RTÉ Documentaries

The Village (1983x1)

: 17, 1983

An intimate study of the slow-paced diurnal round of activity in Dunquin, County Kerry, Ireland, the westernmost village in Europe and one of the last Gaelic-speaking communities. At the time of filming, 1967, the village consisted of 180 people, most elderly and poor. This portrait of a peasant society was filmed at a time when acculturation by urban tourists was beginning; the language, customs and subsistence techniques of the past are presented without commentary or narration. Through this cinéma vérité exploration, key village characters emerge: the postmistress, who dispenses sweets, gossip, and pensions; the pub owner, who is also landlord, grocer, de facto mayor, and traditional yarn-spinner. Isolated from the rest of the country, depleted by emigration and devastated by a harsh climate, the society, traditions, and lives of Dunquin carry on.