144. Quintessentially Irish; movie review

 

QUINTESSENTIALLY IRISH

Cert TBA

119 mins

BBFC advice: TBA

How apt. I watched Quintessentially Irish on a ferry to Dublin en route to play a golf competition in Donegal.

Frank Mannion's film served as a perfect introduction to the warm Irish welcome, the lively craic of our few days on the Emerald Isle, and even the unique Irish goodbye that we experienced firsthand.

As his documentary emphasises, many stereotypes have beset Ireland over many generations.

Among them is the fondness for "the drink", especially Guinness and Jameson's, which we imbibed generously during our few days.

But while this is an entertaining couple of hours, some of these still need to be completely dispelled.

Mannion interviews and includes clips of famous and not-so-famous Irish men and women who search to explain what is unique about their country and its citizens.

Interestingly, many have left to earn their fortune, including former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, who left when he was 11.

Despite being an American citizen, he has a deep fondness for the country of his birth and also gives a quick lesson in Gaelic pronunciation.

Alongside his words come pithy contributions from Irish President Michael D. Higgins, who has been a strong advocate for Irish culture, Prince Albert of Monaco, who has Irish ancestry, and modern-day Irish saint Bob Geldof.

There are also layers of history and culture that provide an illuminating picture.

It was an enlightening preliminary to our few days in Donegal.

Reasons to watch: Enlightening

Reasons to avoid: Irish people may know it all already

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? In 1922, the newly independent state of Ireland was composed of the southern 26 of Ireland's 32 counties. In the following 26 years, they would have three different names - The Irish Free State, Eire and The Republic of Ireland 

The final word.  Frank Mannion: ""Quintessentially Irish reflects the modern reality that Ireland is much more than cliched representations of leprechauns; the country has a renewed national self-confidence that is reflected in the thrilling mix of a new generation of artists and novelists; the inward investment brought in by the filming of Game of Thrones, Normal People, Banshees of Inisherin and Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the huge revenues pumped into the Irish economy by tech companies like Apple and Google." 

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