Irish Wishing Well

[Spoiler alert! Don’t read this if you haven’t watched the film yet.]

“The Banshees of Inisherin” will be in good Irish company during the Oscars ceremony on Sunday night, even if the film’s two main characters, Pádraic Súilleabháin and Colm Doherty are at odds with each other. The film leads the green carpet with nine nominations, but also in contention is the Irish-language film “The Quiet Girl” (“An Cailín Ciúin”) as an international feature film nominee; and “An Irish Goodbye” is a live action short film nominee. According to Lesley O’Toole of the Los Angeles Times, “Then there’s the people involved. Nominations were bestowed on actors Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”); the primary cast of ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ — Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan — along with ‘Elvis’ film editor Jonathan Redmond and Richard Baneham, visual effects supervisor for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.”

I haven’t been able to watch the other two nominated Irish films yet, but I wanted to make sure to see “The Banshees of Inisherin” before the awards ceremony. Its British and Irish writer and director Martin McDonagh has been nominated for best director and original screenplay. I watched the film twice - the first time with my mother and the second time by myself. I was not prepared for how dark the film would be and neither was my mom. She said “Oh my goodness! Are you sure you want to write about this?” I should have known it was a morbid tale though because death is in the title. According to Irish legend, a banshee is a female supernatural being who screams and foretells the passing of a family member.

Still, I was enthralled by the beautiful countryside just the same. Cinematographer Ben Davis took me on a journey from the rolling green hills with stone walls to the sweeping lake and ocean views. The setting is a fictional island off the west coast of Ireland but the film was shot on Inis Mór, County Galway (also called Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands) and Achill Island, County Mayo.

I loved the animals too, including the gorgeous white horse named Minnie. A miniature donkey named Jenny is a scene stealer and I wanted to adopt her. I love the scene when she tries to enter the cottage and later when Pádraic walks with her on their way to the pub, while the jingling bell tied with red ribbon to her collar plays its own music.

I also appreciated the more gentle and funny moments in the film. It’s not good manners to hide from ghoulish busybody, Mrs. McCormick (Sheila Flitton). However, both she and the film take on a more sinister tone as the plot progresses. The escalation of violence toward oneself and others feels frightening, jarring and heartbreaking.

Not Jenny, but a miniature donkey of similar adorableness.

The second time I watched the film, I realized more clearly the message behind this darker tone, as an allegory for the Irish Civil War (and personal conflict). According to Britannica Kids:

The Irish Civil War was a conflict that took place in Ireland in 1922–23 between those in favor of and those against the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The treaty, reached by Britain and Ireland in late 1921, established all but six northern counties of Ireland as the Irish Free State. The treaty also stipulated that Ireland must remain loyal to the British monarch. The Irish leaders who opposed all terms but complete independence from Britain clashed with the Irish leaders who readily accepted the end of bloodshed with Britain for limited independence. These two forces turned upon each other, creating a civil war that led to more than 1,000 deaths.

So in essence, friend turned against friend. In the film, fiddle player Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) abruptly and inexplicably decides to end his friendship with the sweet but less intellectually curious dairy farmer, Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell). ( I for one would stay friends with Pádraic because we both share a love of animals and the same last name of Sullivan, although, of course, his is the Irish spelling. I also know what it’s like to dislike a man, but love his dog and unlike his loving, fierce and exasperated sister, Siobhán played by Kerry Condon, I would let the animals stay in the cottage.)

Yet, the fighting from the war is more mysterious and menacing because it is off in the distance on the mainland. Characters are occasionally startled by the sound of cannon and rifle fire and they have a vague awareness of its violence. They are numb to an infectious anger that is spreading toward them, invisible like a coronavirus, cutting off generosity of spirit, leading to panicked thoughts of mortality. Clocks chime to heighten the cold reality of time passing. There is mention of the war in the newspaper but there is a depressed mood of indifference to reading about it. An immoral police officer named Peadar Kearney tells Colm that he’s going to the mainland to provide manpower for executions. He’s not sure which side is being killed and he doesn’t really care as long as he gets his six bob and a free lunch. He’s always wanted to see an execution, but is disappointed it’s not a hanging.

He says:

The Free State lads are executin’ a couple of the IRA lads. Or is it the other way around? I find it hard to follow these days. Wasn’t it so much easier when we was all on the same side, and it was just the English we was killin’? I think it was. I preferred it.

The policeman’s son is Dominic, (movingly portrayed by Barry Keoghan) a mentally challenged, abused young man who still dreams of love. Like so many, he depends on a few good, trustworthy people aka “life’s good guys” to overcome his cruel lot in life. The animals also depend on the loving attention of humans. These bonds of friendship are also necessary to overcome a solitary life on the island. Siobhán asks her brother, “Do you never get lonely, Pádraic?” But war is a vicious monster, and suffering turns men bitter and vengeful and so reckless in their anger that the even cut down their own dreams as well as those of others.

Colm selfishly thinks that Pádraic’s aimless, dull chatter will cost him his dreams of music immortality like that of Mozart. However, it is rash revenge and despair that causes greater harm to his desire. He has not dealt with the depression that exists in his own soul, and instead turns a friend into a defenseless enemy.

At the end of the film, though, Colm sees the value in the lives, not just of the famous, but of the innocent. This is what Pádraic argued with him about at the pub, when he said that he would always remember how nice his family has been to him, wihile Colm countered that others will not remember any of them, including his loved ones, unlike the legendary composer. He conjectures that kindness is trivial in the quest to secure a legacy. Yet, later in a confessional, the priest (David Pearse) asks him, ‘Do you think God gives a damn about miniature donkeys, Colm?” He replies,"I fear He doesn’t. And I fear that’s where it’s all gone wrong.” Yet, one of the reasons why cruelty is so toxic is because its alters who its victims are and Pádraic sadly is no different.

