Irish Screenwriter Hugh Leonard originally wrote the part of Miss Katherine O'Hare especially for Maureen O'Sullivan, but she gracefully reneged because of her advanced age and dwindling stamina. Her daughter Mia Farrow ultimately took over the role.
Dame Joan Plowright once described her character in this movie, Mrs. Doyle-Counihan, as a sort of Irish Lady Bracknell, whom she played in The Importance of Being Earnest (1986).
Mia Farrow said that when she went to Ireland to shoot this movie, it felt like she was coming home.
In 1994, Natasha Richardson won the Best Actress Award for her role as Mrs. Edwina Broome in this movie at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic.
In 1995, this movie won the Best Film - Feature Film Award at the Austin Film Festival in Texas.