Conference tallis::celt

454.0. "Ireland: On the Road to God Knows Where" by AYOV12::ASCOTT (Alan Scott, FMIC, Ayr, Scotland) Mon Oct 24 1988 09:05

                                                   
    Cross-posted note on a bleak, but interesting, TV series
    started on British Channel 4.   Made by some independent
    production company, don't know who they were - the
    programmes may turn up in the US at some point. 
    
    
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Note 69.0           Ireland:  On the Road to God Knows Where          No replies
AYOV12::ASCOTT "Alan Scott, FMIC, Ayr, Scotland"     47 lines  24-OCT-1988 12:55
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    "Ireland:  On The Road to God Knows Where...", last Friday,
    C4.   First of a series on Ireland, looked at young people,
    emigration, and pop music.   As an outsider, I thought it
    gave a balanced coverage, bleak and depressing for the most
    part.   One image that stuck in my head was the sharp young
    presenter singing a pastische of "Danny Boy" as a "tribute"
    to the "tradition" of John McCormack etc, while a gang of
    small kids rolled a car body-shell over and over, in the
    background, on a piece of waste-ground in some urban housing
    estate... (Ballymunn, Dublin?, was mentioned in other
    pieces).   The crash of the falling car was a kind of
    counterpoint. 

    The editing and captions were striking, too - "Belfast's a
    cracker", stated baldly on a plain grey screen, before
    moving to images of the motorway, the security scenes in the
    streets, the nightlife which is also an (apparently
    attractive) part of kids' lives. 
    
    There were a lot of road and street scenes - a bland wide
    country road (like the one from Galway to Dublin);   other
    urban housing schemes with horses and carts, smoke from
    rubbish fires, wilderness and decay; country tracks leading
    off into the distance.   
    
    Contrasted with these, the London Underground and streets of
    New York, with Pogues' music and interviews with emigrants.
    A voice-over interviewee in London, reflecting on the
    prejudice against Irish and blacks - the speaker turned out
    to be a young, black, Irishman.   In the US, interviewees
    discussed life, work, taking American citizenship, with
    varying extents of American accents - one girl slipped
    involuntarily into saying "X, Y, Zee" on camera, covered her
    confusion, said "there you are, I'm turning into an
    American", laughed uncertainly. 

    U2 featured a few times, with wild adulation from very young
    green-clad fans at a concert somewhere.   I don't know much
    about U2 (generation gap) - maybe I'll look into them a
    little more.   I've heard some critical things about their
    politics etc, and the programme seemed to be a little
    ambiguous about them (wild pop success, anti-establishment
    posturing, little constructive help for the fans), though I
    may have misunderstood some of that. 
    
    Anyway, looks like an interesting short series, if the other
    episodes are as well made. 
    

    
    I saw that programme as well. I thought it was quite well put together.
    As far as I know it is part of a series called Irish Reel which
    is being shown on RTE (Irish Tv) which takes a look at an aspect
    of Irish life. The program last night took a look at the bloodstock
    industry here with interviews with Vincent O'Brien etc. A bit of
    a contrast to the previous week but still watchable.

    
    
    
    	"POOR OLD ROGER"     			:-)
    
    
    	Maurice: I was listening to your copy of Paul Brady's album last night.
    	         A lovely job on "The Hills of Donegal" .....

                                                               
    
    
    
    
    keVin
    

    Maurice,
    
    I'm now convinced things have taken a turn for the worse back home
    when even people like you are now resorting to TV on a Friday night!
    
    Donal.

    Not to worry Donal...RTE shows the program on a tuesday night
    Channel-4 does it on a friday night. Last nights program was
    about buildings..their location,design etc...
    
    - Dave K.

    
    	What do you mean Donal?. I never venture out on friday nights
    only on mondays and tuesdays. :-).
    
    

    Mondays and Tuesdays! - the post-weekend 'cure' I presume.

    Isn't monday night 'Ladies Free Night' in the OASIS Club,Salthill?
    
    
    
    and tuesdays you get your 'deposit' back  ;-)
    
    

    Is there a bridge or ferry across the River Bandon at Kinsale or do you
    have to go all the way up to Innishannon?
    

    There is a bridge over the river just out of Kinsale.
    
    From memory, it leads on to Courtmacsherry and then "Into the West"
    
    A word of warning : this is also 'moving statue' country.