A Knight of the Six Counties 

By Katie Ward

It has been almost a decade since the stratospheric TV series Game of Thrones last filmed in Northern Ireland. One of the landmark series of the 2010s, Game of Thrones shared its sensationalism across NI’s economy, tourism sector, and screen industry, with filming locations like Murlough Bay, Carnlough Harbour and the Glens of Antrim still seeing disciples of the HBO smash flocking to them, year after year [1]. Northern Ireland Games of Thrones tour guide Richard the Wildling (@richardthewildling on Instagram and Tiktok) saw this firsthand.  

‘In my first season doing tours in 2016’, he told The Gown,  ‘I had a lady and son […]They were Texans, Fort Worth I believe – they left Texas on the Thursday, landed in Dublin on the Friday, travelled to Belfast for the 2 tours Saturday and Sunday, [got the] train back to Dublin Monday, and flew back to the US Tuesday. The only reason they travelled to Ireland was to do our 2 GoT tours. It was then I realised the power of GoT tourism. In that first year, I had people from every corner of the globe […] The story has crazy reach, and for an Asian mega fan to stand in the exact location where their favourite character filmed their big shot, it’s quite magical, for them and me, I totally feed off their enthusiasm!’ 

This kind of tourism in NI is not destined to end any time soon, with the much anticipated GoT prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, now streaming, taking place a century before Game of Thrones. The series boasts some scenery familiar to any resident of Northern Ireland watching – for example, Glenarm Castle Estate in Antrim, where the Ashford Meadow scenes were filmed, Hen Mountain in the Western Mournes, which served as ‘The Reach,’ and Cave Hill near Belfast, the real-life Ashford Valley [2]. The show has been a roaring success already, averaging 26 million viewers globally and receiving the green light for a second season before the first even aired [3]. When asked what he hoped this would do for NI, Richard told us it is ‘great to see’ the franchise back in Northern Ireland, after its most recent iterations were ‘shot mostly in England, with European locations.’ 

‘We have a wealth of fantastic scenery here’, he said. ‘And it’s all within an hour – mostly — of Belfast. Shooting here brings the story back to its spiritual home! That will, of course create hundreds, if not thousands of jobs; hundreds of extras, hundreds of crew members, and superb business and financial impact. They all stay in hotels, they all eat out in restaurants, they all use taxis and public transport. The sets are built by local workers, with the supplies bought from local merchants. The production hires heavily from the local populace, and not just the glamorous obvious jobs of camera and sound; but make-up artists electricians, hair stylists, joiners. On the tourism side, we are already getting enquiries about new locations to visit – I have a couple on my socials and have taken people there already […] a new generation of fans will want to see where it all took place and where it all began.’ 

This sentiment has been echoed by Tourism NI. In a statement to The Gown, Nicole Stevenson, Experience Development Executive Officer at Tourism Northern Ireland, said that Tourism NI has ‘plans’ for a second phase of their ‘SCENEic Route Map, which features 20 filming locations across the north’, to ‘showcase more recent productions, such as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.’  

‘Since the first season of Game of Thrones, Northern Ireland has reaped the benefits’, she told us. ‘Tourism Northern Ireland’s research in 2024 showed that 11% and 14% of the domestic and Republic of Ireland markets respectively are interested in exploring screen tourism while 26% of international audiences are inspired by film & TV shows when choosing a destination.’ 

The most exciting part of this production for us Queen’s Students, however, is the hugely beneficial on-set trainee opportunities it provides. CrewHQ partnered with Northern Ireland Screen to provide placements for hopefuls in the screen industry, including recent QUB graduate Caoimhe Browne, who secured placement as a camera trainee. 

‘I’ve been really lucky,’ she told Crew HQ. ‘Not many can say they’ve worked on something this scale, especially after just graduating’ [4].  

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is now streaming on Sky Atlantic and NOW.  

Sources 

[1] Tourism NI, The Game of Thrones® Effect on Tourism in Northern Ireland https://www.tourismni.com/business-guidance/sector/activities-attractions/activities-and-attractions-growing-your-business/gameofthrones/the-game-of-thrones-effect/   

[2] Sturges, Connor, ‘Where was ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ filmed?’ https://www.cntraveller.com/article/where-was-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-filmed  

[3] Thomas, Matt, ‘How A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS Viewership Compares To GAME OF THRONES And HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’ https://sffgazette.com/fantasy/game-of-thrones/how-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-viewership-compares-to-game-of-thrones-and-house-of-the-dragon-a9750#:~:text=It’s%20also%20been%20revealed%20that,November%2C%20is%20more%20than%20warranted. 

[4] CrewHQ, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/reel/DU3V3Vhjb6M/?igsh=MWgxbjZvMWtkOTdpaQ==