(2)Man of Aran

Man of Aran (1934)

Discover Aran Islands film locations with our Connemara Film Trail Map

Pioneering filmmaker Robert Flaherty captures the everyday trials of life on Ireland’s unforgiving Aran Islands in the 1930s and gives a new meaning to life on the edge. The film is a blend of documentary and fictional narrative, highlighting the hardships of life on the islands and showing the struggle of earning a living from the Atlantic Ocean and the rocky landscape of the island.

Director

Robert J. Flaherty pioneer US documentary maker and ethnographer, ‘Father of the documentary’.

Starring: Local people including Tiger King, Maggie Derrane, and Michael Derrane.

Famous associations

Flaherty’s most renowned film was his first, Nanook of the North.  All his work showed his fascination for remote communities battling against the elements.

Quotation

‘’Go out looking for one thing, and that’s all you’ll ever find” Robert J. Flaherty

‘’I have already been accused of trying to drown a boatload of wild Irishmen on Aran!’’
Robert Flaherty describes the wildness of the Aran Islands.

Trivia: He had to import fishermen from the west of Scotland as the Aran islanders had long since ceased to harpoon sharks. The film’s publicity in London showed a giant currach.

Links

Árainn, Inis Mór’s spectacular prehistoric fort perched on top of a sea cliff, Dun Aonghasa. Árainn, Inis Mór, is also the location for scenes in Banshees of Inisherin, Leap Year, and features in The Matchmaker.