THE world's most famous filmmaker, Steven Spielberg, spent several months on location in Ireland a decade ago shooting his acclaimed war epic Saving Private Ryan, but thoughts of the Emerald Isle have stayed with him if his latest real estate transaction is anything to go by.

Spielberg recently purchased another exclusive tract of land in the tony Georgica Pond section of the Hamptons, and concluded the deal by using the holding name of "County Wexford."

The transaction for the three-acre parcel cost in the region of $20 million, and it's doubtful that land in Wexford would come close to costing such an astronomical amount, though Spielberg is on the record as being captivated by the beaches in the county, particularly Curracloe beach, where he filmed the opening scenes included in Ryan.

At the time he expressed an interest in returning to Ireland to film a project based on the Irish rebellion of 1798, but to date that hasn't happened. Maybe that will soon change.