Film review: Jimmy’s Hall
Although independence is usually cause for celebration, attaining it from a colonial power is often just one struggle waged and won among others, many of which still had to be achieved.
To some extent this was also true of the nation of Ireland: Following the at times very bloody Irish War of Independence of 1919–21, the heavily religious population enabled the Catholic Church to play a significant role in the administration of the country, which at times resembled a theocratic fiefdom rather than a full-fledged democratic system.
The infamous case of James “Jimmy” Gralton dates to the early days of the independent Republic of Ireland. Gralton had grown up in County Leitrim in the north of the country, just south of what would become the border with Northern Ireland after the War of Independence.
He emigrated to the United States as a young man, returned to fight for his country’s freedom, and subsequently opened a dance hall in his small town, an event that the conservative church found reprehensible, and he eventually had to flee back to New York City when it seemed clear he would be thrown in jail.
To read the full review, visit The Prague Post.
(Still of Barry Ward and Simone Kirby in Jimmy’s Hall.)
