It was "Lights, Camera and Action" at Downpatrick Railway Museum for the first time this December, as the railway became the latest venue for the filming of the £4.5 million movie "Puckoon", directed by Terence Ryan of "The Brylcreem Boys" fame. The film, based on the book by Spike Milligan, is a riotous take on the partition of Ireland, set in the fictional town of Puckoon in 1924. The story line of the novel and the film sees the Boundary Commission, after months of heated debate, finally agreeing the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State, resulting in Puckoon being torn apart with one half in the north and the other half in the south.

Well-known actor and comedian Griff Rhys Jones was the star of the scenes being filmed at the railway, and he described working there as "Jolly good fun", going on to say "I've worked at a number of preserved railways in England before, but this is the first time in Northern Ireland." Asked about his role in the film, Mr. Rhys Jones says, "I play a character called Major Stokes, who's waiting for his platoon to arrive from Belfast by train. During the scene Stokes has a heated argument with the Station Master while waiting for the train to arrive."

The Station Master, Donald Feeley, is played by John Keenan who is also a member of the Downpatrick Railway Society. "It was a splendid opportunity to play the Station Master. The station looked fantastic, and those of the cast and crew who hadn't been there before were very impressed by the railway" says Mr. Keenan.

Director Terence Ryan described the Downpatrick Railway Museum as "A brilliant location." He goes on to say, "It's the perfect period setting for us, the railway, and its condition as well. The carriages that we've been given to use are wonderful, it's as if they've just come out of the works today, they're just lovely. The people have been so helpful as well, they've bent over backwards to help us, they taken us up and down the line to show us different areas, and they've just been really, really helpful. But that has been the case throughout all Northern Ireland, everywhere we've gone everyone has been helpful to us, its been great.

Mr. Ryan explains how the railway was chosen as the location for this shoot,"Our location manager brought me here about two months ago, and at the same time we saw a second station, but this was the one that we felt gave us the right feeling for the film, it is wonderful and a great choice".

The film also stars renowned actors such as Elliot Gould, Richard Attenborough, and Sean Hughes. Author of the novel, Spike Milligan is also expected to appear in the film. The Downpatrick Railway Museum was the last location to be used for filming, as following completion of the shoot filming switched to the Paint Hall Studios in Belfast, the former Harland and Wolff ship-painting workshop in Queen's Island. The film is due for UK-wide release in late September 2001.

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