RTS Republic of Ireland hosted a special screening of Birgitta Pierre’s 1970 documentary, A Jar with Brendan Behan, in mid-November at RTÉ Studio 4 in Dublin.
The film was shot and produced by Godfrey Graham, who revealed at the RoI event that, at the time, Pierre had been a Swedish researcher working at RTÉ Television. She was fascinated with the Irish writer and approached Graham, who took on the challenge of producing the tribute to Behan.
A Jar with Brendan Behan features Níall Tóibín as Behan, who died in 1964. Tóibín also appeared in a stage adaptation of Behan’s Borstal Boy on Broadway, as well as acting in the movies Ryan’s Daughter and Veronica Guerin.
At the RTS RoI event, Graham revealed that Alan Esslemont, director-general of Irish TV station TG4, is planning to give A Jar with Brendan Behan its TV premiere in the near future.
