Filmed entirely on location in Brittany, Ireland and Wales, Kathleen Dowdey's independently-produced A Celtic Trilogy is a tribute to the tradition of Celtic storytelling, as well as a portrait of the social fabric of Celtic nations today. Stories written by Sarah Ban Breathnach and told by Siobhan McKenna are set to evocative images and traditional music, including a solo harpist, pipes, a tin whistle, fiddles, dance and the all-male “Pendyrus Choir of Merthyr Tydfil,” South Wales. Interspersed are interviews with contemporary Celts: a Breton poet, a monk descended from the druids, a school teacher, a nationalist politician and a woodcarver. Described as “distinctively Celtic in its structure and pacing,” the film provides intrinsic support for Celtic liberation movements fighting for the survival of Celtic languages, self-sufficient economies and autonomous nationhood.
“It is difficult for me to be objective about this film, as it concerns a subject so close to my very being - the struggle for autonomy for Celtic peoples - if for no other reason than the fact that their culture has survived for so long in the face of overwhelming odds. Filmmaker Dowdey structures her film so as to reflect this strength - marvellous lyrical stories based on centuries-old myths, interwoven with interviews with present-day Celts and scenes of modern Celtic life. The compelling voice of the renowned Irish actress Siobhan McKenna unites the apparently disparate strands of myth and current political and economic concerns. Some passages may be overly long, but the film follows the oral tradition of the Celts: a rambling tale told for the love of it.”