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You are here: Home / Immigrant Tales / The Crest – A Documentary Film About Two Descendants Of The King Of The Blaskets

The Crest – A Documentary Film About Two Descendants Of The King Of The Blaskets

May 28, 2013 by Irish American Mom 12 Comments

“Two descendants of an Irish king journey to the island he once presided over — not to reclaim the land, but to surf the waves.”

This tagline captured my imagination. Today I am delighted to share a guest post, written by Eliza Kane, co-producer of an amazing documentary film, The Crest. 

It tells the story of two descendants of the King of the Blasket Islands who have never met.  Patrick Kane’s (in Irish Pádraig O Catháin’s) great-great-grandsons have inherited a deep seated love for the ocean and surfing.  Upon discovering each other, they arranged to meet for the first time in the land of their unique heritage, to explore their history and satisfy a desire to conquer the dangerous water of The Blasket Islands. This week their dreams will become reality.

 

Here is Eliza’s story……

 

The Blasket Islands
View Of The Blasket Islands From The County Kerry Coast

I grew up hearing tales about a legend of Irish culture, the small collection of sparsely populated isles off the coast of West Kerry known as the Blaskets. Though beloved in Ireland for their rugged beauty and the iconic folk lifestyle that prevailed there since approximately the 11th century, not many Americans are aware of this magical place – I happened to be more fortunate because my father’s family hails from it.

Still, I never expected to play a role in passing those stories on by co-producing a full-scale documentary. That is, not until last summer, when through a nexus of fateful alignments Butter Flavored Films green lit the project; I came on board to assist my brother John, who had fostered the idea into a solid pitch.

There have already been many studies on the fishermen and families who settled An Blascaod Mór, the Great Blasket Island. Historians and literary scholars are fascinated by its time capsule-like preservation of pre-Anglicized gaeltacht culture, the wealth of Irish-language memoirs and poetry that emerged from so small a community, and the eventual demise of the island.

Painting Surf Boards On The Blasket Islands
Andy (the east coast cousin) painting surfboards handmade by Dennis (the west coast cousin) in front of their great great grandfather’s house on the Great Blasket.

It was evacuated by the government in 1953; the reasons given spoke to the welfare of the last inhabitants: the fundamental unsustainability of their lifestyle given limited resources and dwindling youth, the unrelenting danger of the waters that separated them from the mainland, and perhaps most poetically, their growing loneliness.

But the film my brother and I are producing will not be a mere re-telling of what is already known and romanticized about the Blaskets; it will instead revive the ghosts of those lost generations by telling its own story, one set in the present day. This story features two direct descendants of the most famous Blasket king, Padraig O’Cathain (Kane), American cousins who happen to have their own reckless love for fatal waters: they have both devoted their lives to surfing.

Denis 'DK' Kane
Denis ‘DK’ Kane

 Image Credit

Due to the separation of Kane family branches when their parents were young, Dennis “DK” Kane and Andy Jacob just found out about each other as adults, only some months ago. While doing research on his unique Blasket roots, DK was able to track down my brother John. When we realized this long lost cousin seemed to be a west coast version of Andy, with whom we’d grown up on the east coast, we knew they had to get acquainted – and they will, meeting for the first time during Ireland’s historic reunion of international offspring, The Gathering.

During this weeklong celebration we are documenting the meeting of these youths and their attempts to catch the waves that both kept their ancestors protected from cultural genocide and ultimately pushed them out of their reclusion and into the American frontier. We will also capture what it is for these two boys to discover each other while grown and to re-graft the severed branches of their family tree in the country of its roots.

Andrew Jacob
Andrew Jacob

 Image Credit

It could seem that I am enamored with this story because it belongs to my family, but I would argue that truly, it is the story of everyone who has emigrated and of their children’s children who grow up elsewhere. We, the grand- or great-grand children of immigrants are often reminded of the fact that we are not just American, and yet it remains a mystery as to what that something is.

For example, all my life people have approached me and said, “Let me guess – you’re Irish.” I suppose that with my fair, freckled complexion and fiery hair it seems a safe bet, and genetically speaking, it is right on the mark.

Literally, however, I am only American, as are my parents and theirs.

So how much am I actually Irish, if at all?

 

Did I only inherit a stereotypical silhouette,

or might something of my ancestors’ homeland

and their passions have been transmitted as well?

 

Arriving On the Blasket Islands
The Surfers & Film Crew Arriving On The Blasket Islands This Weekend.

These are questions every non-native American must shoulder, whether or not she addresses them consciously. There looms the shadow of an orphan complex among all of us who are descended from the pioneering spirits of immigrants. It is natural to crave reunion, to look backward and beyond our current circumstances to understand their origins.

The Irish intuit that stories like DK and Andy’s are out there waiting to be told, which is why they have organized the Gathering to invite us back. And we, the estranged children of Ireland, are only too glad to go and be embraced by the culture that birthed our families into being.

