10 January 2024

By Greg Denieffe

 Greg Denieffe discovers a Real Cool Cat.

“In the end, I suppose it was inevitable.”

“What’s that Greg, Irish radio and television broadcaster RTÉ finally covering the upcoming release of The Boys in the Boat?”

“No, not that exactly. Just that I’ve finally jumped on the George Clooney bandwagon.”

“It was bound to happen. After all, you’ve both got Kilkenny roots; he’s just made a rowing film, and he’s no fan of the NRA.”

“You’re right, we’re practically related… and I shook the hand that shook his.”

“Ah, Daniel James Brown. I think you’ve mentioned that before!”

Last Sunday morning, as usual, I listened to one of my favourite radio programmes ‘Sunday Miscellany’ on RTÉ Radio One. The programme that followed, ‘Sunday with Miriam’, was an added bonus for me as the presenter, Miriam O’Callaghan, began by interviewing film director George Clooney and actors Callum Turner and Joel Edgerton about their latest film The Boys In The Boat, which is being released in Ireland on 12 January.

In the interview, Clooney talks about his Irish roots, the making of the film and his admiration for the University of Washington crew that swept to the top of the medal podium in Berlin in 1936. Both Turner, who plays Joe Rantz, and Edgerton, who plays Al Ulbrickson, gave interesting interviews that make the 16-minute piece a-worthwhile-listen. However, I was surprised to hear Clooney state that only those paying close attention knew the extent of what was happening in Germany during the build-up to the Olympic Games. In fact, the participation of the USA was in doubt precisely because of the amount of information that was freely available about conditions for Jews and other opponents of the Nazi dictatorship.

In preparation for watching the film, I read Michael J. Socolow’s Six Minutes in Berlin and reread Berlin Games: How Hitler Stole the Olympic Dream by Guy Walters. I didn’t revisit Daniel James Brown’s book, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, because I did not want it too fresh in my mind before the film experience. Most Hollywood films based on true stories take a certain amount of creative liberty, and I’m not against that per se. I just hope that those liberties don’t extend to watering down the true nature of ‘Hitler’s Olympics’.

You can listen to the Sunday with Miriam interview here.

Read a report on the interview by RTÉ journalist Alan Corr here.

Read an article about George Clooney’s Kilkenny roots here.

Kilkenny folk, especially their County hurling team, have long been nicknamed ‘Kilkenny Cats’.