Beloved Baileys Irish Cream cows from Wicklow to star in new film
Surprising viewers who think of Ireland as just the home of Guinness and Irish stew, the cast of A Sip of Irish includes a range of artisans and public figures, including Midleton whiskey blender Deirdre O'Carroll, Donegal-based Muff Liquor Co in which Russell Crowe is a proud investor and chefs Anna Haugh and JR Ryall of Ballymaloe, along with Una Healy, Ryan Tubridy, Laura Whitmore, winemaker Michael Flatley (founder of Flatley Whiskey) and Pat Shortt.
Easily among the most colourful and captivating characters in the stellar cast, Tinahely farmer Joe Hayden and his herd of Holstein Friesian cows take centre stage in the first segment of the film, which premieres in the Tinahely Courthouse Arts Centre on August 1.
Although he has worked with the likes of Ian McKellen and Judi Dench on Quintessentially British, and with Stephen Fry in Sparkling: The Story of Champagne, Frank said that the day spent filming on the unique Baileys Farm, where Joe's cows receive a full spa treatment, will live long in his memory.
'The film celebrates Ireland's contribution to the drinks and culinary world, and I wanted to find surprising stories for familiar products,' Frank began.
'It looks at whiskey, stout, artisan brands like Scraggy Bay and Muff Liquor, and also Bailey's Irish Cream. Ultimately, the film is an entertaining origin story for all those products.
'With Baileys, I thought, we know it's really popular. We know it's 50pc cream. We know it has sold two billion bottles around the world. But what don't we know? Where is it actually made?
'I discovered that the quintessential Baileys dairy farm is called the Baileys Farm in Tinahely, County Wicklow, and there's an amazing, dynamic farmer there called Joe Hayden who has won many awards for his Holstein Friesian cows.
'He has 230 cows that produce the cream for Baileys Irish Cream. He doesn't call them 'his herd' or 'his cows', but rather his 'Bailey's ladies', and he treats them as such.
'You often hear of racehorses being treated better than humans. And in a way, Joe has almost like a spa treatment set up for his cows because his philosophy is that a happy cow is more productive, which is a fact. A happy cow will produce better quality milk.
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'He plays music to his cows. So, when they're in the milking parlour, the cows have to listen to his taste in music, which is The Killers, Bruce Springsteen, and Coldplay. He had a saxophonist there last week, and they seemed to like it. He thinks it makes them more productive, and he's probably right.
'When I went to the farm, I thought, this is amazing, Joe is a very forward-looking farmer with lots of interesting methods – I must be the first to have come here to put him and the Baileys Ladies on camera. But no, last month he had the Real Housewives of Orange County pay him a visit. So, the secret is out!'
Delighted to have contributed to the production, Joe said that it was a privilege to collaborate with 'gentleman' Frank on a project that will place a global spotlight on Wicklow and its long-standing ties to products that have put Irish food and drinks on the map.
'This film is going to be huge for the Baileys Farm, and it's going to be a huge thing for Wicklow and Tinahely,' he said.
'To be featured in such a way, and to get the whole first segment of the film dedicated to us, it's fantastic for the county.
'Frank spent the day down here. He is a very interesting individual, and I really enjoyed working with him. An absolute professional, and a gentleman to boot.
'I wasn't sure how he was going to knit everything together, but the film is very cleverly done. The way Frank has woven the story of the Irish influences into everything from Hennessy to Californian white wine development – he's a very clever guy. I suppose, like in a lot of things, Ireland punches well above its weight.
'I've seen the film a few times, and every time I look at it, I enjoy it more. It's going to be very good for giving Wicklow exposure across the globe and for the business here, and I'm thoroughly looking forward to the premiere.'
Just down the road from Joe's farm, Frank and his crew visited St Patrick's Well, which was supposedly visited by St Patrick in the fifth century, and is the most southerly point in Ireland he is known to have travelled to.
As Frank explained, the reason he wanted to film there was to establish a connection with Prince Albert of Monaco, who has a paternal connection to the Guinness family on the Grimaldi side of the family.
'We came to shoot in Wicklow because there are two great locations right next to each other that tell very interesting stories that very little is known about,' he said.
'We spoke to Prince Albert in the film, as one of his ancestors married into the Guinness family, so he joked with us that he considers Guinness the family drink!
'Before coming to Ireland, St Patrick was educated at the Lérins Islands, which are just off the coast of Cannes, off the coast of Monaco.
'So in the film, we segue from Saint Patrick's Well in Wicklow to Monaco and Prince Albert talking about how two of his ancestors were the principal abbots of Lérins Monastery, where the monks make really nice red wine to this day.
'Another little-known story is the wine geese, these dynamic Irishmen from Galway, Tipperary and Kildare who left Ireland in predominantly the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for France and set up vineyards that are still world famous to this day, including Lynch-Bages, Phélan Ségur, and Léoville Barton.
'So, again, of course, we're known for Guinness, stout, and whiskey, but in the film, we say, well, we should be known for wine as well.
'And Hennessy Cognac, as Richard Hennessy was from Cork, and we tell that story of how he ended up in Cognac having fought for the French King Louis XV against the English at the Battle of Fontenoy.'
A Sip of Irish will premiere at the Tinahely Courthouse Arts Centre on Friday, August 1, at 8pm. Tickets are €8/€6 and available to the public via courthousearts.ie
An additional public screening will take place on the same day at Carlow County Library at 3pm. There will be a reception sponsored by Baileys at both screenings.
The film will be released on digital platforms, including Amazon Prime and iTunes, on August 2.
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