THE EMERALD ISLE

Céad Mile Fáilte!

A beautiful island. Here’s to the Ring of Kerry, the Cliffs of Moher (above), the 12 Pins in Connemara, Funghi the dolphin at Dingle and the miniscule bearded man in green velvet smoking a pipe on the fence at Cleggan in Connemara who doffed his hat to me with a twinkle in his eye and then was gone. Ah ha, but i took his photo just in time! And so, i’ve cruelly retained a certain power with the little folk, but rest assured, having come to know their charming ways, i’ve desisted from reproducing it for public astonishment.

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My favourites on the subject:

Oh, Mr Porter!
The Quiet Man
Barry Lyndon
The Dead
The Secret of Roan Inish
The General
The Magdalene Sisters
The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Hunger

CINEMA OF IRELAND

This list is of notable Irish-set films by both native and non-Irish directors

Not on this site:

The Lad from Old Ireland
Flight of the Dove
Midnight Dance

The Quiet Man , the popular romance in lovely Connemara surroundings, albeit with morre than a hint of the Oirish blarney and foitin spirit.

With its Irish subject matter i’m including the Belgian/co-production animation The Secret of Kells, and the Japanese animation Kigeki/Comedy

In Bruges involves Irish protagonists but i’m unsure whether it fits here

and some filmed in Ireland, though set elsewhere:

Excalibur
Henry V (Olivier)
Braveheart
Saving Private Ryan

Juanita Wilson is a promising director, whose short The Door was filmed in Ukraine, while her feature As If I’m Not There is set in the former Yugoslavia.

The Secret of Roan Inish

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My lists on neighbouring Celtic countries: Bonnie Scotland and The Welsh Connection.

Suggestions welcome.