Cork War of Independence project being filmed in characters’ own home 

FILMING has begun on a Cork War of Independence movie, which takes place in the real-life home of its central characters.

Cork man Maurice Dineen’s brainchild, The Hegartys of the Laurels, will pay tribute to historically renowned Cumann na mBan sisters Mamie and Nan Hegarty.

The movie also features their brother, John Joe Hegarty, who was a Lt Section Commander in the H Company of the 1st Battalion.

Mr Dineen transformed the family home on Pouladuff Rd to resemble its original appearance.

He explained that the location is steeped in history, and was used as a base for much political and military activity more than a century ago.

Wedding

The scene featuring Mamie’s wedding also includes some special nods to the Hegarty family. These include Mamie’s real wedding ring and the shawl which she wore for the ceremony.

The wedding will be filmed at the Lough Church, where the real-life nuptials took place.

It was a significant event as Mamie and her husband, John Forde (H Company Volunteer), were the first couple to wed there in uniform and national dress.

Mr Dineen said they plan to take the same route to the church as Mamie did on her own wedding day.

Mamie and Nan, who actively participated in the resistance to British rule, are still capturing the imaginations of Corkonians more than a century on from their contributions.

Mr Dineen explained how he was initially inspired to make the film by Jim Hegarty’s (John Joe Hegarty’s son) book of the same name.

The experience has been sentimental for a number of the cast and crew members — including Abigail O’Regan who plays the part of her real life great-grandaunt, Nan.

She will be acting alongside fellow Cork woman Zoë Allman Walsh (Mamie). Dayl Cronin (formerly of Dancing with the Stars and boyband Hometown) is set to co-star.

Elizabeth Scanlan, 21, penned the script, while musical theatre school CADA founder Catherine Mahon Buckley will be directing.

“The house where we filmed was vacant a year ago,” said Mr Dineen. “I’m a carpenter by trade, so I was able to do up the whole house to make it look exactly as it had in 1923.

“The likes of Tom Barry, Tomás Mac Curtain, and Terence MacSwiney all walked on these tiles. We took great pride in the location we chose.”

Sacrifices

He acknowledged the sacrifices made by the family.

“When the treaty was signed, there was a split,” he said.

“Some people went for pro-Treaty, while others were against it. There is a shootout between John Joe Hegarty and his best friend, Davy O’Leary.

“Later, we see him welcoming Davy back into the house. Nan was 21 and working as a civil servant at the time. However, her family let her give up her job so she could volunteer full-time with the Cumann na mBan.

“At the time, there were loads of Cumann na mBan branches across Cork city and county.”

The Cork man said he is convinced that the stars aligned to make the project a reality.

“I’m learning that everything in this film is happening for a reason,” he told The Echo. “I gave up asking questions about six months ago. Our drive and passion for the story is what’s getting this over the line.”

Gratitude

He extended his gratitude to the Hegarty family who gave their blessing for the project to go ahead.

“We worked closely with Jim Hegarty and the family to get the script written. We were even able to get permission to take the wedding shawl out of the museum for the day.”

Various generations came together to work on the film.

“Elizabeth Scanlan is 21 and developed her first script with me when she was just 17,” he said. “It was her who put the dialogue together for the Hegartys of the Laurels.”

The Hegartys of the Laurels will premiere on Saturday, April 13, in City Hall.