Christy Brown, My Left Foot – Radharc
This Radharc film originally aired in October 1962 and documents the life of the famous Irish painter and writer, Christy Brown. In the film, Father Peter Lemass visits Christy at home in Crumlin, talks with him and shows us his work.
Christy Brown was born on 5th of June 1932 in Crumlin, Dublin, the tenth of 22 children born to a bricklayer and his wife. During infancy Christy was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a disability which caused him to have limited muscular control apart from his left foot. With the help of his family and devoted mother, Christy learned to read and write. During his teens he started to paint and wrote his autobiography My Left Foot (1954), which became an international literary sensation and was made into the 1989 Oscar-winning film, directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Day Lewis and Brenda Fricker.
Radharc was an independent production company established by Father Joe Dunn, Father Desmond Forristal and other like-minded priests to make programmes for television and non-theatrical exhibition. Between 1961 and 1996 they made over 400 films in 75 countries on social, political and religious issues.
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With kind permission of The Radharc Trust.
