The story was originally a play that work-shopped for a year in New York City with various actors at Manhattan Theater Club
Earlier edits of the film had played to film festivals in late 2019 and early 2020 but the filmmakers didn't not complete the final edit, coloring, and soundtrack until January 2021.
The mayor of Kilnerry (fiction town) and the mayor of Portsmouth (filming location) both own pubs.
There were many parallels to the story and the actual town of Portsmouth the were not discovered until filming began. The Mayor of Portsmouth is also a pub owner, like Jerry Boylan. Many decades prior, a priest used to ride around town on a bicycle like Father O'Dell. The shop owner of Tulips is as animated, corky, and energetic as Nessa Ward, where her shop was filmed. And there was a bit of controversy about water contamination.