This short film is a tribute to Ben Lennon, one of Ireland’s masters of traditional music, who died during the first lockdown in March 2020. Born in Co Leitrim in 1928, Ben was known for his rich repertoire of tunes and was also highly regarded as a teacher.

The Covid 19 pandemic has deprived us of our rituals. This is painfully apparent when faced with a death in the family. Ben’s Departure is a creative response to the void left due to the absence of a wake and a funeral as we know it, told through the eyes of Ben’s brother, the fiddle player and composer Charlie Lennon.

This new work features Charlie’s new composition in tribute to his brother, his thoughts and musings on his relationship with his brother and the effects of his passing, and the manner of his burial on Charlie himself. The work also feature Ben’s son, Brian Lennon, playing flute with fiddler Séamus Quinn at Ben’s burial with archive images of Ben and the extended Lennon family. It is a crafted, thoughtful and inspiring piece of film created in accordance to the social distancing protocols.

Available from July 22 @ 10:00 AM - July 25 @ 11:45 PM.