Published: Wednesday, 28th July, 2010 5:30pm

Filmmaker to visit Uisneach for Irish documentary

Film maker and Emmy award winner Alan Cooke will be visiting the midlands, and in particular Mullingar, Lough Derravaragh and the Hill of Uisneach, to make a new documentary to capture all that's inspirational about Ireland.

From Dublin originally, Alan's intention is to make a film, aptly named "The Spirit of Ireland", that will capture all that is good and great about Irish culture, the landscape, its people and its music, and to help them forget about the recession.

For this he will travel across Ireland talking to poets, farmers and ordinary people and invite them to tell their story of Ireland.

Having spent six year's in New York, Alan's first film 'HOME', which was supposed to be a poetic reflection of his time there, gathered momentum and snowballed into an Emmy Award winning documentary, which featured people like Woody Allen, Liam Neeson, Frank McCourt and Susan Sarandon. Having returned home in 2007, Alan soon discovered the Ireland he had left behind in 2001 was extraordinarily different, it was the beginning of the downturn. And so he started forming an idea to re-establish the pride of Irish people, firstly among themselves, and secondly, throughout the world.

"I am attempting to make something epic. Something unique and beautiful," Alan told the Westmeath Examiner this week.

"Ireland is in a deep time of woe, scandals and financial corruption have rocked it's people. I want to make my own people love our culture again. Love our landscape and the mysterious nature of our ways," he explained.

However because "The Spirit of Ireland" is a self-funded and independent project, Alan is looking for sponsorship:

"I brought the last film into the public eye through blood sweat and tears. So I am asking for sponsorship this time, whether it's one euro or full corporate sponsorship.

"I'm urging people to visit my website www.thespiritofirelandfilm.com or contact me directly via email: alanmcooke@gmail.com or call 086 1791410 to find out more," he said.