Film adaption of Leitrim writer's novel gets its Irish television premiere

Pat Collin's movie, 'That They May Face The Rising Sun' (2023) is an adaption of Leitrim Writer John McGahern’s last novel of the same name took the prime time spot on RTÉ One last night.

The movie follows a young couple, Joe and Kate Ruttledge, who move from London to Joe’s native Leitrim as they deal with major life choices, while also, witnessing their neighbours’ moments of joy, disappointment, conflict and loss.

“After watching ‘That They May Face the Rising Sun’ a classic view of rural Ireland and the day to day living of its life. A pure delight, and an interpretation of daily life within south Leitrim and West Cavan, John McGahern at his very best,” said one X, formerly Twitter user last night.

This was the first time Irish viewers had seen the film, which won Best Film at the Irish Film, Television, and Animation Awards, shown on native channels.

The film was well received online though one X user highlighted that the ads break format took away from the experience of the film, “Loved rewatching ‘That They May Face The Rising Sun’ last night, but the ad breaks were sacrilegious, like taking a beautiful painting and cutting it up into sections. "

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