Been having some trouble finding a local theater showing "Jimmy's Hall"? The inspiring Irish biopic has completed its United States rollout, alas, and pending the occasional festival…

The real Jimmy Gralton in 1944

By Donal Ó Drisceoil

Jimmy Gralton returned to Leitrim from New York in June 1921, just as the Anglo-Irish war was coming to a close. That conflict between…

In 2006, British director, Ken Loach won the Cannes Film Festival’s prestigious Palme d’Or award with his portrayal of the 1919-23 Irish War of Independence and Civil War in “The Wind That Shakes the Barley”. There is a scene in that film where a wealthy landowner who is about to…

See "Jimmy's Hall" and Win an Official Poster …

In the following three-part series, Sixteen Films' screenwriter Paul Laverty writes about the genesis of "Jimmy's Hall." His observations were first published in Sixteen Films' Production Notes, and are reproduced here with permission. Production Photos see here are by …

My Irish backpacking, no-low budget, roving reporter tour as it stands now:

- Arrive Dublin from Bristol Sept 1

- Taking bus or train to Carrick-On-Shannon, County Leitrim.

- Meeting WG admin Anna Porter (she followed my google streetview lead and found the ruins of PJ Clarke's actual homestead for OUR FROM IRELAND TO MANHATTAN VIDEO on the Irish immigrant turned Manhattan pub owner) and Eileen…

Sixteen Films screenwriter Paul Laverty (pictured at left) has called out CIA chief John Brennan, seeking an apology from him "for all the misery and murder that the institution has caused around the world." The former human rights lawyer was speaking in Effernagh, County Leitrim, at an August 16 commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Irish government's expulsion of…

When Gerry Regan, executive producer of TheWildGeese.com, heard that I was preparing for my journey through England and Ireland, he asked if I could make my way to Leitrim and the film set of 'Jimmy's Hall' and report on the experience.…

As I watched Ken Loach's newest film, “Jimmy’s Hall,” I was struck by how, as had also been true in “The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” Paul Laverty’s writing and Loach’s directing of that writing is free of pretension.

Loach (pictured, foreground) doesn’t need fantastic sound tracks or the latest and greatest special…

Jimmy's Hall screenwriter, and former human rights lawyer Paul Laverty is certainly no stranger to controversy -- you only have to look at the comments on…

The following Q&A with Dublin-born actor Barry Ward (Jimmy Gralton in Sixteen Films' biopic "Jimmy's Hall") is part of the studio's Production Notes for the film, shot in the story's actual locales in County Leitrim. The notes, assembled for the produceers by Benji Wilson, were presented to the…

It's almost like looking in the mirror.

High unemployment, mass emigration of the young and problems affecting health and education services are as current today as they were in the first decade of Irish independence, the period that informs the narrative of Ken Loach's newest film, "Jimmy's…

British filmmaker Ken Loach is turning his practiced muse and penetrating focus once again toward Ireland with a new film exploring the disabilities inflicted on Ireland's working classes, this time in the aftermath of Irish independence.

According to a report this week in…

Suppose you could go to the movie theater and see a film about working people, struggling against great odds to enrich the quality of their lives. And suppose that instead of relying on a great individual leader, they made their own decisions and fought their own battles.

In the following three-part series, Sixteen Films' screenwriter Paul Laverty writes about the genesis of "Jimmy's Hall." His observations were first published in Sixteen Films' Production Notes, and are reproduced here with permission. Production Photos see here are by Joss…

The following Q&A with Sixteen Films Director Ken Loach, in two parts, is part of Sixteen Films' Production Notes for its biopic "Jimmy's Hall." The notes, assembled for the produceers by Benji Wilson, were presented to the entertainment industry trade and news media. We are delighted to share these…

In the following three-part series, Sixteen Films' screenwriter Paul Laverty writes about the genesis of "Jimmy's Hall." His observations were first published in Sixteen Films' Production Notes, and are reproduced here with permission. Production Photos see here are by …

This is Part 2 of 2 of a Q&A with Sixteen Films Director Ken Loach, part of Sixteen Films' Production Notes for its biopic "Jimmy's Hall." The notes, assembled for the produceers by Benji Wilson, were presented to the entertainment industry trade and news media. We are delighted to share these perspectives…