The Source Arts Centre Programme of Events Spring 2020 The Source Arts Centre Programme SPRING 2020 | Page 9

SPRING 2020
‘Land Without God’ doesn’t essentially dwell
on the abuse, but rather looks at the system
that brought it about and how it affected his
family and the working class community.
Flynn says: ‘’ We were seen as undesirable.
We were surplus to need. We couldn’t
possibly be intelligent. And where you had
opportunity to put us away you could put
us in the employ of the church.”
Flynn is grateful to his family who offer their
experiences in the film. However it’s clear
that they had their lives significantly
affected by what happened to them. ‘’We
enter directly into the middle of my family
story’’ he says, ‘’and begin to hear and
understand how the destruction of a family
happens. By eliciting testimony from my
brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews we
www.thesourceartscentre.ie
have documented how the pain and damage
of childhood trauma ripples through
generations of families and communities
whose real "sin" was to be born poor.’’
Now an independent councillor on Dublin
City Council; as a writer and performer Flynn
has mined his own life story in book form
with ‘Nothing To Say’ (1983) and his play
‘Joseph X’ (2002). It’s clear that these
experiences shape his life and work. “For the
last forty years, I have been collecting,
creating and excavating work on this
subject and my work as a politician, artist
and performer forms the living archive and
base for this film.’’
Mannix Flynn will attend the screening of
‘Land Without God’ which takes place on
Wednesday 29th of January at 8 p.m.
Box Office: 0504 90204
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