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The Clash of the Ash

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The Clash of the Ash
Directed byFergus Tighe
Written byFergus Tighe
Produced byJane Gogan
StarringLiam Heffernan
Gina Moxley
Vinny Murphy
Alan Devlin
Edited byJimmy Duggan
Music byThe Pogues, various
Production
company
Circus Films
Release date
  • 1987 (1987)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryIreland
LanguageEnglish

The Clash of the Ash Is a 1987 Irish film written and directed by Fergus Tighe,[1] and starring Liam Heffernan as Phil Kelly, with co-stars Gina Moxley, Vinny Murphy and Alan Devlin.[2][1] The film is set in the early 1980s and centered around the aspirations of a promising hurler, a popular Gaelic sport in Ireland.

The Clash of the Ash was produced by Circus Films and funded by Bórd Scánnán na hEireann and RTÉ.[3] It lasts 50 minutes and was shot largely in Fermoy, County Cork.[3] The soundtrack includes The Pogues cover of Ewan McColl's "Dirty Old Town".

Plot

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The Irish Film & Television Network describes it as a story in which the central character Phil is "under pressure from his parents who have decided how his life should proceed, [he] refuses to sit his Leaving Cert. and runs off to London to follow his own ambitions."[4]

According to the Irish Examiner, "the basic script would be familiar to frustrated youngsters anywhere in the world, all of them eager to clear out for the bright lights; the difference here is that the frustrated teenager in this case is a talented hurler."[2]

Reception

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The Clash of the Ash was critically acclaimed and became a widespread popular success in Ireland.[5][6][7] Time Out described it as a "sensitively portrayed slice of provincial life, which manages to tell its yarn with a great deal of humour and compassion."[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Clash of the Ash". Time Out. Retrieved 2 August 2020
  2. ^ a b "How the Clash showed ’em who's bas". Irish Examiner, 13 September 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b "The Clash of the Ash". Trinity College Dublin. Retrieved 2 August 2020
  4. ^ "The Clash of the Ash". Irish Film & Television Network. Retrieved 2 August 2020
  5. ^ Cunningham, Michael. "Visions of a vibrant film industry". Irish Times, 22 July 1987
  6. ^ Lord, Miriam. "Budding director's Clash Of The Ash is a hit". Irish Independent, 2 June 1987
  7. ^ Woodworth, Paddy. "Sporting Rebels". The Sunday Press, 2 August 1987