swanky Merchant Hotel, in Belfast’s bar-dotted Cathedral Quarter, was probably The Fall’s plushest filming location.
A more recent acclaimed show set in Belfast is Blue Lights, an edgy SBS police drama that showcases lesser-visited parts of the city (and reveal that, despite the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which helped to bring peace, and tourists, to this long-troubled province, sectarian tensions haven’t completely gone away).
The first season of Blue Lights takes place in a nationalist (mostly Catholic) area of West Belfast, with the second season moving across to a loyalist (mostly Protestant) part of East Belfast. You’ll get absorbing insights into Belfast society, past and present, on the guided taxi tours that drive into similar inner-city neighbourhoods, where you’ll eye partisan murals and political slogans.
Camera Icon Derry Girls mural in Derry-Londonderry. Credit: Tourism Northern Ireland/Finn /The West Australian
TV has also helped raise the profile of Northern Ireland’s second city. Created by Lisa McGee, Derry Girls is a humorous and bittersweet tale set in 1990s Derry-Londonderry, inspired by the writer’s own youth growing up here towards the end of “The Troubles”. Memorabilia from the show’s three seasons is displayed at an exhibition at the Tower Museum within the old city walls, while the Derry Girls cast is celebrated in a giant mural outside Badger’s Bar.
Incidentally, McGee has written a new show: How to Get To Heaven From Belfast. Billed as a comedy thriller, it’s due out on Netflix in 2025 and tourism officials will be keeping their fingers crossed that it will attract another wave of “set-jetters” to Northern Ireland.
+ Steve McKenna was a guest of Tourism Northern Ireland. They have not influenced or read this story before publication.
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+ For more information on visiting Northern Ireland, including information on TV-inspired tours, see discovernorthernireland.com
Camera Icon Dark Hedges, a popular spot for Game of Thrones fans. Credit: Chaosheng Zhang/The West AustralianCamera Icon The City Hall of Belfast, a beacon of Northern Ireland’s thriving TV industry. Credit: Brian Morrison / Tourism Norther/The West AustralianCamera IconThe Merchant is one of Belfast’s best-known hotels and made an appearance in The Fall. Credit: Steve McKenna/The West AustralianCamera IconThrones themed guided tours take visitors along the Causeway Coast, stopping at filming locations. Credit: Tourism Ireland/Chris Hill/The West Australian
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