Risteard Ó Domhnaill follows up his Corrib gas documentary with a remarkable new film about the political, economic and environmental threats to the Atlantic Ocean
‘It’s a story that hasn’t really been told. People don’t understand it.”
Still from Atlantic: Jerry Early, an Arranmore salmon fisherman whose livelihood was destroyed by a change in the law
Risteard Ó Domhnaill, a filmmaker born and raised on the landlocked fields of Co Tipperary, is the first to admit that, for the average landlubber, it can be hard to picture the life of the sea, to get a sense of how the people who work it live their lives.
Ireland’s waters cover an area 10 times the size of our landmass and contain some of the richest fishing in Europe, but Ó Domhnaill contends that we continually “turn our back” on that valuable resource.
Jamie Goldrick caught up with Risteard O Domhnaill to talk about his new film Atlantic He explains how the roots of this project started in Rossport while filming The Pipe, his experience with crowdfunding, and the struggles of finding broadcasters for politically sensitive issues.
To finance the film, you raised a substantial amount of cash through crowdfunding, would you be in a hurry to go this route again, do you see it as a sustainable way to make films?
It is very difficult, there is a lot of time involved, and we did very well. We put a good six weeks work into it, plus preparation. For the amount we wanted to raise, the best thing to do is to go get broadcast or film fund funding.
We raised €56,000 in total. I would go back to crowdfunding, but for smaller projects. For a lot of projects that have a political or investigative slant, the options are being squeezed more and more each year. There is less and less facilitation for telling contentious stories.
‘Reclaim the Vision of 1916’, an independent, non-party political, non-profit making citizens’ initiative was established to ensure that the centenary of the Easter Rising is commemorated and celebrated in an appropriate and relevant manner. We believe that it is only right and proper, at this historic time, for the bravery and sacrifice of the men and women who fought in 1916 to be marked with dignity and respect, but in addition, convinced that it would be a disservice to their memory if we failed to recognise why they did what they did in the first place! These people were not merely rebels – they were visionaries! What they desired was not simply a green flag over Dublin Castle and a harp on the coinage, they were calling for revolution, a complete transformation of Irish society, and the blueprint for that vision was set out in the Proclamation which declared a proper republic in which the common good would be the guiding principle of government. This republic guaranteed civil and religious liberties and equal rights and opportunities to all citizens, men and women alike. Sadly, however the vision of 1916 has never been fully realised and the Irish people have been forced to bear the consequences of political, social, economic and cultural failure.
Irish director Richie O’Donnell tells Siobhán Cronin why his earlier film on the Corrib gasfield led him to document the struggles of Irish fishermen in his fascinating new movie.
CASTLETOWNBERE features in a new Irish movie which examines the threat to our fishing industry and the battle for our natural resources.
Atlantic, a movie by award-winning director Richie O’Donnell, has already won the Best Irish Documentary at the recent Dublin International Film Festival.
Richie has form in documenting the struggles of coastal communities – having directed the much-respected film on the Corrib Gas controversy in Mayo, The Pipe.
A gas flaring event is the burning off of flammable gas released by pressure relief valves as a protection and safety measure during unplanned over-pressuring of plant equipment.
The attached authentic Shell document lists over 260 gas flaring events that have already taken place at the new Bellanaboy Bridge Gas Terminal.
It is noticeable that the unplanned events appear to be increasing, rather than declining e.g. 58 gas flaring events were recorded in just 9 days in January 2016.
Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe’s first contact with a TD came about because he saw Clare Daly TD on ‘Tonight with Vincent Browne’ talking about policing of Corrib Gas protests, writes William Hederman
The repercussions for Garda whistleblowers Maurice McCabe and John Wilson will be familiar to others who have publicly embarrassed An Garda Síochána. They were clearly acting in the public interest, but their revelations brought the force into disrepute, and the two men suffered as a result. Revenge was exacted – not only by colleagues, but also by way of public denunciation by the Garda Commissioner (“disgusting”), the Minister for Justice (“not co-operating”) and by various other parties loyal to the force.