Conor McGale, project director of ‘Border Lives’. Picture: Michael Cooper
THE stories and experiences of people’s lives on the border have been captured in six new short films, two of which take in Fermanagh.
The short films capture border life during the years of the troubles, right up to the present day. The short films made by the ‘Border Lives’ project team will now be screened in a series of venues along both sides of the border.
The Clones and Fermanagh film will be shown at the Creighton Hotel Clones on Thursday 5th of June at 7.30 and again at the Sliabh Beagh Hotel, Knockatallon, County Monaghan on Tuesday 17th of June, again at 7.30pm.
18 interviewees participate in the Clones and Fermanagh film. They talk about economic impact on Clones as a result of the Troubles both with road closures and the migration of Protestant families from Monaghan to Northern Ireland, the effect of the closure of the local railway on the town and smuggling.
Each of the six films focuses on a different location along the border and gathers a breadth of perspectives and stories from local people. Once the series of screenings is completed, they will be available on a new website to be used as an education tool and historical documentation.
Project Director, Conor McGale said: “Across all six films, there were a strong and varied series of contributions. They ranged from the honest and heart felt testimonies of people from the Protestant communities and Orange Order background who spoke of their sense of isolation and fear, to the experience of people near Clones whose economic disadvantage caused by the closed roads in their area made a deep impression on their lives. We met some great characters and heard some deeply moving stories. This project captures life away from the headlines and the TV news bulletins, where people lived their lives quietly while one of the most deeply entrenched conflicts in western European history unfolded around them. The films make for essential viewing for people who want to understand the reality of life in the border areas during ‘The Troubles’ and beyond.”
In total, 90 people took part in the six films. They include Isobel Cleary of Belleek, who talks poignantly of watching a soldier dying outside her home, a retired RUC officer who speaks of never wanting to have to use his gun, and remembers having to pick up pieces of dead bodies, an IRA member’s memories of growing up in and around Bessbrook. But mostly the interviews reflect ordinary life lived around extraordinary circumstances – the humour, pathos, loneliness and hope for the future.
The Belleek and Donegal border film will show on Tuesday June 10 at 7.30pm in the Rockfield Community Hall, County Donegal and the Ballagh Centre, Rossinver, County Leitrim.
