Foróige film tells story of Ford family's emigration to the US

A MOVIE on the Ballinscarthy connection to the Ford motor family will get its premiere in the village next month.

The movie, The Fordes of Ballinascarty – Freedom From Famine, was made by the local Foróige group, with the help of actors from the Kilmeen Drama Group.

In those days the family had an ‘e’ in their name, and Ballinscarthy had no ‘h’!

The film will be premiered on Saturday 15th October at 8pm in Ballinascarthy Hall with special guest, West Cork director Maurice O’Callaghan.  

Film maker Tim McCoy allowed the Forógie teenagers to use the cameras, do lighting, sound and recording. 

The project, set in Ballinascarthy in 1847, depicts the gripping agony of the famine, when the Forde family decide to emigrate to America to find a better life. 

 The film’s journey takes us from West Cork to Cobh and encompasses the sadness of leaving home.  

Henry Forde’s father, William, left Ballinascarthy when he was 21 years old, in 1847.  Little did people know, then, that he was to later become the father of America’s greatest industrialist.

 The movie reveals information about the Forde family, much of it previously
undocumented. It took 18 months to make and gives a brilliant insight into the powerfully piognant scenes of distress on board the coffin ships to America.  

Just 45 minutes long, this drama documentary is suitable for all ages, and the aim is to tour it around local West Cork schools.

The movie was made under the guidance of Foróige club leaders Kate Crowley and Betty Hennessy. ‘It certainly gave the teenage characters the opportunity of a lifetime to develop the history of the Forde family in a wonderfully captivating and compelling way,’ said Kate.