Galway documentary examines battle of the high seas

The David and Goliath battle endured by small fishermen along the west coast feature in the major new documentary from an award-winning Galway filmmaker which hit Irish cinemas this weekend.

From the maker of The Pipe, Risteard Ó Domhnaill’s new film Atlantic explores the battle between coastal communities and worldwide resource mismanagement eating up Ireland’s oceans.

And to illustrate that, he focuses on the traditional fishermen, as they face up against oil majors and the planet’s largest fishing companies

Filmed over three years, the Rossaveal native and his Galway-based team document how independent fishermen from Ireland, Norway and Newfoundland struggle to break through growing restrictions while large international trawlers go unchecked.

“I never planned on actually doing this documentary, though I did want to explore the bigger picture,” Risteard told the Connacht Tribune.

“As I discovered more and more that our resources are simply handed away to major companies, I decided to try and get some context by visiting communities in Canada and Norway. I was amazed by how similar the communities were and how, like fishermen here in Ireland, they were so badly treated by their government.”

Having won Best Irish Documentary at the Dublin International Film Festival earlier this year, the feature-length film is tipped to become a multi-award winning piece.

Risteard O Domhnaill with narrator Brendan Gleeson at the opening of Atlantic during the DublinFilm Festival.

Narrated by Emmy-winner Brendan Gleeson, coastal community members from Cork, Galway and Donegal tell of their struggles in some of the most remote and breathtaking locations by the North Atlantic.

Pádraig Campbell is a former rig-worker and national offshore committee of SIPTU from Barna who, having kicked up a fuss on the grounds of a lack transparency as to who owned resources, left to become a plumber in Galway city.

“Our rigs were hired by oil companies and what we had to say was a contradiction to what was happening,” he told the Connacht Tribune.

“When myself and other off-shore workers started advocating for fairer systems, it was then that major oil companies tried to squeeze us out. I think they saw us as a threat.”

Campbell adds that as a Union representative, he believes he was specifically targeted.

“A senior oil executive from a major oil company told me I’d never work anywhere again,” he said.

The advocate has since campaigned with political parties and believes that there is “huge potential” for greater conditions both for rig workers and fishermen in Ireland.

Martin Éinne, a fisherman hailing from Inis Mór, also features.

“I remember around two years ago, when myself and Martin were fishing for mackerel in the Porcupine Bank off the coast of Kerry,” said Risteard. “We were shocked by the number of super-trawlers we witnessed there.”

Jerry Early is a Donegal man fighting for his fishing rights to net wild salmon, as his dying island faces harsh competition from tycoon trawlers.

He feels that he should be an example to his sons on the basis of moral, rather than financial, grounds.

Risteard Ó Domhnaill said that his last documentary The Pipe, which focused on the clash between an Irish west coast community and the Corrib gas pipeline, left more questions rather than answers.

“Unfortunately, what I found when I looked across the Atlantic is that Ireland’s tale is not unique,” he commented.

“However, in both Norway and Newfoundland, the lessons learned by similarly affected communities can help us to chart a different course, before our most renewable resources are damaged beyond recognition, or sold to the highest bidders.”

Atlantic had initiated as an ambitious crowdfunding project, and is now backed by Bord Scannán na hÉireann, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation and Nordnorsk Filmsenter, the North Norwegian Film Centre.

“I hit a brick wall with funding initially, until well into filming,” he said. “As we went along, we got support from Canada and Norway and that’s when The Irish Film Board stepped in, and matched their offers.”

Risteard Ó Domhnaill now plans to enjoy the Irish scenery in which he filmed, with plans to take his two daughters camping in Aran Mór, Cork and Kerry this summer.

Brendan Gleeson felt it an honour to be involved in the documentary, stating that “Atlantic is an engrossing piece of truth-seeking, visually stunning and crafted with clarity and insight.”

Atlantic opened in Galway’s Eye Cinema on Friday and continues to May 5.