29/04/2013 - Film will deal with the only Irish person deported from the country

Ken Loach will begin shooting Jimmy’s Hall in Ireland towards the end of summer. The film is about James Gralton, the only person to be ever deported from Ireland. Gralton was an Irish communist leader who took US citizenship after emigrating there in 1909. However, he returned to Ireland and started a dance hall in Effrinagh, County Leitrim and used the venue to propagate his political views. This was opposed by the Catholic clergy and eventually led to a shooting. This led to Gralton being arrested and deported to the US in 1933 by the government led by Éamon de Valera.

The Gralton story will see Loach pick up the Irish independence saga ten years after the events depicted in Palm D’Or winning The Wind That Shakes The Barley [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ken Loach
interview: Rebecca O’Brien
film profile]. Loach and his regular co-writer Paul Laverty are putting the final touches to the script and the director is also scouting for locations in Leitrim. The film is inspired by the play Jimmy Gralton’s Dancehall by Donal O’Kelly that depicts the conflict between Gralton and the Catholic priests.

Loach’s production company Sixteen Films (UK) will produce alongside Element Pictures (Ireland) with support from the Irish Film Board.