The Calendar Girls calendars were, quite literally, hot off the press and delivered on cue by Walsh Colour Print as last night’s 9:30pm film viewing time loomed.
The magic of those few weeks in April and the worry of reading scripts, highlighting and remembering lines and tightening up on timing were re-lived at the local viewing at the River Island Hotel.
Several people there expressed feelings of missing the buzz and the camaraderie of those few weeks.
Shoulders-to-the-Wheel
They remarked on the sheer amount of goodwill and shoulders-to-the-wheel community attitude around the filming and the local hype it created. And, as master of ceremonies, Pres Castleisland Principal Pierce Dargan was generous in his praise for all that community-wide involvement.
They wondered if there’s any follow up of a similar nature in the pipe-line. There is – but only Mr. Dargan knows what it is and it’s such a secret that it must be something big, bold and brilliant.
With that the publicity for whatever it is begins now in a shroud of secrecy.
Lovely Night of Community Involvement
Yes, last night’s viewing was another lovely night of community involvement – and one of the several generated by the Film Awards concept brought about by Mr. Dargan in league with Kevin Rowe Events and his brilliant camera and sound crew.
And, of course, the topic that just won’t go away, the Tops of the Town was raised by several people at the showing on Friday night. It’s a compliment to the Film Awards project that it’s compared to and remembered alongside such an iconic period of life in Castleisland in the 1970s.
As it is with a lot of these community focused nights, there was a charity element to it and Breda Dyland and Trish Kelly from the Kerry Cancer Support Group were in attendance.
Addressing the ‘cinema goers’ present, Breda thanked all there for making another trip to Castleisland such a good news event for the group.
Funds to Kerry Cancer Support Group
She recalled another visit here when a combination of local choirs dedicated the proceeds of a choral evening to the group.
And the clients at Castleisland Day Care Centre are knitting away lovingly producing comfort blankets for the bus users.
Breda and Trish will be back in Castleisland again soon for the presentation of the proceeds of the amazingly bonded Calendar Girls 2026 calendar – the sale of which drew a crowd to the ‘sales corner’ of the River Island Hotel last night.
Brilliant Pics by Breda Mac
And even at that early stage Pierce Dargan was already looking at another print run of the calendar which is an all Castleisland production around the excellent photography of Breda McGaley.
Like the cork that fell into the bottle, even turning Pierce Dargan upside down won’t get you anywhere near a hint of what the next project is going to be.
However, judging by the past two film experiences it will be an all enveloping undertaking as he understands the kind of community he’s dealing with.
There’s on-screen evidence of the skill pool he has to work with and he knows that for every ‘star’ performer there’s a back-up team and extras waiting in the wings to do and provide whatever is asked of them. It will be good. We’ll have to wait and see.
About the Kerry Cancer Support Group
Kerry Cancer Support Group was established in 2007 and has been transporting the people of Kerry, West Cork and West Limerick to hospitals in Cork and Limerick for their cancer related treatments since 2010.
Their motto is that “No one should face their cancer journey alone” and having transported over 75% of those diagnosed in the region since foundation they hope that they are living up to this. They also provide information and support to families experiencing cancer and to schools and groups in the region with their different campaigns. Their centre at Maine Street in Tralee is very welcoming and people are always encouraged to drop in to discuss anything relating to their journey. Call 066-71 95560 for information
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