R

ROLLING into town for the weekend, Top Gear presenters Chris Evans and Matt Le Blanc and their crew proved a huge hit with the people of Killarney and Kerry – and the county in turn won the duo’s hearts.
The enjoyed pints of Guinness, met GAA players and crashed a hen party as well as zooming along the Wild Atlantic Way in eye-catching Rolls-Royce cars.
The popular BBC show’s crew selected picturesque Kerry to pit a classic Rolls Royce Corniche against the modern Rolls Royce Dawn and they certainly weren’t disappointed, with the spectacular sunshine mirroring the bright smiles of welcome on the faces of the locals they met.
The motoring show has a global viewership of 350 million and the shoot will be an invaluable showcase for Kerry and the Wild Atlantic Way, according to tourism experts. “The publicity value of a production like Top Gear is incalculable – it is a superb way of highlighting Kerry and the Wild Atlantic Way to millions of people across Britain, inspiring them to put Ireland on their holiday ‘wish list’ for 2016,” said Vanessa Markey, Tourism Ireland’s head of Britain.
Friends star Matt LeBlanc revealed he even enjoyed his first Guinness while in Kerry while Chris Evans praised the landscape: "We had the Rolls Royce Dawn and one of the most beautiful backdrops in the world, so that's why we came." He also tweeted that one of the routes he covered was the best road he ever had driven on.
The Top Gear crew visited Ladies View, Killarney town, Kenmare, Gallarus GAA pitch and Dingle town. Chris Evans posted photographs of the road trip on his Twitter account, accompanying them with such delighted comments as: "Another gem from Ireland Top Gear shoot. Already missing the magic" and "Best road I've ever driven on. Had no idea it existed. A great great day."
 

 
Matt LeBlanc and Chris Evans pictured in Killarney. PICTURE: GUS GREGORY, BBC