I went to Mayo in 2004 to film Leland Bardwell and Dermot Healy for my film ‘Patrick Kavanagh – No Man’s Fool’. While there Leland told me about a play she was rehearsing based on her friendship with the poet Patrick Kavanagh. I proposed filming it but told Leland that it had little chance of making it into the final cut but it was worth recording for posterity. And so it has sat uncut for all these years until I was fortunate to meet Leland’s son John who told me about the ‘A Single Rose Festival in Sligo that would celebrate Leland’s life. And so this short film based on Leland’s play ‘Women in the Life and Work of Patrick Kavanagh’ was born. Leland plays herself and Dermot Healy takes on the mantle of Patrick Kavanagh. The film will have its premiere in the Model Arts Centre Sligo on 12th November. Ironically this is the exact same building I filmed the piece. The footage is preserved in ‘The Loopline Collection’ with Irish Film Archive. Sé Merry Doyle
Trailer Here https://vimeo.com/769036751
