This handsome romantic drama chronicling the lives of two 19th-century families - one Irish, the other English - and the American dynasties they began, was the collaborative work of daytime soap opera queen Agnes Nixon (creator of "All My Children") and British writer Rosemary Anne Sisson (creator of  "Upstairs, Downstairs"). The three-part, six-hour saga, the work of two directors and three photographers, served ultimately to introduce to American audiences Irish actor Pierce Brosnan, playing Rory O'Manion, who rises from immigrant to successful Philadelphia businessman and Union Army Captain during the American Civil War. Kate Mulgrew plays Rachel Clement, who captures the heart of and eventually marries Rory O'Manion. Filmed entirely in and around Dublin (which doubled for Philadelphia of the middle 1800s).
Source: Movies Made For Television: The Telefeature and the Mini-Series 1964-1986 by Alvin H. Marill