This film screened 17th May 2018.

This screening will be introduced by director Bob Quinn.

Continuing our 2018 focus on Irish language productions, Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoire, Bob Quinn’s first Irish language feature, uses the story of the 18th century Irish rebel Art O’Leary to examine questions of national identity, Irish culture and the nature of history itself.

A group of unruly players refuse the orders of their British director (John Arden) as he orchestrates a dramatic retelling of the life of Irish rebel Art O’Leary (Seán Bán Breathnach). The film skilfully interweaves the twin
narratives of the actors’ rebellion with the O’Leary story to create a potent political statement within a subversive
drama that was quite unprecedented in Irish cinema at the time.

Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn