Fintan O’Toole: A Life in Our Times – Making the Documentary
A Life in Words: Filmmaker Brendan Byrne Explores the World of Fintan O’Toole
Acclaimed Irish writer and journalist Fintan O’Toole takes center stage in a new documentary, Fintan O’Toole: A Life in Our Times, premiering on RTÉ One this December. Filmmaker Brendan Byrne, who previously collaborated with O’toole on the 2016 film Bobby sands: 66 Days, delves into the life and work of this influential figure, exploring his unique perspective on Irish history and society.
Byrne first encountered O’Toole while making Bobby Sands: 66 Days. Impressed by O’toole’s insightful commentary on the complex legacy of the IRA hunger striker, Byrne recognized his potential as a documentary subject. The release of O’Toole’s powerful memoir and cultural analysis,We Don’t know Ourselves,solidified this conviction.
“I think he is the most crucial public intellectual of the last quarter of a century,” Byrne states. “I wanted to make the central thesis of We Don’t Know Ourselves a core element of the film, supported by Fintan’s personal history.”
Filming began in the summer of 2023, capturing O’toole at literary festivals in Borris and Dalkey. Intimate interviews, footage of O’Toole at home in Dublin and his beloved Ballyvaughan, County Clare, paint a portrait of a man deeply connected to his roots and inspired by the Irish landscape.
Despite his intellectual prowess, O’Toole comes across as approachable and down-to-earth.”He is as agreeable with the locals in Ballyvaughan as he is breaking bread with presidents, economists and the cream of academia,” Byrne observes. “He carries his obvious intelligence well and without a hint of arrogance.”
One particularly poignant scene captures O’Toole sharing a story with his son Fionn and grandson Byörn at the National History Museum in Dublin. The story revolves around O’Toole’s father, Sam, whose discovery of a rare bird, a Pallid Swift, led to its preservation in the museum’s collection. The family chose this exhibit as a place to remember Sam, highlighting O’Toole’s belief in the interconnectedness of past, present, and future.
Another highlight is O’Toole’s visit to Belfast,where he weaves the history of Northern Ireland into the broader tapestry of Irish experience.
“It has been a genuine honor to give audiences a chance to digest and appreciate Fintan O’Toole’s unique take on Ireland,” Byrne reflects. ”As a committed citizen myself, born in Northern Ireland but with a strong Irish identity, making the film has given me a chance to highlight some of the complexities and challenges we have lived through as a society.”
Byrne believes O’Toole’s story deserves a place among the canon of great Irish writers, artists, and musicians who have shaped the nation’s cultural landscape. Fintan O’Toole: A Life in Our Times airs on RTÉ One, Wednesday, December 11th at 9:35 pm.
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