Premiere of Documentary on Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy

Donal Dineen interviewing a young box player on the streets of Milltown Malbay

Premiere of Documentary on Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy

With seasoned participant (as both a student and now a teacher) Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh as their guide, filmmaker Myles O’Reilly and broadcaster Donal Dineen brought their camera and recording equipment to last year’s Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy, seeking to capture something of the atmosphere of the school; the people, young and old, Irish and foreign, local and visiting; the learning, listening and playing in classes and concerts, at sessions and in the streets.

‘Our inspiration,’ says Dineen, ‘was a film Tony MacMahon made of the Fleadh in Listowel, County Kerry in ’73. It’s a very powerful piece of work and it struck both of us like lightning. It really captures the spirit of the place, the people and the time. There are glorious performances throughout and really critical interviews with some giants of the age. As a Kerryman myself I love the way MacMahon’s camera interacts with the many faces of the Fleadh. We see so many of them in his film. It’s a folk festival and the director introduces us to the people, the best a filmmaker can do. I think seeing it woke us both up to the importance of trying to highlight the virtues of something really vital that might be get missed and lost in time otherwise. If you can capture the essence of what something stands for at a particular time then it becomes a valuable document just like “Listowel 1973”. That’s what took us to Milltown Mallbay.’

In the Name of Willie Clancy receives its first public screening this Friday, 8 February, at The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon, starting at 10pm. Tickets are €7. 

The film is being packaged as part a double-bill event for a discounted ticket price, where the second part is a live dance performance. In Hereinafter, resident artist at The Dock, Kate Wilson, directs a story of motion and music made both purposefully and purposelessly in search of the fragile line on which our existence is balanced. This interdisciplinary project with members of her performance group and a trio of musicians led by resident composer Cathal Roche will examine the precarious nature of reason, understanding and communication in life and in action, taking inspiration from the work of Georg Cantor, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the performers’ experiences. Dance artists: Marketa Formanova, Marie de La Gueronniere, Kareen Pennefeather, Rowan Watson. Musicians: Cathal Roche (saxophones), Lauren Kinsella (voice), Colm O’Hara (trombone). Hereinafter starts at 8.30pm.

thedock.ie.

 

Published on 4 February 2013

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