From to Hong Kong to Ardara: film on Donegal distillery selected for Galway Film Fleadh
Still He Waits, by Donegal filmmaker Paul McGuckin, tells the story of James Doherty and his wife Moira's return to Donegal to establish a distillery
The story behind the distillery which produced the first legally-distilled whiskey in Donegal for more than 180 years is being told in a documentary that has been selected for next month’s Galway Film Fleadh.
Still He Waits, by Donegal filmmaker Paul McGuckin, tells the story of James Doherty and his wife Moira's return to Donegal to establish a distillery.
A journey that starts in Hong Kong and finishes in the homeland of Doherty’s parents who, like many, were forced to emigrate to England in search of work, results in the building of the Ardara Distillery and the production of Sliabh Liag whiskey.
The film, which was screened at the Kilcar International Film Festival in February, tells of Doherty’s quest to reclaim Donegal’s distilling heritage.
“We’re delighted to announce that our story is hitting the big screen at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh,” Sliabh Liag Distillers said of the screening.
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“What began as a journey to reclaim Donegal’s distilling heritage and build The Ardara Distillery has grown into something even more special.
“Filmmaker Paul McGuckin initially joined us to capture some archival footage but saw the potential for something bigger. The result is a documentary centred on our founder James Doherty's homecoming and the road less travelled to bring back a once lost style of Irish whiskey making.”
The film will screen at the Galway Film Fleadh in the Pálás Cinema on Friday, July 11.
The documentary, which was three years in the making, was directed, written and produced by McGuckin and is his first film. A lecturer at ATU Donegal, he started out in photography before progressing to film.