It is official, Ireland is getting a new film studio. Limerick City and County Council confirmed that it has signed a deal with the newly created Troy Studios for a long term lease of the former Dell Factory in Castletroy, Limerick.
It is intended that the new studio facility will be up and running, and able to cater for film and television productions by the end of the summer of 2016. This will see the 340,000 sq ft building converted to add 70,000 sq ft of studio space, as well as offices and suites of support facilities. The building will become a media cluster for production companies, who will be able to support film and TV production on site
In May the council agreed to buy the building for €5.5m, and have been negotiating with key stakeholders since. Troy Studios Limited, was has been established by Ardmore Studios’ Chief Executive Siún Ní Raghallaigh, Ardmore co-owner Ossie Kilkenny, and producer John Kelleher, has signed a heads of agreement for the property, subject to planning permission.
[quote title=”Siún Ní Raghallaigh, Troy Studios, Director”]The availability of appropriate full service studio space in the country is a restraining factor for Ireland’s audio visual sector’s growth. Today’s announcement is an important step in the right direction to redress that imbalance.The establishment of Troy Studios will assist Ireland take advantage of the 30% growth in global creative audio visual content predicted for the next five years. Troy Studios will add 70,000 sq. feet of studio space to the existing 110,000 sq. feet of sound studio space that already exists in Ireland. It is an exciting initiative and we look forward to progressing plans with Limerick City and County Council to bring this project to fruition and place Limerick on the international map as a new film location. [/quote]
[quote title=”Conn Murray – Limerick City and County Council, Chief Executive “]We’re delighted to be working with Troy Studios in facilitating the company in its plans to establish a significant media hub for film and television production in Limerick. This is an extremely welcome development as it presents a diverse range of opportunities for the wider arts, crafts and culture sector in the region, and particularly those undertaking third level digital media courses in Limerick.[/quote]