Community helps with movie production

BY BILL DOYLE | CFP CORRESPONDENT

William McCann has finally completed his movie called The Liberator about his idol, Daniel O’Connell, who helped liberate Catholics in Ireland from English oppression in the 1800s.
Parishioners from St. John, Guardian of Our Lady Parish and the Trivium School community supported his efforts. They volunteered as actors, extras, crew and even wrote the musical score for the film. Many of the scenes were shot at Trivium.
Mr. McCann wrote the script and served as producer and director, but he admitted it was especially challenging to play the role of Mr. Connell, whom he has admired for decades.
“I tried not to think about that at the time,” the 57-year-old Shirley resident said. “I tried to put myself in his shoes as much as I possibly could, but I really did try to draw on what I admire about him – his courage, his determination, his hard work, his faith. If I was ever having some doubts, I would remind myself that he persevered, he made things happen and he had incredible faith that things would work out well.”
Mr. McCann took the same determined, hard-working approach while fulfilling his dream of making the film.
“I hope I brought that to it,” he said.
When Mr. McCann studied at University College Cork in Ireland in 1985, he wrote a research paper about Mr. O’Connell for his Irish history class and decided the world should hear his inspiring story.
Irish Catholics hadn’t been allowed to practice their faith since the reign of King Henry VIII in the 16th century. Their land and churches were confiscated, and they were denied political representation. In 1829, Mr. O’Connell defied the laws of the day and became the first Catholic to be elected to Parliament in 300 years. Through peaceful protests, he helped pass the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829, which ended most restrictions on Catholics.
Mr. McCann spent a great deal of time researching the subject and he became serious about writing the script the year his 16-year-old son, Eamon, was born. He’s rewritten his drafts several times after receiving feedback.
“It’s just been a very, very long process for me,” he said. “It took quite a while.”
His dream of producing a film proved too costly at the time so he adapted his script into a three-act stage play that ran for two performances in 2017 at the Mary Rowlandson Elementary School in Lancaster. People from his parish, St. John, Guardian of Our Lady in Clinton, and from Trivium School, an independent Catholic school in Lancaster for boys and girls in grades 7-12, volunteered as actors and crew members. Mr. McCann, of course, starred as Mr. O’Connell.
In September of 2020, he retired from his systems development job at Bank of America to devote his time into making the film with a $50,000 budget.
Filming took place last year from June 24 until July 30, most of it at Trivium School. Scenes were also shot at the Thayer Conservatory in Lancaster, the Bolton Conservation Trust and the shoreline in Dennis at the home of friends of Father James S. Mazzone, St. John’s pastor. Father Mazzone plays the role of a priest in the film and more than half of the actors in the film with speaking roles are parishioners at St. John. The film also has close to 150 extras.
Mr. McCann was still working on the sound mixing and special effects in late July, but said the film would be finished by Aug. 5. The movie’s website is theliberatormovie.com.
“I’m enormously proud of it,” he said. “I think it tells a very powerful and compelling story that hasn’t been told. I am obviously biased, but I think it’s very good.
“Outside of getting married and having children, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done,” he said.
A makeup artist and hairstylist enables Mr. McCann to play Mr. O’Connell at various ages.
Mr. McCann’s wife, Karen, served as caterer and food manager for the film, but does not appear in it. Their daughter, Niamh, 21, has a speaking role and their daughter Nora, 23, and son Eamon are extras.
The musical score was written, and in part performed, by Michael Enwright, a former St. John parishioner. His father, Brendon Enwright, a St. John parishioner from Leominster, plays King George in the film.
“There are wonderful performances by many, many people from our community,” Mr. McCann said, “that I really do believe are going to impress folks.”
St. John parishioner Peg Scanlon Murphy of Lancaster plays the role of O’Connell’s foster mother and the film’s narrator, Cathleen, who has no last name in the film. Mrs. Scanlon Murphy’s son, Peter Murphy, plays Mr. O’Connell’s sidekick who goes by the unusual name of The O’Gorman Mahon.
Chris Doucette of Sterling plays O’Connell’s uncle, Maurice O’Connell, and Molly Smillie of Lancaster plays Mr. O’Connell’s wife, Mary. Both sing in the choir at St. John with Mr. McCann. Another St. John parishioner, Marie Kottenstette, a graduate of Trivium and Catholic University, plays Mr. O’Connell’s daughter Nell.
Mr. McCann would like to enter his movie in film festivals and sell it on DVD. He’d prefer not to stream it yet because he’d rather it be shown on the big screen at first.
Will Mr. McCann feel liberated from The Liberator once the screenings take place?
“Yeah, to a certain degree,” he said. “It’s been a passion project of mine for many, many years, and it will be extremely satisfying to have it done and completed. It’s very satisfying to know we did the best possible job we could. I feel very, very good about that.”

‘The Liberator’ premier
DATE: Wednesday, Aug. 24
PLACE: Regal Cinema at Solomon Pond Mall, 591 Donald Lynch Blvd, Marlborough, MA 01752  
TIME: Doors open at 5 p.m.; movie begins at 7 p.m.
TICKETS: $7, can be purchased online at: tickettailor.com/events/redabbeyproductions

Second screening
DATE: Monday, Aug. 29
PLACE: Maynard Fine Arts Cinema, 19 Summer St, Maynard, MA 01754
TIME: Doors open at 6 p.m.; film begins at 6:30 p.m.
TICKETS: $6, can be purchased at:
tickettailor.com/events/redabbeyproductions