Originally published in 2000, Ian Duhig’s poem The Lammas Hireling explores superstition in 19th century rural Ireland.

For more on The Lammas Hireling, see:
https://poetryarchive.org/poem/lammas-hireling/

A decade later, the piece was adapted into a film poem by Paul Casey, Ian Duhig, Sam Thomas, Macarena Ferrer, Rosie O'Regan, and Geoff Daykin.

The film poem was made using a series of still images taken with a Nikon D90 SLR. The individual images were edited in photoshop before being sequenced into a film. To retain an authentic temporal context, telephone wires, contrails, cattle ear tags etc were painted out frame by frame. All framing scenery and hares were filmed on the North Antrim coast around Ballycastle and on Rathlin Island.

The character scenes were all filmed around county Cork.

First released in 2009, the film poem adaptation of The Lammas Hireling premiered in 2010 at the Zebra Poetry Film festival in Berlin. It has also been screened at Clones Film Festival (in competition), Monaghan (2010), Ó Bhéal Poetry-Film Night, Cork (2010), Foyle Film Festival (in competition), Derry (2010), Cork Spring Literary Festival, Metropole Hotel, Cork (2011), Corona Cork Film Festival, Gate Cinema, Cork (2011), Sadho Poetry Film Festival, New Delhi (2011), plus on tour through eight cities in India during 2012, StAnza Poetry Festival, Edinburgh (2012), Cork Underground Film Festival (2012), and REELpoetry/Houston Tx (2021).