Underplayed Gems

The Year of the French (1982)

The Year of the French poster
Genre
drama
Country
United Kingdom
Length
1 season, 6 episodes
Rating
8.0 of 10 from 1 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

The series is about the 1798 French invasion of Ireland to help Irish rebels fight British forces. It follows the events and people involved in this military campaign.

historicaldramaticslow-burnthoughtfulsomberatmospheric

What happens

The Year of the French was a television serial, directed by Michael Garvey and based on the novel by Thomas Flanagan, which was first broadcast in 1982. It was a co-production by the Irish broadcaster RTÉ, the British television company Channel Four and the French broadcaster FR3, now France 3. The first episode was shown on RTÉ television on 18 November 1982. In France the programme was known as L'année des Français and was first broadcast on 23 May 1983. The title refers to the year 1798 when French troops sailed to Ireland to support Irish rebels against the British forces under Lord Cornwallis. To accompany the series Paddy Moloney composed and arranged music which was performed by The Chieftains with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, conducted by Proinnsias O'Duinn, and with Ruairi Somers on bagpipes. The album of this music was released in 1983. Historian Guy Beiner has shown that the filming of the series on location in Killala, County Mayo made an impact on local folklore and regenerated oral traditions of Bliain na bhFrancach (the Irish language term for "The Year of the French", which was commonly used to refer to memories of the French invasion and local rebellion in 1798). Battle scenes were filmed on location in Killala in 1981, about one hundred members of the Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil (Irish Army Reserve) transported from Castlebar Military Barracks over a period of nearly two weeks to play roles of French, English and Scottish soldiers as well as Irish peasants. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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