It’s a revolution that nobody saw coming, but one that is arguably decades overdue. Who could ever have expected, when having the modh coinníollach hammered into them over long, dreary schoolday afternoons, that the Irish language would one day be celebrated on the biggest stage in film?
It goes without saying that we have a lot to thank An Cailín Ciúin for.
Colm Bairéad’s beautiful film could prove a tipping point for Irish language-cinema, having recently made history as the first film as Gaeilge to receive an Oscar nomination, for Best International Feature Film. The Quiet Girl, as it has become known to wider audiences, is already destined for ‘classic’ status in the annals of Irish cinema. A convergence of a series of elements that simply flowed and made sense, the film’s artistry is in its subtleties. The direction. The cinematography. The performances (and what performances! From Catherine Clinch to Carrie Crowley to Andrew Bennett, there wasn’t a single overplayed moment.)
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Watch: An Cailín Ciúin director Colm Bairéad talks to RTÉ News
However, there was no getting away from the fact that An Cailín Ciúin was performed in a language that many Irish people sadly have a complicated relationship with - for many, it seems, because of the way that it is taught in schools. Adapted from Claire Keegan’s short story Foster, Bairéad - a native speaker who grew up in the Dublin suburb of Donaghmede - chose to write the script in Irish and applied for funding to Cine4, the TG4-led initiative to develop original feature films in the Irish language. Director-General Alan Esselmont said: "When TG4 began the Cine4 scheme with Screen Ireland and the BAI, our vision was to win an Oscar for an Irish language film." With An Cailín Ciúin, he may just see that vision realised.
The Oscar nomination has proven a watershed moment for both Irish cinema and Irish-language cinema, but there have been other films in our native tongue that have also been accoladed in recent years. Tomás Ó Súilleabháin famine drama Arracht received glowing reviews upon its 2019 release, and Foscadh, Sean Breathnach’s 2020 adaptation of Donal Ryan’s novel The Thing About December, won awards at numerous festivals. Even back in 2008, Tom Collins’ Kings - a bilingual adaptation of Jimmy Murphy’s play The Kings of Kilburn Road - won numerous IFTAs.
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And last year, Róise & Frank - a charming story about a widowed woman who believed her husband has been reincarnated as a dog - won positive reviews across the board. Its star Bríd Ní Neachtain, a native speaker and experienced stage actress, said in an interview: "Regardless of what you’re doing, if you make a film and it’s of the highest standard, there’s no difference whether it’s in Irish or English. It’s a night’s entertainment. But I think it is changing … and I’m delighted to be part of it."
As far back as 2003, short films like the delightful Yu Ming is Ainm Dom were beginning to make splashes in Irish language cinema, while TV series like An Bronntanas and An Klondike have proven successful in recent years. In fact, An Klondike was even acquired by Netflix, renamed as Dominion Creek and dubbed into English. It would be interesting, in the wake of An Cailín Ciúin’s success, to know whether it would suffer the same fate in order to make it more ‘palatable’ to English-speaking audiences in 2023.
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Watch: Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom (2003)
Nevertheless, it is The Quiet Girl that has undoubtedly banged the loudest drum for Irish-language cinema - and not before its time. Whether it brings home the Best International Feature Oscar on March 13th or not is almost inconsequential; with its nomination alone, everything has changed for Irish-language cinema. Ar aghaidh linn!
