In Pictures: Precious memories of Mountcharles relived at nostalgic cinema night

It was a trip down memory lane in more ways than one at a special evening of cinema in Mountcharles. Click on the arrows to see a gallery of photos from the evening:

An estimated 200 people gathered in St Peter’s NS for the event which was organised by Mountcharles Heritage Group. 

The double screening kicked off with Man of Stone, an award-winning documentary telling the story of stone wall builder Patsy McInaw as narrated by his granddaughter Sarah. Patsy and Sarah were present for the screening, as was director Michael McMonagle. 

Man of Stone tells the story of Patsy’s childhood into adulthood, time spent working in England, meeting his wife and starting a family, and his work to turn old bog into viable farmland. He began building traditional dry stone walls on his farm in the 1980s, and is now one of the most highly regarded stone wallers in the country. 

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The second screening of the evening was The Joey Kane Chronicles. The late Abbey Vocational School teacher had a passion for video, and he captured around 400 hours of footage of life in the village. Subjects ranged from school concerts to festivals and other notable events, to snippets of everyday life. 

Michael McMonagle edited Joey’s footage to a one-hour film which, he told those gathered, was focused on the 1980s and ‘90s, and aimed to show as many people as possible.

The footage was full of familiar faces, some of whom were present for the screening, and others who are no longer with us. Audience reaction of smiles, laughter, oohs and aahs, and even a few tears showed how much this precious footage meant to those gathered.

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It was fitting that the screening took place in St Peter’s NS, given that the footage captured the extent to which music had been a part of village life. Much of this can be credited to the late St Peter’s teacher, Kathleen Carr who fostered a great love of music and an exceptional level of skill among pupils in the school, as well as giving a platform for performance through the town’s marching band. 

There were a few famous visitors caught on camera too, including Mick Lally best known at the time as Miley from Glenroe, and Daniel O’Donnell MCing a beauty pageant as part of the festival. 

It was a particularly proud and poignant evening for Joey’s wife Bried and their children Ciarán, Louise, Joseph, Fiona, Loretta, Conor, Claire and Niamh who were in attendance, and for Caroline who lives in Cork and was unable to attend. 

Joseph recalled that his father had bought his first camera in McGroarty’s TV back in the early 1980s. While it recorded in colour, it had a black and white viewfinder, and the recording apparatus was carried in a brown leather bag. 

This first camera was replaced over the years as Joey embraced advances in technology. What remained constant was his convivial engagement with those he caught on camera, and his evident appreciation for his community. Throughout the footage, there was a sense that Joey’s touch was always light, never intrusive, that he was at the heart of village life and chronicling it from within rather than as an observer. 

The evening was also something of a throwback for people who recalled ‘going to the films’ in Mountcharles. A show of hands indicated that there were people among those gathered who had wonderful memories of that era. 

It was a very special evening that certainly whetted the appetite for more of this type of event.