Stepping out of the shade, into the limelight

While many 75-year-olds would be forgiven for putting their feet up to enjoy their retirement, Glangevlin native Philip Dolan has instead made his acting debut in a movie.

Philip plays ‘Jamesie’, an elderly farmer in new Irish film ‘That They May Face The Rising Sun’ - an adaptation of John McGahern’s treasured novel of the same name. It premiered in London late last year and made its Irish bow at the Dublin Film Festival last weekend where it picked up the award for Best Irish Film.

Philip is too modest to acknowledge his on screen parts as even acting, and even puts his involvement in the film down to happenstance.

Director Pat Collins was shooting a documentary about renowned Traveller singer Tommy McCarthy, who used to stay with Philip at his adopted home in Knockcroghery, Roscommon. They used Philip’s home to shoot some footage, and after they all hit the local pub. With filming dates for the McGahern film approaching, Pat had yet to cast the supporting role of ‘Jamesie’.

“I was telling stories from Glangevlin where I’m from in West Cavan,” explains Philip of the fateful night. “Pat Collins, I don’t know what he saw in me, but he said to himself that night ‘That’s my Jamesie’.”

Pat returned to visit Philip, but this time he was joined by casting director Maureen Hughes.

“They did interviews with me in the house in Knockcrogerhy for maybe two hours. I think later on that evening I got notification that I had the part if I wanted to take it.

“Of course I said yes,” he says emphatically.

The Celt is surprised how Philip could have been so up for the role. Surely there was a part of him that doubted his ability to do this?

“Of course, of course, but yet...”

Part of the secret behind Philip’s confidence is that he could do justice to the role. He believes he knows the real life person on whom McGahern based the fictional character ‘Jamesie’. McGahern reportedly often used real life people to put flesh on his fictional characters; for example the book’s main characters Joe and Kate return from England to build a life in rural Ireland as McGahern and his wife Madeline did.

Philip is “almost certain” his good friend, we’ll simply call Michael to respect his privacy, is the inspiration behind the character.

“That’s a massive coincidence,” he readily acknowledges of Michael who he describes as “sort of family”.

“In the book McGahern - through Joe, the character - talks about going to Athleague with lambs with Jamesie. And Michael did that trip with McGahern several times, and they used to stop in pubs.

“In the book he talks about Jamesie’s house and there were 10 clocks in it which all struck at different times - and that was Michael’s house. One clock would strike 12 and it would just stop and there would be a minute’s silence and next thing another one would strike up and it could take 15 minutes to strike 12 o’clock.”

He describes Michael as an “unassuming” man who was indifferent to McGahern using his alter-ego Jamesie in the novel. Philip adds that Michael’s “quite taken by the coincidence” that his friend is playing ‘him’.

Philip readily admits to being a huge McGahern fan and has read all of his books. He happily recalls meeting him through Michael.

“He was a very ordinary man, I knew he was a writer - I was reading his books at the time, but he didn’t get fazed by it, he just said that’s what he did and he blended in very well with the people in the area - he didn’t put himself above people.”

Shooting saw Philip and the cast of high class actors including Barry Ward, Anna Bederke, Ruth McCabe, Seán McGinley and Brendan Conroy decamp to Lenaun in Mayo and various locations around Maam Valley in Connemara.

“They’re all top class actors. I was the only fool in the middle of them,” he says with a laugh.

“I didn’t act. The way I was doing the part I didn’t have to act,” says Philip explaining he instead he tried to inhabit the older men he fondly recalled meeting throughout his life.

“I had a great old time for the older guys - I’m now old myself - but old guys in Glangevlin, old guys in Knockcroghery, the old guys around Elphin, so it was quite easy to just fall into the part of the way they do it.

“I didn’t even try to act, I didn’t even bother to act, but yet the professional actors said to me: ‘You must have acted before.”

It’s not just the actors who appreciated his natural acting ability. In a glowing review of the film by a Santa Barbara publication this week it notes how Philip was a newcomer to the artform and added: ‘It says a lot that he can hold his own with McGinley and Roddy, who are real pros.’

High praise indeed.

Does Philip regret not having acted before now?

“Well, no” he says through a laugh that scales the height of Cuilcagh at the suggestion.

In fairness his job as a commissioning engineer with the French Oil Company sounded pretty exciting too. It took him to Africa, the Far East, Azerbaijan, Singapore, so he has no regrets.

“I was just delighted that this came along because I had the best summer of my life and they turned out to be the nicest group of people I could ever have worked with,” he says of the film in his gentle voice which chimes with the Jamesie character.

“I’ll have to be odjus careful not to let all this go to my head,” he jokes and cites McGahern from a short story: ‘The old people used always to say, it was never lucky to be too noticed. The shady corners are safer’, before adding:

“So I’m away off now to find a shady corner!”