Cork fans to enjoy Ring-side seats

IT PROMISES to be more Joe Deane than James Dean but Corona Cork Film Festival director Mick Hannigan is confident the festival’s celebration of the 125th anniversary of the founding of the GAA this Sunday will win favour with both movie buffs and hurling fans.

Entitled The Rebels with a Cause: Cork GAA on Film, the special programme commences at 2pm and offers fans the opportunity to see some unique documentary and features on celluloid.

Pride of place perhaps goes to Louis Marcus’s documentary on Christy Ring made for Gael Linn in 1964 which captures the Cloyne maestro as he goes through his full repertoire of skills in a series of filmed coaching sequences shot down the Mardyke.

The film is already available on DVD but its inclusion in this festival offers hurling fans a rare chance to see it on the big screen and view some of Ring’s finest moments, including the 1954 All-Ireland final against Wexford when he won his eighth All-Ireland medal.

Sunniva O’Flynn of the Irish Film Institute has unearthed an unusual gem about hurling from 1955 entitled Three Kissses. Made by American director and produce, Justin Herman, the short drama tells the story of a promising young hurler from the fictional village of Ballykilly in Co Cork who is invited to play against Clare in a championship match.

The cinematic triptych is completed with the inclusion of Fermoy filmmaker, Fergus Tighe’s Clash of the Ash, featuring a very young Liam Heffernan as Leaving Cert student and local hurling hero Phil Kelly who gives up on hurling in his bid to get away from small town life.

Further details at www.corkfilmfest.org