THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY

GB / IRE
2006
2hrs 06mins
Dir: Ken Loach
Starring: Cillian Murphy and Orla Fitzgerald

Two brothers are caught up in the troubles of 1920s Ireland

This widely-praised drama set during the Irish War of Independence takes its title from Robert Dwyer Joyce’s Irish ballad set during the 1798 rebellion in Ireland and featured early in the film. The production is heavily influenced by Walter Macken’s 1964 novel The Scorching Wind but it is not a direct adaptation. It features one scene early on where British soldiers attack the crew of Irish J15 Class 0-6-0 No.186 working a short train of three coaches. This brutal scene was filmed at Killarney station on the Mallow to Tralee line.

British troops assemble on the platform at Killarney station, with the train of heritage stock in the platform
Having been roughed up by the British, the fireman gets back on the footplate of the locomotive. This is a good shot of the preserved J15 Class 0-6-0 No.186.