The front runner for this year’s Best Actor Oscar, Colin Firth of The King’s Speech, fondly remembers his time in Ireland filming a small part in Circle of Friends, the film adaptation of Maeve Binchy’s best-selling book that starred Minnie Driver and Chris O’Donnell.

"I had a minor role in Circle of Friends, which was filmed in Kilkenny and directed by one of my closest friends, Pat O'Connor,” Firth told the Irish Independent during a promo chat for The King’s Speech, why by the way is the top grossing film in Ireland since the New Year.

"I only had a small part in the film, meaning there was no burden at all, so it was all a playground for me. I had a very young son with me, so it was a lovely countryside region to be in with a child.

“There were sessions every Monday night in Thomastown, and I don't want to sound like some overly romantic, Celtic Twilight-entranced Brit, but a session is a session, and it was fantastic. It was a ritual we all observed."

Firth had an opportunity to revisit his love of the Irish session when he was in Dublin at the Jameson International Film Festival in 2009 to promote his film Genova.