Od „Poitín” do „Cichej dziewczyny” – trzy fazy historii irlandzkojęzycznego filmu fabularnego

Paweł Biliński

doi:10.36744/k.3842

From “Poitín” to “A Quiet Girl” – Three Phases of the History of the Irish-language Feature Film

Peer-reviewed article, Submitted 3.03.2025, Accepted 23.04.2025

Paweł Biliński

powetbiliziki@wp.pl
University of Gdańsk (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4724-4542

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36744/k.3842

Abstract

The subject of the article is the history of Irish-language feature cinema. Starting from assumptions about the idea of the national cinema and the role of language as an identity-forming factor, the author takes a closer look at the history of this part of Irish cinema, which has rarely been the focus of researchers’ attention. According to the author’s proposal, the history of this cinema can be divided into three important stages: the premieres of the first features with Irish-speaking characters (Bob Quinn’s films of the 1970s), the increased production of short films at the turn of the century, and the “new wave” of recent years, the central link of which is Colm Bairead’s The Quiet Girl, the first Irish film nominated for the American Academy Awards in the Best International Film category. In each section of the essay, the author highlights the context of production and the impact of selected films on perceptions of Irish cinema, which for a considerable part of its existence primarily emphasized the production of English-language works.

Keywords:

Ireland, national cinema, Irish language, Connemara, A Quiet Girl

References

Andrew, Dudley. “The Theater of Irish Cinema.” The Yale Journal of Criticism, vol. 15, no. 1 (2002): 23—58.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/yale.2002.0002 Google Scholar

Burton, Ruth. Irish Cinema in the Twenty-first Century, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2019.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526153760 Google Scholar

Barton, Ruth. Irish National Cinema, London: Routledge, 2004.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203642344 Google Scholar

Connolly, Maeve. “An Archaeology of Irish Cinema: Ireland's Subaltern, Migrant and Feminist Film Cultures (1973-87)”, PhD diss. Dublin City University, 2003.
Google Scholar

Connolly, Maeve. “Irish Cinema’s First Wave. Histories and Legacies of the 1970s and the 1980s.” In A Companion to British and Irish Cinema, edited by John Hill, 106—126, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2019.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118482889.ch6 Google Scholar

Crummy, Colin. “»It Gives Me Fredom«: from the Oscar to the Baftas to Sundance – Why Irish Gaelic Is Everywhere”, First published in 2024. Accessed June 28. 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/13/irish-gaeilge-gaelic-oscars-baftas-sundance-renaissance-paul-mescal-cillian-murphy.
Google Scholar

Farley, Fidelma. “Breac Scannáin/Speckled Films: Genre and Irish-language Filmmaking.” In Genre and Cinema. Ireland and Transnationalism, edited by Brian McIlroy, 163—175, New York: Routledge, 2007.
Google Scholar

Fox, Matt. “An Cailín Ciúin: 'A Breakthrough Moment' for Irish Language Films”, First published in 2022. Accessed June 28. 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-63286110.
Google Scholar

Higson, Andrew. „Idea kinematografii narodowej.” trans. Magdalena Loska, In Kino Europy, edited by Piotr Sitarski, 9—21, Kraków: Rabid, 2001.
Google Scholar

Higson, Andrew. “The Limiting Imagination of National Cinema.” In Transnational Cinema. The Film Reader, edited by Elizabeth Ezra, Terry Rowden, 15—26, London: Routledge, 2006.
Google Scholar

Hroch, Miroslav. Małe narody Europy. Perspektywa historyczna, trans. Grażyna Pańko, Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich, 2003.
Google Scholar

McCarthy, Esther. “Gael Force: Irish-language Films Are Having a Moment... Here's Why”, First published in 2023. Accessed June 28, 2024. https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40829258.html.
Google Scholar

McLoone, Martin. “Ireland”. In The Cinema of Small Nations, edited by Mette Hjort & Duncan Petrie, 60—75, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3366/edinburgh/9780748625369.003.0004 Google Scholar

McLoone, Martin. Irish Film: The Emergence of a Contemporary Cinema, London: British Film Institute, 2000.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781838711061 Google Scholar

O’Brien, Harvey. “The Identity of an Irish Cinema”, First published in 2006. Accessed June 28, 2024. https://www.ifi.ie/downloads/history.pdf.
Google Scholar

O’Connell, Díóg. „Kino irlandzkie w XXI wieku.” trans. Karolina Kosińska, Kwartalnik Filmowy, no. 101-102 (2018): 92—102.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36744/kf.1947 Google Scholar

O’Donoghue, Darragh. “The Quiet Girl.” Cineaste, vol. XLVIII, no. 3 (2023): 49—51.
Google Scholar

Quinn, Bob. “Film irlandzki? Jaki?”, trans. Wanda Wertenstein, Kino, no 09 (1995): 20—22.
Google Scholar

Watson, Iarfhlaith. “Irish Language and Identity.” In A New View of the Irish Language, edited by Caoilfhionn Nic Pháidín, Seán Ó Cearnaigh, 66—75, Syracuse: Cois Life, 2008.
Google Scholar

White, Jerry. “Arguing with Ethnography: The Films of Bob Quinn and Pierre Perrault.” Cinema Journal, vol. 42, no. 2 (2003): 101—124.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/cj.2003.0006 Google Scholar

Whitington, Paul. “The Best Irish Films of All Time: the Definitive Top 30”, First published in 2023. Accessed June 28. 2024, https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/the-best-irish-films-of-all-time-the-definitive-top-30/a172569609.html.
Google Scholar

Włodek, Patrycja. „Paradoksy tożsamości – krótkie wprowadzenie do historii kina irlandzkiego.” Film na Świecie, no. 407 (2010): 4—13.
Google Scholar

Download

pdf (Język polski)

Published

2025-09-10

Cited by

Biliński, P. (2025) “From “Poitín” to ‘A Quiet Girl’ – Three Phases of the History of the Irish-language Feature Film”, Konteksty, 349(2), pp. 55–62. doi: 10.36744/k.3842.

Authors

Paweł Biliński
powetbiliziki@wp.pl
University of Gdańsk Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4724-4542

Assistant Professor at the Film and Media Department at the University of Gdańsk. Author of the book on reflexivity in Polish cinema Kinematograf o sobie. Autotematyzm w polskim filmie fabularnym [The Cinematograph about Itself: Self-Reflexivity in Polish Feature Film] (2021). In 2012-2019, he was responsible for film education at Klub Żak cultural centre. He was one of the founders and editors of the YouTube channel Amatorzy TV. He is a regular collaborator of Ekrany magazine. He co-edited the book Orson Welles. Twórczość – recepcja – dziedzictwo [Orson Welles: Creativity – Reception – Heritage] (2016). His essays and articles appeared, e.g., in Kwartalnik Filmowy, Studia Filmoznawcze, Bliza, Lampa, Panoptikum, EdukacjaFilmowa.pl, and in edited volumes.