‘Mary from Dungloe: The Impossible Love’, a new Irish documentary for TG4 from Donegal-based Lugh Films about the sad history behind the famous Irish ballad, will screen this Wednesday 4th September at 9:30pm.
The woman who inspired the song and annual festival in Donegal forms the subject of this documentary which recounts how Mary Gallaher fell in love with a man whom her parents forbade her to marry.
Described as a ‘poetic docu-drama’, ‘Máire an Chlocháin Léith, an Grá Coiscthe’ tells a story of love, poverty, emigration and heartache – drawing on contemporary accounts and folk memory with the help of historians.
Contributors include Paddy Rodgers, Helen Meehan, Sean Bonner, Dr Éamonn Ó Ciardha, Professor Dáithí Ó hÓgáin and Seán Beattie.
The documentary also reveals what life was like in West Donegal at the end of the nineteenth century and uncovers the reasons that compelled Mary Gallagher to emigrate on a ship bound for New Zealand – where her life ultimately came to a tragic end.
