Interview

‘Irish is a living, active language and we’re part of that’– An Cailín Ciúin director Colm Bairéad

The writer and director of The Quiet Girl, the first Irish-language film ever to receive an Oscar nod, may have been rubbing shoulders with Hollywood’s elite but his feet are firmly on the ground in Ireland

Colm Bairéad, writer and director of An Cailín Ciúin, is keeping his feet on the ground: ‘You still have to do the dishes and the school run and all the ordinary stuff that goes with being a parent.’ Picture: Nacho Gallego

Down a crackling line from Los Angeles where he has spent the last couple of weeks on the pre-Oscars campaign trail, Colm Bairéad sounds calm and composed.

There isn’t a hint of stress in the Dublin writer and director’s gentle tones, a stray note of apprehension in his voice, or any suggestion that he is in any way daunted by the potentially life-changing opportunities he and his film are facing. If he had told me ...