Documentary on former Wexford hurler to feature at Galway film festival
Diarmuid and his partner Siobhán, run retreats which feature cultural skills, sweat boxes and 'wild hurling'. The couple are greatly influenced by the teachings of John Moriarty, a Kerry philosopher.
Now a documentary on his life is set to be screened at the Galway Film Fleadh.
Immrám is produced by filmmaker Michael Holly and Mieke Vanmechelen. The two previously collaborated on a film called Hungry Hill, which told the story of a group of sheep farmers in Beara, the famous peninsula on the south-west coast. The two were passionate that there next project would encompass the Irish language.
It wasn't initially planned that Diarmuid and his family would be featured in the documentary but having heard Diarmuid in a podcast Michael contacted him and the rest is history.
28 hours of footage was filmed and a bond was developed between the film making pair and the couple as they followed them on a pilgrimage across the south of Ireland over 10 days.
Unsurprisingly hurling, or 'wild hurling' is part of Diarmuid and Siobhán's exploration of identity. Michael makes the point that Diarmuid feels hurling in its modern capacity has lost something of what it was initially intended to do for Ireland.
Immrám screens at Galway Film Fleadh on Saturday, July 12.
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