20 years ago, Leonn Ward’s father was involved in an accident out at sea – in Wooden Wheel, she strips away the trauma to focus on the rituals of his recovery
, an old Irish folk song that taps into a long tradition of sean-nós singing. “Lord, if dreams were only real, I’d put my hand on that wooden wheel,” go the lyrics. “And with all my heart I’d turn her around, and tell the boys we’re homeward bound.” This song about longing for home, and turning back into the past, also opens Ward’s poetic tribute to her father, who spent his life at sea from the age of 17, up until her mother was diagnosed with cancer.
“My father is one of those people – when you look into his eyes you know he’s lived a life. He’s usually very stoic, so part of me wanted to use this as an opportunity for him to open up to me, using the camera as a prop almost” – Leonn WardLW: Quite simply because my father has only ever remembered it as a traumatic experience. Since the accident 20 years ago, he’s undergone several operations; he’s practically a bionic man.
I found a true diamond called Peter Byrne and once I heard his voice I knew he was perfect. Sean-nòs belongs in a pub, so it only felt right to record it in one. On a Sunday morning, the local pub near Peter’s house in Inchicore opened for us. Myself, my DOP Harry Wheeler, the local sound recorder, and Peter sat around a table with a pint of Guinness each, [and we] listened to him sing some options. When he sangI knew it was the one.
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