Irish movie star Gabriel Byrne has revealed his ultimate wish is to remake the western classic The Magnificent Seven - with an all Irish cast.

The Irish actor was having a drink with fellow countryman Pierce Brosnan when he first mooted the idea of the Irish Magnificent Seven.

And he says that although the project hasn't managed to get off the ground yet, he'll keep fighting for it until the movie is made.

Three Ulster actors are among Byrne's wish-list for the remake of the 1960 western.

Ballymena's Liam Neeson and Belfast men Stephen Rea and Ciaran Hinds join Byrne, Brosnan, Colin Farrell and Cillian Murphy to make up the dream team.

Byrne, star of numerous movies including Leningrad, End of Days, Into The West and Stigmata, said: "I suppose I'll be Methuselah (Biblical character who lived until he was 969 years old) by the time it ever happens, we'll be like the seven ancient men of the west.

"The idea was to pay tribute to the Irishmen who had such an impact on the West and to give us all a chance to work together.

"I was saying to Pierce, 'just think of the poster: Liam Neeson, Pierce Brosnan, Steven Rea, Gabriel Byrne, Ciaran Hinds, Colin Farrell and Cillian Murphy - let's just use all those guys to make a western.

"None of us can ride horses except Pierce but we could get somebody to write the story and do it. It's an ongoing kind of thing where we sit and have a drink and we say 'yeah, it'll be a great thing to do' and then we don't see each other again for six months."

The original Magnificent Seven, directed by John Sturges, was basically a remake of the movie Seven Samurai.

It starred Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Horst Bucholz, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughan, Brad Dexter and James Coburn and was set in a Mexican farming village, terrorised by bandits.

The Seven are hired to come to the village and fight off the bandits, led by Eli Wallach. They set about training the villagers to fight and when the bandits return, they are run out of town.

However, following a fall-out with the village folk, the Seven are betrayed when the bandits return and take over.

In a final showdown, four of the Seven are killed. While Horst Bucholz' character Chico decides to give up life as a gunman, Chris (Byrnner) and Vin (Steve McQueen) ride off into the sunset.

The Magnificent Seven achieved cult status and inspired three sequels, Return of the Seven, Guns of the Magnificent Seven and The Magnificent Seven Ride, but none were as successful as the original.