The Ballroom of Romance

The Ballroom of Romance
Directed by	Pat O'Connor
Starring	Brenda Fricker John Kavanagh Cyril Cusack Brid Brennan Mick Lally Joe Pilkington Ingrid Craigie
Release date	1986 (1986)
Running time	65 minutes
Country	Ireland
Language	English

The Ballroom of Romance is a 1986 film directed by Pat O'Connor, based on a short story by William Trevor.

Plot

Set in rural Ireland in the 1950s, Bridie has been attending the local dance hall for years in the hope of finding a good husband who can help work her family's farm. Now surrounded by younger prettier women at the dances, she comes to the realization that all the good men of her generation have emigrated or have been spoken for; and her only remaining hope for marriage is with the alcoholic and unreliable Bowser Egan.

Cast

Actor	Role
Brenda Fricker	Bridie
John Kavanagh	Bowser Egan
Mick Lally	Dano Ryan
Niall Toibin	Eyes Horgan
Joe Pilkington	Tim Daly
Brid Brennan	Patty Byrne
Ingrid Craigie	Eenie Mackie
Cyril Cusack	Mr. Dwyer

Background and production

• The film was based on a short story by William Trevor set in County Leitrim, Ireland.
• The film was shot on location in Ballycroy, County Mayo as by 1986 the ballroom which William Trevor had originally written about had been modernized and no longer resembled a dance hall typical of 1950s Ireland.

Almost all of the production personnel involved in the BBC/RTÉ co-production ‘Ballroom of Romance’ came from the BBC, along with Producer Kenith Trodd.

The RTÉ participation in the production consisted of Director Pat O’Connor and Editor Maurice Healy. The post-production (Editing) was carried out at RTÉ in Dublin, in late 1981 and early 1986.

Sound mixing was done at BBC Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd’s Bush, London. Rank Film Laboratories in Denham supplied the film prints for the television broadcasts.

Extras were from the locals from within the Ballycroy area.

External links

• The Ballroom of Romance at IMDb