Connacht Tribune
Connemara the star of medieval western
A film about medieval Irish monks shot in the middle of a heatwave in Connemara and starring no less than two Marvel Comics superheroes is set for a global cinematic release.
Pilgrimage received its Irish premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh last week attended by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
It is already creating quite a buzz, with two national newspapers giving it four and five stars.
Producer Conor Barry describes it as “a medieval western road movie”
“It’s an exploration of what faith makes you do which is an interesting subject given the current situation with Isis. Ireland in the 13th century hasn’t really been represented before in dramatic history,” he explains.
The writer Jamie Hannigan developed the script after hearing about the legend of St Matthias. According to the Acts of the Apostles, Matthias was chosen by a cast of lots among disciples to replace Judas Iscariot following Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and his subsequent death.
There are many accounts about the death of Matthias. One of them states he was stoned at Jerusalem by the Jews and then beheaded. The stone used to kill him became a treasured relic, reputed to have fierce powers.
When the Pope decreed that this relic must be returned to Rome from Ireland, a group of monks set out on a perilous journey across an island torn apart by tribal warriors and Norman invaders.
“It’s quite original in terms of its take on this period. Its action driven but it also features the Irish language in 25% of the dialogue – it features French, Latin and English, so it’s very authentic.”
There is talk that it may well be a contender for best foreign language film when the annual Oscar awards come around.
The film made for just €4.7m has struck gold by having two actors playing the lead roles in block buster hero projects. Tom Holland is hitting global big screens as Spider-Man, while Jon Bernthal, who starred in Wolf of Wall Street and in The Walking Dead, takes the lead role in the first series on Netflix of The Punisher, also a Marvel Comics character.
“Our American partners were XYZ Films who have a very good record for tracking talent that will be big.
“They identified these actors as being on the up. They went on pursue the superhero projects after they had committed to Pilgrimage, which finished filming in May 2015. In fact, both Tom and Jon did some of their audition tapes while filming in Mayo and Galway.”
Holland plays the pious young novice who charts the journey while Bernthal is a mute lay-brother with a violent past. Directed by Brendan Muldowney, it also stars Richard Armitage, star of the Hobbit and Captain America, who plays a vicious Norman knight.
Holland, whose first big break was in the title role in Billy Elliot The Musical in London’s West End, took lessons in Irish with a language coach for the role and can now manage a smattering of sentences ‘as gaelige’. His grandmother hails from Tipperary Shot mainly in Leenane and Cong, the scenery was truly breathtaking, admits Conor.
“We only discovered after we got there that Leenane is the wettest place in Europe. Yet, when we were filming in April 2015 we probably had the best heat wave of all time, it was like Italy with these blue skies. We had to wait sometimes for the skies to get grey when we needed a bit of gloom,” he recalls.
“Richard Armitage tells the story of filming on a beach and seeing a storm out to sea about an hour and a half away. When it landed it pelted everyone with hailstones and rain and then just disappeared. If anything, it added to the magical atmosphere – it was epic.
“I can’t say enough good things about filming in Galway and Mayo. It was an amazing experience. The quality of the crew was phenomenal.”
Bernthal concurred in an interview in the Irish Times.
“We weren’t in a studio trying to create magical worlds. We were trekking into them. Where we were shooting was so beautiful, you’d think: this is the most beautiful place on Earth. Until the next location: nope, this is the most beautiful place in Earth.
“I’ve had the privilege to shoot in a lot of countries but no place and no people had an effect on me like Ireland. Everyone was kind. I’ve never met an Irishman I didn’t like.”
The film used a lot of local extras that the producer heartily declares as amazing.
“These guys were out there with big beards, long hair, wearing costumes in very physically challenging fights and in very tough conditions. They added a real authentic air to the film, they were phenomenal.”
Buoyed by the publicity of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Pilgrimage is getting a US theatrical release, a rarity for an Irish film.
It will not however be showing in Galway as it is only being released in arthouse cinemas. But it will be available on iTunes and on DVD from July 28.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
