1/5
Episode One – The Renaissance
Brian Fenton fights back tears as he details his love of the game, while David Clifford’s magical feet are revealed in slow motion and Shane Walsh kicks the paint off the gable wall at his family home. Episode One of Hell for Leather takes us from these modern magicians on a journey back in time, to the rough and tumble origins of Gaelic Football. Through rebellion and civil war, it exploded like a prairie fire to become the most played game in Ireland.
Series Overview:
Hell for Leather – The Story of Gaelic Football – a brand-new 5-part series, delving into the role of Gaelic Football in the sporting, cultural and social history of modern Ireland, starting on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player Monday on 9 June.
Over 5 years in the making, the series is the first major television history of the game exploring the evolution of Gaelic football from its inception to the modern day, and the incalculable contribution which the sport has made to Irish life.
Filmed in cinema-quality 4K, the series also features the final television interviews conducted with GAA icons Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Kerry’s Seán Murphy and Mick O’Dwyer, Dublin’s Jimmy Gray and Mayo’s John O’Mahony.
Chronicling how the game has changed through more than a century of rebellion and revolution, bitter rivalries, triumphs, upsets and comebacks, the series is both a celebration and exploration of a unique arm of Irish life. Its powerful story is told through the testimonies of players, managers and expert commentators, captivating archive and stunning visuals.
Hell for Leather – The Story of Gaelic Football tells the story of a game born out of necessity, dreamt up by a nation in search of a social identity and an indigenous sport that could challenge the pre-eminence of foreign games. The game later took root in the northern counties and became a truly all-island proposition – a game of and for the Irish people. A sport with a presence in just about every village in Ireland, Gaelic football has a hugely important legacy – this is the story of that legacy.
The entire series consists of over 80 interviews conducted with, among others, Michael Murphy, David Clifford, Jack McCaffery, Juliet Murphy, Shane Walsh, Brian Fenton, Mick O’Connell, Cora Staunton, Joe Brolly, Tony Hanahoe, Colm Cooper and Briege Corkery. It also features contributions from managers past and present – Jim McGuinness, Padraic Joyce, Seán Boylan and Kevin McStay.
Produced by Crossing the Line Productions, the series was commissioned by RTÉ’s Head of Specialist Factual Content, Colm O’Callaghan and produced in partnership with Coimisiún na Meán and made with the support of incentives for filmmaking provided by the Government of Ireland and the generous sponsorship of Collen Construction.
