Produced and directed by son and daughter, Seamus and Margaret, the film is a celebration of their father’s life and his relationship and marriage to the girl a few doors down, Mary Quinn. They were, as Benny says, ‘Great’.
Many hours were spent making these recordings over a couple of years and Margaret has carefully edited this stockpile of film into a tender and humorous one hour long documentary, which is not only a personal story, but also a social history.
A labour of love, ‘GREAT’ tells of Benny’s early life; his school days; World War 2; smuggling; cock fighting; boxing and much more. He worked on the Rural Electricity Scheme digging holes for poles and later wiring country houses for the first time. He played trombone with Brendan Mc Nulty’s band during the great showband era.
Benny spent over twenty years as film projectionist in the Ritz cinema – he describes this as his dream job. Benny celebrated his centenary July ‘25 at his home on Donegal Road where he is living out the remainder of his days with the support of his loving family.
“Crossing Lines,” a 12 minute short documentary will be shown prior to the film “Great.” This short film was also produced and directed by Margaret and Seamus Gordon, alongside, Tom Hannigan and Sean Harkin, in 2022.
“Crossing Lines” tells the story of TT Harps (Twin Town Harps). In 1979, a group of young women formed a football team that was both cross-border and cross-religion. While politicians and community leaders struggled to build bridges, these girls let the beautiful game create a world of friendship and acceptance. A world where they all belonged.
* All proceeds will be donated to Animals in Donegal Aid Sanctuary.
