The historic clash of the ash between Kilkenny and Waterford in 1957 will be screened this year as part of the marble city's annual arts festival. This rarely seen footage will be shown along with the 1958 feature film Rooney, which used live footage from the same game, and had its lead actor line out with the Kilkenny team on the day of the All-Ireland.
The very thought of this game will have hearts beating faster in Kilkenny, the home of the reigning All-Ireland champions, as they could again face Waterford in this year's All-Ireland final. Kilkenny beat Wexford at the weekend to claim their spot in the final, while Waterford play Limerick on Sunday. If the hungry Déise team win, this year's final could well be a replay of the classic 1957 match.
This is the 50th anniversary of that historic match between the two counties. Players from that closely fought battle, including the captain of the victorious Kilkenny team, Michael (Mickey) Kelly, who scored the final winning point, are expected to attend the screening. There are shots of him being carried off the field holding the Liam McCarthy cup aloft, after defeating Waterford. Those jubilant scenes along with footage of the action during the game, with cut-aways to the 70,000-strong crowd, and the teams lining out on the pitch with commentary from the legendary Mícheál Ó hEithir, will all be screened.
The festival will also screen a newsreel report from the Irish premiere of the film, with shots of the stars arriving at Dublin airport and being greeted by Aer Lingus cabin crew. It has also acquired the film's hilarious trailer from those days, when the film was advertised as "a bubbling bombshell of buffoonery" and "a Gaelic gamble splashed with love and laughter". The president of the GAA, Nickey Brennan, will also attend the screening.
It was noted by spectators on the day of that All-Ireland that there were 16 rather than 15 players lining out for Kilkenny. Few realised that the extra player was British actor John Gregson, who togged out in the black and amber gear - although, in the film, he was supposed to be playing for Dublin - and marched out with the rest of the team to the beat of the Artane Boys' Band.
Rooneyis a romantic comedy based on a Catherine Cookson novel. The comic classic stars many of the great names of Irish theatre, including Marie Keane, Milo O'Shea, Noel Purcell, Godfrey Quigley and Barry Fitzgerald. "It's an entirely enjoyable film," says Sunniva O'Flynn, curator of the Irish Film Archive of the Irish Film Institute, which is presenting the films in association with the Kilkenny Arts Festival. The footage from the game is used in the second half of the film when Gregson, in the role of bin man Rooney, must convey the impression that he is playing in an All-Ireland final.
ACCORDING TO AN Fear Rua, of the GAA Unplugged website, Waterford were offered first option on having Gregson tog out with them for the parade. "However, conscious perhaps that this was the Déise's first final appearance since their victory over Dublin in 1948, and not wishing to add to the team's nervousness, the Waterford mentors refused permission," writes An Fear Rua. "The Kilkenny lads, however, probably being a bit more used to the big day out in Croke Park, had no problem in giving the go-ahead." Maeve Butler of the Kilkenny Arts Festival says "the men of Kilkenny - among them farmers, a carpenter, a truck driver, an army captain, a psychiatric nurse, Esso and ESB workers and a Clover Meats man - were not fazed and kept their minds firmly on the match."
Rooneywas billed as "the most fearless hero on the playing field", with Muriel Pavlow as the young female lead. A Dublin hurler, Dessie Ferguson, was selected by the film company to coach Gregson in the skills of the ancient game.
Kilkenny's score at the end of the game was the reverse of the half-time position. Understandably, the Waterford supporters went home heart-scalded. When the whistle was blown by referee Steve Gleeson, Kilkenny's score was four goals and 10 points (22 points) while Waterford had three goals and 12 points (21 points). The screening will be an opportunity for lovers of hurling to relive and remember the ecstasy and the heartbreak of that day.
Hurling at the Movies will be screened at 8pm at Langton House Hotel, John Street, Kilkenny, on Aug 15, as part of the Kilkenny Arts Festival. Admission €12. For details, see www.kilkennyarts.ie or e-mail info@kilkennyarts.ie.
