Mark O'Halloran & Film Ireland Survey Sex in Irish Cinema

Irish cinema and sex. When you think about it, that sentence is probably as close as the former has ever gotten to the latter. That much we all know. But Mark O’Halloran, as guest editor of Film Ireland, is asking why. Is the Celtic Tiger a prude? Does it spend its days (and nights) consumed with Catholic guilt, fighting temptation with thermal underwear and cold showers? Or, as some seem to think, is it just too damn cold for nonessential nudity?

Or maybe you think Ireland’s cinema is just fine the way it is. Perhaps we Celts are just a little more mature than those hot-blooded Americans, Europeans, Britons, er, most other nationalities that splash sex everywhere. We don’t need to actually show the act. We can just hint at it. We can just sit in the next room, listening. Like when Brenda Fricker and Ray McAnally make sweet love in My Left Foot. The essence of Irish sex.

So what we’re trying to find out is: is the absence of sex from Irish film the considered moderation of a mature adult or the awkward bumbling of a teenager, lately freed from the trammels of a too-strict parent? And who better to ask than you? Our survey aims to get a slice of public opinion that we can dissect in the Jan/Feb issue of Film Ireland. It only takes five minutes and you can answer anonymously. However, if you’re feeling a little more adventurous, you can enter your email and be in with a chance to win Filmbase membership and a medium-sized painting of your favourite film star, kindly provided by The Art of Revolution.

Please click here to enter the survey.

If you missed Mark O'Halloran's interview with Simon Maher on Phantom Daily (21st November) you can listen to it here:

High quality mp3
Medium quality mp3