Screen Representations of Irish Rebellion

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

From the Easter Rising of 1916, through the War of Independence 1919-1921, to the end of the Irish Civil War in 1923, Ireland was convulsed by a series of bloody events with a continuing political, literary and broad cultural legacy almost one hundred years later. This course will look at portrayals of the events of the period in film and television, in documentary and drama forms in Ireland and across the world, from early news-reels to blockbuster features and from early Hollywood to a planned documentary series for the 21st century. Contested events refracted through differing lenses offer varying insights into ideology and entertainment, propaganda and craft, relativism and revisionism, history and hokum. The course will be conducted by Cathal Goan, former Director General of RTÉ, the Irish National Public Broadcaster, who is currently acting as Executive Producer in the development of the Notre Dame sponsored television documentary series 1916 - The Irish Rising. Feature Films, TV Drama and Documentaries to be discussed include 1926 - Irish Destiny 1929 - The Informer (from the novel by Liam O'Flaherty) 1930 - Juno and the Paycock (dir. Alfred Hitchcock) 1935 - Guests of the Nation (dir. Denis Johnston) 1937 - The Plough and the Stars (dir. John Ford) 1959 - Mise Éire (dir. George Morrison) 1965 - The Young Cassidy (dir. John Ford & Jack Cardiff) 1966 - Insurrection (dir. Louis Lentin) RTÉ 1993 - The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ABC TV 1996 - Michael Collins (dir. Neil Jordan) 2001 - Rebel Heart (writer Ronan Bennett) RTÉ/BBC Co-production 2010 - Seachtar na Cásca [The Easter Seven] TG4