WHETHER IT be Robert Flaherty’s Man Of Aran or that legendary Guinness advert from the late 1970s, the Aran Islands have held a fascination for film-makers.
Films of the Aran Islands, including one never seen before, will be screened in the Town Hall Theatre on Wednesday June 29 and Thursday 30 at 8pm as part of The Irish Film Institute film programme, Journey to Aran.
The main film will be Aran of the Saints (1932 ), which will be receiving its first public screening on this tour.
Filmed by the Catholic Film Society of London on Inis Mór and Inis Oírr, the film presents the islands' inhabitants in many of their day-to-day activities: school going, church attending, fishing, farming, weaving, and playing.
The silent documentary will be accompanied by a new musical score performed by Aran Islands musicians - MacDara Ó Chonaola (vocals ), Caitríona Ní Almhain (harp ), Mícheál Ó hAlmhain (multi-instrumentalist ), Deirdre Ni Chonghaile (fiddle player ).
Also being screened are An tOileanach a dFhill (1970 ), a fictional account by director Jim Mulkerns of the experience of an Irish labourer who returns to Aran after working in London; and short newsreels and documentaries including A Glimpse Into The Heart of Eireann (1929 ) and Radharc: Inisheer (1970 ).
Tickets are available from the Town Hall on 091 - 569777 and www.tht.ie