To learn more about our documentary, “The Crest”, please visit www.crestmovie.com

We will gratefully accept pledges to our fundraising campaign via Kickstarter through the morning of 4 June 2013, after which support can be directed to [email protected]. Thank you!

Eliza Kane
Eliza C. Kane

Image Credit

Eliza C. Kane earned a BA and MA in literature with a concentration in Eco-criticism. She has taught anglophone literature and writing at University of Massachusetts Boston as well as Lycée Félix Esclangon in Provence, France.

Originally from Vermont, often on the road, now based in Cambridge, MA, Eliza works for the Alliance Française and devotes her free time to creative writing, conceptual art, and other narrative projects such as this one. Her work has appeared in such publications as Inertia Magazine, Ekleksographia, nthWORD Magazine, Stranded in Stereo, San Diego CityBeat, and The Mass Media.

 

Thank you for this wonderful article. Wishing Eliza and her team every success with this fabulous project. I hope your fundraising efforts will help bring this documentary to fruition.

Enjoy every moment of your time in Ireland and County Kerry, Eliza. I hope your experiences there will help you reconnect with the land of your ancestors. Although you may be first and foremost an American, your Irish ancestors’ passions for life, storytelling and adventure runs deep in your veins. As an Irish woman born and bred, I say you and yours will always be Irish too.  I look forward to watching the finished documentary.

 

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

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Filed Under: Immigrant Tales, Stories from the Present, Stories of our Ancestors Tagged With: County Kerry, Immigrant Tales, Stories from the Present, Stories of our Ancestors, The Blasket Islands

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Comments

  1. Aimee says

    May 28, 2013 at 9:07 am

    How fascinating!! Can’t wait to see it!

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      May 29, 2013 at 10:15 am

      Aimee – I love the premise of this documentary. I think it is amazing how both great-great-grandsons feel drawn to the water. The Atlantic ocean played a huge role in their ancestors’ lives, and that connection to the ocean has been passed down through their genes.
      All the best,
      Mairéad

      Reply
      • Aimee says

        May 29, 2013 at 7:52 pm

        It is amazing! The Irish land (and oceans) sure are powerful! It really seems to have a way to draw us to what connects us to ‘home’.

        Reply
        • Irish American Mom says

          May 30, 2013 at 6:46 am

          Beautifully said, Aimee. The land and oceans of Ireland are definitely a constant draw.
          Take care,
          Mairéad

          Reply
  2. margie says

    May 28, 2013 at 10:35 am

    This sounds like the kind of production that I will be anxiously awaiting. I have enough Irish blood that I feel more Irish than American.

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      May 29, 2013 at 10:17 am

      Margie – I so look forward to this documentary too. Tales like these are truly worth telling, and recording for today and for the generations to come. It is lovely to hear how connected to Ireland you feel. Once Ireland is in your blood you will always feel drawn to her magical shores.
      All the best,
      Mairéad

      Reply
  3. Máiréad says

    June 7, 2013 at 10:33 am

    This looks great! I just visited their kickstarter page and see that it’s reached it’s funding goal! I wonder when the documentary will be released. I will be looking out for it.

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      June 9, 2013 at 6:52 am

      Máiréad – I was so happy to see this project reached its funding goal. Such a wonderful story definitely needs to be told. I think the film should be available towards the end of 2013 or in early 2014. When I learn of a release date I’ll update everyone.
      All the best,
      Mairéad

      Reply
  4. Máiréad says

    January 8, 2015 at 5:33 pm

    Is there any update as to when this movie is coming out/came out? And where one might be able to see it?
    Thanks,
    Máiréad R.

    Reply
    • Irish American Mom says

      January 8, 2015 at 6:06 pm

      Hi Máiréad – I hope you had a lovely Christmas. I believe this movie is in editing stages right now. Their goal is to have it ready for release at the Dingle Film Festival in the spring. If I hear anything else I’ll add the information here.
      Happy New Year.
      Mairéad

      Reply
      • Máiréad says

        January 8, 2015 at 7:05 pm

        Many Happy Returns Mairéad!
        Thanks for this update . I appreciate you checking into it for me. I am also looking forward to seeing this one: http://www.cominghomedocumentary.com/
        also coming out in 2015 (but no date that I can find). Had you heard about it? I read about today in the Irish Times:
        http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/generation-emigration/what-i-learned-while-making-a-documentary-about-emigration-1.2059261

        Reply
        • Irish American Mom says

          January 10, 2015 at 9:32 am

          Máiréad – Thanks so much for this other recommendation. I’ll definitely check it out – it sounds really interesting. “The concept of home and what it means to different people is at the heart of this intimate portrayal of Irish emigrant life.” – This line on their website makes the documentary sound very emotional. I look forward to seeing it.
          All the best,
          Mairéad

          Reply

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