From the archives: Mayo ‘stand-ins’ in Captain Boycott film in 1946
By Tom Gillespie
IN the first week in August 1946, The Connaught Telegraph reported that many people in the Ballinrobe area were having the experience of facing movie cameras for the first time as ‘stand-ins’ or ‘doubles’ in the 92-minute film version of Philip Rooney’s novel, ‘Captain Boycott’, which was being made by Individual Pictures Ltd., who, for the past month, had a location unit operating around the home town of Boycott. The production had a budget of £250,000.
The location unit consisted of some 12 men and was housed at the Valkenburg Hotel. It was principally engaged in collecting authentic information of Captain Boycott and the events of that period, and were taking shots of places associated with that historic epic time.
For these shots the services of some young men from the Ballinrobe area had been requisitioned, while many people were participating in general or crowd scenes.
The principal stand-in was Mr. Michael (‘Brickie’) Jennings, a well-known and popular local figure, who was playing a very important part in the film, and appeared in numerous scenes, acting as coach-driver, postal, etc.
Master Desmond Mullaney, Ballinrobe, also appeared in many scenes, and had proved himself of much assistance to the company.
Mr. Killeen’s forge, Lough Mask village, where the blacksmith refused to shoe Boycott’s horse, was also the subject of a scene. The forge had not been altered since those far-off days.
The location unit, which was under the direction of Mr. Liam Redmond, well-known Irish writer, and Mr. Cecil Foster-Kemp, was operating around Lough Mask, Cong, Clonbur and Maam.
Both Mr. Redmond and Mr. Kemp were loud in their praise of the beautiful and picturesque countryside, and expressed gratitude to the residents of the district in which they worked as well as to the people of Ballinrobe for the cordial, generous way in which they had treated them, and for the valuable assistance which they had so readily got from everyone.
They expressed particular gratitude to Mr. Cunningham, the Foundry, Ballinrobe; Mr. J. Gannon, Mr. N. Huggard, Ashford Castle; Mr. Michael Ryan, Cong, and to 87-year-old Mr. William McGuire, Cross, brother of Mr. Tom Maguire, who played such an important part in the fight for Irish freedom, and to Mr. Valkenburg, all of whom were so helpful to them in their research work, etc.
Cameraman Allen, who was deeply impressed with the local scenery, said he had travelled in many lands but had never come across anything to surpass the scenic beauty of the west of Ireland.
The climate was somewhat disagreeable, rather too damp, but if it was different or drier the countryside would not have retained the delightful hues it possessed.
It was interesting to note that the parents of Mr. Philip Rooney originally came from The Neale, outside Ballinrobe.
Individual Pictures Ltd. were a branch of the independent group of the Rank Pictures organisation, an English company, who had recently completed the Irish film ‘I saw a Dark Stranger’, which was then (1946) showing in England and would shortly be released in Ireland.
The leading roles in ‘Captain Boycott’ were being played by famous Irish and English actors, and all the interior scenes were taken in the British studios.