This September, An Spidéal will pay tribute to and celebrate one of Hollywood’s most influential directors with a major cultural event.

Féile John Ford, taking place from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 September 2025, celebrates the life, work, and Connemara roots of John Ford, the record holding six-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker behind classics such as The Quiet Man, The Grapes of Wrath, The Searchers, and Stagecoach.

Though revered worldwide as a cinematic master, John Ford’s deep connections to the West of Ireland remain surprisingly underappreciated.

Féile John Ford Programme Highlights will include:
Film Screenings taking place in Scoil Éinne throughout the weekend include: The Quiet Man, (Friday 05.09.25 at 7pm) The Rising of the Moon, (Saturday 06.09.25 at 7.30pm The Shamrock Handicap (silent with live score), (Sunday 07.09.25 at 3pm)The Searchers (Sunday 08.09.25 at 6pm).

Exhibition taking place in Stiúideo Cuan, (Saturday 06.09.25 10am – 5pm) with rare unseen photographs, heritage displays, and original artifacts from Ford’s Irish films.

Talks & Conversations: (Saturday 06.09.25) Ford’s roots in An Spidéal, Irish emigration to Maine, and the influence of Irish culture in his work both in Irish and English.

Education Programme: (Saturday 06.09.25) Storytelling Workshops in Irish for school children to inspire future filmmakers.

The festival will also explore the creative thread that connects Ford’s legacy to the thriving film and TV industry along Cois Fharraige in the South Connemara Gaeltacht region today.

About:
Born John Martin O’Feeney in Portland, Maine to Galway parents, Ford’s father hailed from Tuar Beag, half a mile west of An Spidéal , while his mother came from Coill Rua nearby. Throughout his life, Ford maintained strong ties to Ireland, regularly visiting An Spidéal and later transforming Connemara into the unforgettable backdrop for his Oscar-winning 1952 classic, The Quiet Man.

His biographer Joseph McBride wrote: “Near the end of his life, Ford recalled that it was here in Spiddal, while visiting his family’s ancestral home as a boy, that he acquired his love of landscape and his eye for composition.”

Commenting on the announcement, Pat Comer, Festival Committee said; “By looking back at John Ford’s life and work, we aim to look forward, celebrating his legacy and inspiring new generations of storytellers here in Connemara and beyond.”

The festival is spearheaded by film producer Redmond Morris, filmmaker Pat Comer, Tony Tracy Head of the Huston School of Film & Digital Media, University of Galway and Steve O’Cúláin, Former CEO of Údarás na Gaeltachta with strong involvement from local individuals and businesses as well as support from Fáilte Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta.