History is a cycle, humans do not change, we’re peasants with iPhones.
I researched a priest, Canon William Kennedy, a bible thumper by all accounts. I wanted to see if his time, 1920s Ireland, was similar to today. Between the war of independence, World War 1 and Irelands civil war, reality was frightening, though the lockdown that we’re experiencing now is luxury when compared to the fear and uncertainty of then.
I wanted to see if he had been involved in the Limerick Soviet of 1919, I found out that he wasn’t, and that he was! History is complex and when researching the catholic church, access to diocesan records are fiercely guarded, for many, regrettably familiar, reasons.
As this door closed though, another one opened. I started to see patterns. Patterns of social oppression and exploitation that repeat to this day. I began to formulate an idea.
I want to make three interlocking pieces set in the past, present and future using the banshee as a narrator. Like Cassandra, a woman warns of impending doom but is not believed. I want to use local stories to speak of global issues.
My research led me down many roads, some with dead ends, but I am excited to continue traveling down this one.