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In addition to the powerful themes in the story, I was also interested in how religion, language and music are used in the “The Banshees of Inisherin,” especially since the closing credits include “Rjaltas na hÉireann”: “Government of Ireland.” A portrait of Jesus hangs on the wall of the thatched roof cottage where Pádraic and Siobhán live. There is a statue of Mary at the center of town and a Celtic cross. Also, the whole island seems to turn out for Sunday mass, with people even arriving by boat. The priest says the mass in Latin. Colm attends confession with a woefully inept priest. There is limited religious guidance for personal suffering, such as depression or the larger tragedy of war.

Next, I wanted to explore the language, especially the words that only exist in Irish slang. "Fecking,” is heard often in the story. For example, here it is used in a scene between Pádraic and Colm.

Pádraic: Well don’t ask a man to call up to ya.at your fecking house, so like he has nothing better to do with his fecking time.
Colm: I didn’t ask you to call up to me at me house, And you do have nothing better to do with your fecking time.
Pádraic: Huh?
Colm: You do have nothing better to do with your fecking time.
Pádraic: I know I’ve nothing better to do with me fecking time, but there’s better things I could be doing with me fecking time than to be calling up to ya at your house, Colm Doherty!

I looked up “fecking” online and it was pretty much what I expected. While having many uses (It originally meant “to steal” or “to throw.”), its modern usage is as a naughty-ish substitute for the word we’re all thinking of, which also has an impactful moment or two in the script in the most unlikely of places. Colin Farrell thought he wouldn’t get bleeped for using “fecking” on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” but he did. The “e” was not enough to save it from the censors.

Don’t feel bad for the letter though. It is special enough to be used twice at the beginning of a word in a particularly effective insult -“eejit.” It is derived from the Irish dialectal spelling of “idiot.” Pádraic: says, “Oh, so you’re gonna be an eejit again today, is it?”

An alternative to “eejit” is “gom,” which means a fool or an idiot. Dominic calls Colm a “gom”and in response Pádraic says that he is one and his sister Siobhán protests, “You’re not a gom.”

Another term is “rake.” Mrs. O’Riordan (Bríd Ní Neachtain), the nosy shopkeeper, says of the police officer, “Peadar always has a rake of news.” “Rake” is slang in Irish and Scottish for,”a lot, plenty.”

Peadar uses the Irish slang word “skitter.” He says: “And you can tell that skitter of a son of mine he’d better be home by teatime, or it’s over to batter the both of ye I’ll be and your dreary fecking sister, too!” “Skitter" means, “an unruly child, a disreputable young person.”

Peadar also says to Pádraic, “What are you after, gobshite?” “Gobshite” is Irish slang for either “a mean and contemptible person, especially a braggart,” or “a stupid and incompetent person.” Take your pick. Full of compliments, this one.

Another term is “gilly-gooly.” It’s used at least two places in the script. Pádraic says: “I mean, I’m a happy lad. Or I was. Till me best friend started acting the gilly-gooly.” Later, Pádraic uses the same term in a letter to his sister Siobhán, ”Even now as I write, little donkey Jenny is looking at me, saying, ‘Please don’t go, Pádraic. We’d miss you.’ And nuzziling me, the gilly-gooly. Get off, Jenny.” I found a reference to Gillygooly as a village in Northern Ireland but I’m not sure what the connection is between the village and the slang.

“Bollocks” is also another lovely slang word, although it’s identified as chiefly British. Colm says: “And by Wednesday, there’ll be a new tune in the world, which wouldn’t have been there if I’d spent the week listening to your bollocks, Pádraic.”

I asked Alexa what “bollocks” means and she said, “I’d rather not answer that.” So, I looked it up online. According to Merriam-Webster it’s a vulgar word for testicles and nonsense. I apologized to Alexa.

“Mammy” is another term that is used in Ireland and Wales. In America it has a negative connotation because of its ties to the South before the abolishment of slavery, as a black slave who took care of white children. However, mostly in Ireland and Wales, it is a nickname for a mother, who would not approve of these slang terms. In the film, Pádraic says,”My mammy, she was nice. I remember her.”

Other Irish language patterns I recognize are “ye” instead of “you.” Pádraic calls out to the fighters on the mainland,”Good luck to ye, whatever it is you’re fightin’ about.” I also noticed that some sentences end in “so” or “like.” Pádraic says to Siobhán,”Why don’t you come down for a sherry later? There’s no need to be stuck inside on a nice day.” She answers: “I will so.” Colm says,”Just trying not to listen to any more of the dull things that you have to say for yourself. But I’m sorry about it. I am, like.”

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The music of the film is beautiful, evocative opera but also Irish folk music and traditional march music. Brendan Gleeson plays the fiddle wonderfully in the film, by himself and with other musicians in the pub, and he contributes to the soundtrack. Colm, his character, also teaches Irish music. Students from as far away as Lisdoonvarna in County Clare visit him. In addition, “Taisce Cheol Dúchais Éireann” or “Irish Traditional Music Archive” is listed in the closing credits as a testament to the film’s genuine national musical roots. Here are a few of the songs featured in the film:

Included is the song “Christ Went Up Into The Hills Alone,” by Irish Tenor John McCormack.

Another song is the Irish narrative ballad, “I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday,”

Here is “O’Sullivan’s March,” by The Chieftains. In the movie it is performed by Connor Connolly, James Carty, and Ryan Owens. As a Sullivan, this is the march of my people.

This version of “Aghadoe” is by Liam Clancy. In the film it is performed by the actor Brendan Gleeson, in the part of Colm Doherty.