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The Role of Irish-Language Film in Irish National Cinema Heather Finding a Voice: The Role of Irish-Language Film in Irish National Cinema Heather Macdougall A Thesis in the PhD Humanities Program Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada August 2012 © Heather Macdougall, 2012 ABSTRACT Finding a Voice: The Role of Irish-Language Film in Irish National Cinema Heather Macdougall, Ph.D. Concordia University, 2012 This dissertation investigates the history of film production in the minority language of Irish Gaelic. The objective is to determine what this history reveals about the changing roles of both the national language and national cinema in Ireland. The study of Irish- language film provides an illustrative and significant example of the participation of a minority perspective within a small national cinema. It is also illustrates the potential role of cinema in language maintenance and revitalization. Research is focused on policies and practices of filmmaking, with additional consideration given to film distribution, exhibition, and reception. Furthermore, films are analysed based on the strategies used by filmmakers to integrate the traditional Irish language with the modern medium of film, as well as their motivations for doing so. Research methods included archival work, textual analysis, personal interviews, and review of scholarly, popular, and trade publications. Case studies are offered on three movements in Irish-language film. First, the Irish- language organization Gael Linn produced documentaries in the 1950s and 1960s that promoted a strongly nationalist version of Irish history while also exacerbating the view of Irish as a “private discourse” of nationalism. Second, independent filmmaker Bob Quinn operated in the Irish-speaking area of Connemara in the 1970s; his fiction films from that era situated the regional affiliations of the language within the national context. Finally, films iii made since the 1990s benefited from generous public subsidies from TG4 (the Irish-language television station) and the Irish Film Board; this funding attracted a large cross-section of filmmakers whose diverse linguistic identities are reflected in the texts of the films themselves. Although historically there have been successful examples of independently produced Irish-language films, current production is dependent on public funding, and the future of Irish-language cinema appears to be very closely linked to policy decisions of both film and language agencies. iv Acknowledgements I was extremely fortunate to receive financial support from a number of sources over the course of my doctoral degree, including fellowships from the Fonds québecois de recherche sur la société et la culture and Concordia University, as well as several scholarships from the School of Canadian Irish Studies. A substantial portion of my research was carried out in Ireland, and I am indebted to the Ireland Canada University Foundation for awarding me a generous travel scholarship that made my research visit in the summer of 2009 possible. There are a number of people I would like to thank who helped me while I was there: Seán Crosson and Rod Stoneman acted as my advisors while I was researching at the National University of Ireland, Galway; Rebecca Grant and Karen Wall provided invaluable assistance at the Irish Film Institute’s library and film archive, respectively; and Fran Keveaney of the Irish Film Board, Clare Creeley of Filmbase, and Pádhraig Ó Ciardha of TG4 spoke with me candidly about the short film projects of their various organizations. I would also like to extend a special thank you to Áine Walsh and Brendan Hehir of Northern Ireland Screen, for extending perhaps the warmest welcome of all, even inviting me to spend a (very exciting!) day on the Belfast set of the Irish-language college drama Seacht; I truly regret that much of what we discussed – about the particular status of both language and film in the North – did not make it in to the final version of this dissertation. I would also like to thank the filmmakers whom I interviewed during this trip and at other times: Melanie Clark Pullen, Anne Crilly, Kester Dyer, Edwina Forkin, Cecilia McAllister, and Hugh Travers. v Many other people helped me in less formal ways as I wrote various drafts. Mona Tajali was an invaluable writing buddy, and without our self-imposed fortnightly deadlines I think we both would have taken years longer to finish. I am also extremely grateful to the following people who offered feedback, proofreading, or thought- provoking discussions as I worked my way through: Clíona de Brí, Lynn Doyle, Antoine Guillemette, Shauna Kelpie, Ruth Lysaght, Jason McDevitt, Aoife Ní Churraoin, Bailey Seybolt, and Jerry White. I reserve special gratitude for the following four who displayed true love (or in Kate’s case, true friendship and solidarity) by reading this dissertation in its entirety, despite having no particular interest in Irish language or film: Kathryn Fitzpatrick, Lois Hardy, Don Macdougall, and Jeremy Taylor. I feel extremely lucky to have found such a supportive and stimulating environment at Concordia over the past five years. Sharon Fitch at the Humanities office was always a friendly guide through the most labyrinthine administrative processes, and Matina Skalkogiannis made the School of Canadian Irish Studies feel like a second home. Finally, I have been very fortunate to work with advisors who not only helped me through the various stages of my degree leading to this complete dissertation, but have also provided me with so many other opportunities for presenting at conferences, publishing, and teaching. Thank you, Michael Kenneally and Annette Teffeteller, and my deepest and most sincere gratitude goes to my principal supervisor, Haidee Wasson, who has not only challenged me to constantly improve the way I learn and think and write, but has also been the most inspiring role model I can imagine for both my personal and professional development. Thank you. vi Table of Contents Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 PART I: HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL CONTEXTS Chapter 1: Ireland and national cinema ............................................................................ 17 Concepts of cinema and nation......................................................................................18 Irish cinema....................................................................................................................41 Chapter 2: Language, nation and cinema...........................................................................67 Language and cinema ....................................................................................................68 Language and nation......................................................................................................79 The Irish language .........................................................................................................94 PART II: CASE STUDIES Chapter 3: Gael Linn’s documentary film projects .........................................................107 Mise Éire (1959) ..........................................................................................................121 Saoirse? (1961)............................................................................................................134 Chapter 4: Bob Quinn and Cinegael ................................................................................147 Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoire (The Lament for Art O’Leary) (1975) ...............................163 Poitín (1978)................................................................................................................172 Chapter 5: Irish-language film in the era of TG4 and the IFB ........................................193 Irish-language television..............................................................................................197 Shorts films as Gaeilge................................................................................................215 Chapter 6: The language in context – Bilingual films .....................................................247 Language in context: Short films.................................................................................249 Kings (2007) ................................................................................................................266 Conclusions: The past, present, and future of Irish-Language cinema............................279 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................289 Filmography.....................................................................................................................299 Interviews.........................................................................................................................301 Introduction “Tá rudaí ann nár cheart go dhéanadh fear dearmad orthu go deo. A thír, a theanga, agus a chairde. (Some things a man shouldn’t forget. His country, his language, and his friends.)” – Jap to Joe in Kings (Tom Collins 2007) Irish national cinema, like Irish national culture more generally, has two linguistic traditions on which it may draw. First, and most obviously, there is the dominant language of English, spoken by virtually all of the island’s six million inhabitants.1 There is also, however, the traditional
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