Shillalah Swing Time ...You'll thrill each time a wild Irishman s skull shatters : Representing Hurling in American Cinema: 1930-1960

Crosson, S. (2009) ' Shillalah Swing Time ...You'll thrill each time a wild Irishman's skull shatters : Representing Hurling in American Cinema: 1930-1960 ' In: Ruth Barton(Eds.). Screening Irish-America: Representing Irish-America in Film and Television. - : Irish Academic Press.

Abstract

While significant research has been done over the past twenty years on the important role Gaelic games and their promotion played in the construction and development of Irish nationalism and Irish identity, particularly from the end of the 19th century, less commented upon has been how depictions of these games have contributed to representations of Ireland abroad, and indeed, reaffirmed prevailing stereotypes regarding the Irish. This paper proposes to provide an initial intervention in this area by examining representations of the game of hurling in a number of American productions made between the 1930s and 1960s – including work by seminal Irish-American director John Ford. In particular, this article contends that these productions – in common with many international productions made in this era and subsequently - have been influenced, or concerned with, a force termed by John Urry as ‘the tourist gaze’.

Publisher

Irish Academic Press

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland

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Collections

Huston School of Film and Digital Media (Book Chapters)