Mayo man's new book sheds light on Oscar-winning movie mystery
Dooradoyle's Kieran Ginty bids to unearth what happened around the filming location move of Barry Lyndon
A Mayo man is set to launch his latest novel, which sheds light on a mysterious move by director Stanley Kubrick to shift production of a major film from Ireland to Britain.
On Wednesday evening, May 6, at 7 pm in the South Court Hotel, Kieran Ginty will present Saving Ryan.
It’s a fictional tale based on the actual filming of the Irish epic movie Barry Lyndon, which charts how a rogue climbs 18th-century society through charm, war, and marriage, only to fall from grace.
Filmed in 1973 between the Kubrick classics A Clockwork Orange and The Shining, the film Barry Lyndon never reached these commercial heights, despite winning four Oscars.
“Barry Lyndon was expensive, extravagant, and loss-making,” Kieran explained. “I was always interested in why it wasn’t a big hit at the time.”
Kubrick chose the east coast of Ireland to film, but midway through production, he relocated back across the Irish Sea.
“What happened, what caused that?” asks Kieran.
“This book fills in that vacuum.”
Based on copious research, Kieran believes it was due to heightened tensions between Britain and Ireland in the 1970s.
“It’s rumoured the IRA were unhappy an English production company were in the country, roaming the fields in red-coats and flying Union Jacks as part of the filming. It did not go down well with the Republican cause. Kubrick got some threat, it spooked him, and he left overnight,” Kieran said.
Watching the film back now, he says, is interesting, as you'll see some parts of the Irish landscape and some landmarks from Britain.
Kieran, a public servant by profession, has pored over photographs, scripts, and accounts of behind-the-scenes activity in putting together Saving Ryan.
One thing he regrets, though, is not being able to talk to any of the extras from the production.
Born in Mayo, but based in Limerick for the last 25 years, Kieran has brought out five other books.
All are welcome at the South Court Hotel in Limerick City on Wednesday, May 6, for the launch of the book, priced at €15.