The Liberties: Brenda

Oscar winning actress Brenda Fricker tells us why she loves living in the Liberties and talks of the value and strength of community spirit there.
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A series of 12 crafted short films, each focuses on a different character within Dublins Liberties community. It has been described as the documentary film equivalent of a portrait gallery.

The Liberties captures the character and unique humour of the people who live there. The documentary celebrates ordinary lives well lived in The Liberties - Tailor Eugene Fagan sews in a button for an 80 year old customer as they chat; Meath Street butcher Declan Larkin carries quartered cattle into his shop at dawn; Flower Ladies, Phyllis Kavanagh and Mary Hand judge passers by on Meath St; Theyre not going to buy flowers, Theyre not going to buy flowers. Brenda Fricker polishes her Oscar at home, just off the Coombe and recounts the comment from friends; What are you doing living up there, Brenda, Youll be murdered, Youll be killed.

The film was shot, produced and directed by Shane Hogan and Tom Burke and edited by Tom Burke. Original music composition was by Gerry Horan. Audio post-production was by Kevin Breathnach at Avondale Studios. Titles were designed & produced by Lorcan Finnegan and Brunella Cocchiglia at Lovely Productions. The series of films was originally funded by the Arts Council under the Once-Off Project Award in 2008.

[@karlagordon4555]

I'm from bray, my dad is from Tara Street. Old tenement style block of flats across from the cinema. I love inner city people. I know addicts give some places a bad name. Places can be rough. But the people are literally salt of the earth people. Some of my most loyal friends are inner city. Love the accent too. Miss my nana and grandad. Their flat was tiny, stairs up to it was concrete and cold. But they made their home so cosy.

[@karlbyrne6021]

Ah karla, when my granny died I got her flat, the one I was reared in. Love the flats.

[@karlagordon4555]

@@karlbyrne6021 ah lovely. My dad was the last person in those flats on Tara street. Right beside the garda station. They got him a new flat but they're getting rid of the old ones. I'd give anything to spend a night in my nana flat . So glad you got to live in yours

[@karlbyrne6021]

@@karlagordon4555 I'm from Bishop st. But had kin from Townsend st on my granny's side. It's all very different down there now.

[@SuperPinklady08]

We went to school there on the old Coombe for 5 years - ❤️☘️🙏🌼🫖

[@paddioche]

amazing piece, brenda is super and the liberties is lovely, the bit at the end was funny:)

[@michaelcollins237]

Like her alot Good woman

[@Kari482]

just lovely...

[@briannolan8061]

See Ollie Bulger there with his horse and cart, he lived on Kildare Rd Crumlin.

[@Starkardur]

So she lives a quiet life in an area she feels comfortable in. Why is that a bad thing (apparently some gossip mags like to think that is a bad thing)

[@irelandmyisland]

Brilliant

[@derekcasey5470]

13 years ago and only irish people, times have changed and not for the better

[@jaykowsh1027]

What was wrong with Central Park?!

[@rl5725]

Is this the actress, the bird lady from home alone

[@annedonnellan6876]

My Left Foot

[@o-kay368]

Like most Northsiders (inner city), I see the Liberties as a nice area. Full of nice people , celebrities, athletes, artists, traders, swanky pubs, fancy resturants, students and locals with strong Dublin accents. That's where we go when we win the lotto, go to college, get a an office job, meet yuppies, go to a show or just need a break. But the real Dublin is the North Inner City, no celebs around here.

[@orlalolo4585]

Lol 🤣🤣🤣 liberties most definitely not a "nice" area it was one the first area,s in Dublin destroyed by heroin and still is so nothing nice about it it just happens to have lot successful ppl because they didn't want to end in they poverty trap , still laughing at it's a nice area , it has nice people tho

[@briandoherty245]

Lovely area! And jaysus they do a great gangland funeral!

[@ritamarshall9664]

@@orlalolo4585

[@themushieman]

Moving

[@margaretbrowne8368]

You can not here talking with the Music

[@hugh0221]

I want to study a Dublin accent, but I need subtitles to understand this video. BTW, what are the differences between Dublin accents and Saoirse Ronan's Irish one? How can they be described?

[@djsvideodiarys]

hugh0221 Saoirse is nuetral( on the posh side came from influent actor parents I believe). Im full blown Dubliner but often sound like Eminem or an American mixed with Conor McGregor(me and him only lived down the street from each other, Owen Roddy his training partner trained me in Jiu Jitzu, so its also regional, but accents change drastically from small region to small region). I would be considered lower middle class coming from lower class family, the same as Conor McGregor. American media on TV influenced my accent as a child because I was raised by the TV and became more neutral (hollywood is most of the Western media) The slight American accent like Conor would put on for an American fight conference to appeal to the American fan base that probably cant all understand every word we make is not an act, my region that is mutual with owen Roddy and Conor McGregor, we often interchange between rough thugish to neutral American accents, depending in what environmental situation we're in. Theirs more accents in Dublin alone than the UK probably. And theres way more accents in the whole of Ireland all extremely distinct from each other, most of the time by County. Owen Roddy, Conor McGregor training partner on his KZbin vlog releases videos of him hanging out with Connor, that's a good example of a lower middle class accent, conor McGregor's true accent it's probably a little bit lower class like my family. Keep in mind, we are millennials, and the Millennium Irish have a mixture of old Irish tonality along with american. Back in the last generation before the millennials literally everyone was poor and because of that more rough and diverse accents were the norm. There was little to no middle class. Now you have a large upper class of Dublin that have a very nice unique yet American and neutral accent. Then you have the snobbish sounding extremely higher class Dublin accent which is often unique but reminiscent of posh british accents Brenda here has a Liberty type accent just like my grandmother. Now Ireland has had an influx of foreigners who mostly all have neutral americanish accents, especially the Blacks, who have accents mix between african, blacks from the UK, and of course african american. The young foreigners from Eastern European and the likes has neutral americanish accents as well, of course again sometimes this thing from each other. Sorry for any typos for phone broke. Saoirse would be slightly upper class as you can tell from her privellaged background.

[@alspenlow6399]

@@djsvideodiarys Saoirse Ronan most definitely does not come from a privileged background ....mam was a nanny dad was a barman.....hardly privileged

[@dfa3366]

You can see her Oscar in the back ground.

[@eringobreathtiocfaidharla1446]

Joe Al pachino,and there's brenda x

[@endless2804]

Oh Gosh, I canee remember who ya arrr???

[@EireFirst2024]

See what they did to the Dean swift😳

[@Marlondurran]

Give up the smokes Brenda or they will give you up!!

[@deeppurple883]

The people that are in these house's now, most are not from the area they taught they bought into a ready made community. It didn't work out like that up there, it's like a ghost town. People don't know one another they don't come our to mingle or try get to know their neighbours. Foundations of sand. Poverty brought the old liberty people together. As a result they can't be a real community like it once was. It's like that on the North side also. Old Dublin stock dying out. Yuppies coming again the second wave.

[@rachelmoran2205]

Gentrification. A tragedy for the Dublin people.

[@Mosterdpot030]

bird wife from home alone

[@davehyde6207]

An oscar winning actress and our nations pride just being real..

[@amandamolloy6117]

Rip brenda

[@michaelcullen5308]

She's retired. She's not dead.

[@samnicholson5051]

@@michaelcullen5308 she's come back to acting since.

[@patrickglennon7058]

She has risen from the dead

[@bradley583]

yikes i can barely understand her...

[@joywalsh6012]

I love her gentle speaking accent, it makes me homesick! 🇨🇮☘