The American revolution was built in Kildare: The filming locations of Drummer Boy

Almost the entire film was shot at Harristown House – the historic Georgian country house near the village of Brannockstown in County Kildare, set in its own private estate of farmyards, outbuildings and woodland.

Harristown House itself serves as Balfour Manor in the film – the home of Lord Balfour, played by Charles Esten. The estate’s completely private, unaltered 18th-century farmyards, vaulted basements and atmospheric underground tunnel connecting to the old stables give the production its colonial American architectural world. Another house on the estate was transformed into one of the film’s primary homes. An entire 1776-era American town centre was built around the farmyard on the same estate. The production team used traditional-style Irish cottages and custom-built sets to depict the era of the American Revolutionary War – and deliberately set one cottage on fire for a dramatic sequence in the film.

Melora Hardin – who plays Rachel Clem – captured the production’s approach in an interview: “It was so cool to have a little contained area. The only time we really travelled was when we filmed on the ship.”

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One location outside the Harristown estate is St Patrick’s Church of Ireland in Carnalway – approximately five kilometres from Harristown House, in the same Brannockstown area of County Kildare. Close enough to the main production base to be practical, different enough architecturally to serve its own purpose in the story.

The ship they used for filming was sailed from France to Ireland specifically for the production – it arrived at Wicklow Harbour in June 2026. The exterior of the vessel was used for filming on the water. The below-deck interior, however, was not filmed on the ship itself – it was built as a set on the grounds of Harristown House, keeping almost the entire production within the Kildare estate.

Drummer Boy is in US cinemas from November 6, 2026.