CLONAKILTY is starring in a new Road Safety Authority (RSA) campaign highlighting the benefits of 30km/h speed limits in urban areas.
The ad went live on YouTube last week and is now on TV screens across the country, featuring several well-known locals as extras.
Shot over two days in June in glorious weather, there has been a great reaction to how Clonakilty looks in the ad. Diarmaid Cregan, co-chair of Clonakilty Tidy Towns, who features in the ad, told The Southern Star that about 40 locals were employed as extras.
‘It was a great experience for us all and I took part in one day of filming and I’m seen in several shots. An appeal had gone out to recruit extras and a lot of us in the Tidy Towns applied,’ said Diarmaid.
‘The weather was fantastic but we had to wear warm clothes as the ad wasn’t coming out until the winter! Clonakilty really does look well in it.’
Diarmaid and his co-stars, including local woman Noreen Minihan, were paid for their starring roles, and Clonakilty Tidy Towns was presented with €1,000 from the producers.
There are three versions of the ad – one is in Irish, one is 30 seconds, while the third version is 90 seconds long.
‘They closed off the streets for a period and everyone enjoyed being a part of this campaign,’ said Diarmaid.
The ad features the Ewan McColl song Dirty Old Town but the lyrics are changed to ‘30K town’.
And in a strange twist, the ad was released on YouTube on the same day that Shane MacGowan died – Shane had made the song famous when he was with The Pogues.
