Who’s Jimmy?

“Jimmy’s Hall” is based on the true story of the only Irishman in history to be deported from his homeland. Jimmy Gralton (played by the lovely Barry Ward) joined the British army when he was a young man. He deserted the army (refusing to fight in India) and eventually ended up in New York jumping from job to job. Ten years after he had left home, Gralton returned to his small quaint home of County Leitrim, Ireland.

Jimmy had resolved to pick up his quaint life in the countryside and help his mother with her small farm. The only blight in his plan was that Gralton had come back from America with a changed perspective on the rights of the common man that fit rather awkwardly with the ideologies of the rural authorities at the time. He became an “undesirable,” insofar as he encouraged his countrymen to stand up for their rights as citizens and workers:

“The earl snaps his fingers and our brother and sister here and their five children are thrown out into the streets (. . .) We need to take control of our lives again. (. . .) Not just to survive like a dog but to live, and to celebrate, and to dance, to sing, as free human beings!” – Jimmy (Barry Ward)

Gralton was known to be involved in the workers unions in New York. The bourgeoisie members of the Irish community (mainly the clergy) became suspicious that Jimmy might be promoting communist ideals amongst the proletariat of the community. When Jimmy resurrected an old hall in the county, a communal space in which he and his countrymen could meet and learn and think together, a dark paranoia set into the minds of those who saw it their duty to control the mindset of the little people:

“Who the hell do you think you are, running classes in my Parish without my permission? – Father Sheridan (Jim Norton).

No permission required, that’s the point, we built it ourselves. – Gralton

Education is the exclusive reserve of holy mother church. Not semi-illiterates (. . .) I will not have a communist on my turf defy the church.” – Sheridan

Jimmy was expounding the rhetoric of socialism more than communism: It was the joy and pride of his fellow man, his friends and loved ones that he was concerned with. He was encouraging people to think for themselves, and this spelled trouble for those is positions of power.

Policing Thought

“There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. (. . .) It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. (. . .) You had to live (. . .) in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.” – George Orwell 1984

Surveillance in a primitive form is examined in this film: Father Sheridan documents of the names of all persons who attended events at Jimmy’s hall, and then publically shamed them into compliance with the threat of a stained reputation:

“Our community faces a choice: is it Christ, or is it Gralton? The church has a right and even a duty to protect the vulnerable, so what I do now, I do in the spirit of God’s light. I will now read out the names of those people who attended Gralton’s hall last night, and other priests in other parishes will be doing the same.” – Sheridan (during a church service)

Father Sheridan was attempting to keep people away from Jimmy’s hall because he feared their heads might become filled with ideas of freedom and equality. In other words, he was policing their thoughts. He felt it incumbent upon himself to control all the beliefs held by the members of his parish. By destroying the hall he was destroying a meeting place for the free exchange of ideas.

History Repeats Itself

It was Dublin’s Edmund Burke who said: “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”

Members of the proletariat of today’s society, like the Irish people of this narrative, are expressing a general dissatisfaction with their lives. They are advocating for fair wages, better and more affordable healthcare and childcare, and new conflicts are arising as climate change inevitably becomes a class issue.

Jimmy’s story should inspire today’s everyman to take a stand. The rich and powerful have a deathly grasp on the future of this world. We need more Jimmys to embolden the little people to demand the rights and freedoms they deserve.

In a time of increased isolation, the idea of a hall and a sense of community is so important. The hall itself might be the most powerful symbol in this film. It’s this kind of togetherness that modern society so desperately lacks:

“I believe in my neighbor (. . .) my fellow man, my class, meetin’ up and strugglin’ to understand our lives as best we can. On our own, in isolation, we perish.” – Jimmy

View the UK trailer for Jimmy’s Hall here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUQ9s2ex4HE

Heather Austin is a freelance writer living in Nelson, BC. She studied English Literature and Film at Memorial University of Newfoundland.  She enjoys skiing, canoeing, and thinking.