Gael force: Irish-language films are having a moment... here's why
Irish-language films and drama shows include An Cailín Ciúin, Róise & Frank, and The Queen v Patrick O’Donnell.
At the 2022 IFTA Awards, one film stood out over high-profile movies like Belfast as it virtually swept the boards. An Cailín Ciúin, the story of a young girl’s memorable summer in 1980s Ireland, took an impressive eight awards including Best Film and Best Actress for its 12-year-old lead, Catherine Clinch.
Just hours earlier, the forthcoming Róise & Frank had beguiled audiences at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in the US, where it took the prestigious Audience Award. Another Irish-language feature, Foscadh, opened in cinemas this week to strong reviews, as the equally praised documentary The Queen vs Patrick O’Donnell makes its debut on TG4.
Following the recent success of Arracht and Song of Granite, it’s clear that Irish-language cinema is having a moment.
In a world where South Korea’s Parasite takes the Best Picture at the Oscars and France’s Call My Agent has a global fanbase, it feels like the possibilities for our storytellers as Gaeilge are endless.
“It feels like a watershed moment that we're experiencing here,” said An Cailín Ciúin’s producer, Cleona Ní Chrualaoi. “I'm an Irish speaker and my mum is a native speaker from Donegal. There was always Irish around me, so I'm just delighted that the language is now traveling and people will watch films in our native language.
“I do remember watching Arracht for the very first time and that real feeling of a deep sense of national pride at watching an Irish language film on the big screen.”
Modern audiences binge-watch stories from all over the world on streamers - watching subtitled movies and TV shows no longer feels like a daunting or even unusual prospect. Storytelling in other languages now routinely travels the globe and although Irish-language tales are beginning from a low base, the sheer quality and variety of what is coming through shows filmmakers are poised and ready to reap growing demand.
“With the likes of Squid Game, or the German series Dark on Netflix, it's almost like language has become invisible in a sense,” says Ní Chrualaoi. “If we can watch films from Scandinavia, or Germany or Japan, why can't we watch films and series in the Irish language? You could see how well Arracht did here. There is a market for Irish language films, and they can hold their own and they can travel.”
From George Morrison’s Mise Éire, to the work of Gael Linn, to Bob Quinn’s Poitín and Tom Collins’ Kings, filmmakers have told stories in Irish for generations. But the new wave of Irish cinema feels like a game-changer and many credit a recent funding initiative with encouraging filmmakers to tell stories as Gaeilge.
Set up in 2017, Cine4 is a partnership established by TG4, Screen Ireland and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to develop original feature films in the Irish language. It guarantees to provide funding for two feature films annually and also supports movies at the development stage - Foscadh, An Cailín Ciúin and Arracht are among those supported by the scheme.
“It was the Cine4 scheme that has really been the driver of all this success in Irish language films,” agrees Ní Chrualaoi. “There was a lot of investment in Irish language short films, but not really in feature films. So it’s really in its infancy.”
One of the emerging stars of this new wave is Co Galway actor Dónall Ó Héalai, who was terrific in the lead role in Arracht. He’s currently starring in the widely praised Foscadh. Shot in Cornamona, Co Galway it tells the story of John, a sheltered young man who has to reassess his life following the deaths of his parents.
As both an actor and a native Irish speaker, he feels heartened at being a part of the new wave. “I was very fortunate to work on two films that had incredible teams behind them. It was really a joy to be a part of and I just feel very lucky to be a small cog in what's a much bigger wheel. It’s just lovely to see them being kind of embraced in the way they are, these Irish language films, and I'd like to think that embrace is happening because of the quality of the films themselves. I think it allows people to engage with the language in a way that may be lighter. It’s a new relationship.”
As well as funding, Ó Healaí feels the success is also down to the fact that international hits like Squid Game, Call My Agent and German series Dark have normalised the subtitled viewing experience.
In a world where Star Wars films on Skellig, Patrick Dempsey and Amy Adams spend the summer here filming Disenchanted, and homegrown hits like Normal People and Wolfwalkers travel the world, it must also be the case that a rising tide lifts all boats.
“One hundred per-cent,” agrees Ó Healaí. “Maybe we're in a position now where, because of all the productions that have come through Ireland in the last 20 years, and how much more domestic productions are being made as well, that we're just in a place where we can we can throw our hands to any story in any language and do that at a level that hopefully, and I think in terms of crews for sure, is world-class.”
- Seán Breathnach’s unusual and powerful coming-of-age tale centres on a man who reassesses his life following the death of his parents. John Conliffe (Dónall Ó Héalai) is the only child of farmers and has relied upon them for everything. His cosseted life so far - he can’t even cook for himself - means the 26 year old is about to experience a rude awakening. A family friend advises him “it’s time to stop living like a ghost” as John navigates life, including his growing affections for a local nurse, and a pushy developer keen to buy his land. It’s now in cinemas.
- This new docudrama - which premieres on TG4 and TG4 Player from March 16 - recalls the story of one of the most compelling murder plots in Irish history. Tomás Seoige’s blend of courtroom drama and political thriller tells the story of the man who shot a notorious informer. It reveals new information about the quiet-spoken Donegal man who killed informer James Carey on board a ship off the coast of South Africa in 1883.
- Tom Sullivan’s powerful drama is set as the Famine looms and following a successful international run, is now available to rent on several streaming platforms. It tells the story of Colmán (Dónall Ó Héalai), a fisherman forced into exile following a night of shocking violence. But hope comes in the form of a young girl who needs his protection. The film has been optioned for a US remake by the producer of The Hurt Locker.
- This forthcoming drama was the big winner at the Irish Film and Television Awards, picking up eight nods including Best Film and Best Actress for its 12-year-old star, Catherine Clinch. Set over the course of one summer in 1980s rural Ireland, it tells the story of Cáit, a young girl from a dysfunctional family, who is set to live with foster parents over the course of one memorable summer. Colm Bairéad’s coming-of-age drama explores the meaning of family and is based on Claire Keegan’s short story.
- This drama from Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy was an audience hit at Dublin International Film Festival ahead of its forthcoming cinema release. Set in an Irish seaside town, it tells the story of Róise, who’s struggling with bereavement following the death of her husband. But when a loveable mutt comes into her life and starts to follow her every move, she begins to feel comforted by the stray. Rejuvenated, she begins to wonder if the dog could be her reincarnated husband returning to keep her company.
