A Cwmni Da production for S4C
FRONGOCH - MAN GENI'R IRA

Frongoch - Man Geni'r IRA explores the early days of the  Irish Republican Army - in a prison camp in North Wales.

Some 1,800 Irishmen were interned after the Easter Rising of 1916 at Frongoch, a remote prisoner of war camp near Bala. During  internment the different factions of the independence movement gelled together into a united force, the IRA.  Frongoch has been described as a "University of Revolution"; without doubt, bringing some many leading rebels together where they could plan the next stage of their insurrection was one of Britain's biggest blunders.

In this documentary, the Frongoch story unfolds through the eyes of three of the men who were there imprisoned there-  Michael Collins, Joseph Stanley and Seamus Ó Maoileóin - based on their letters and writings.  Collins is played by Nick Lee, Ó Maoileóin by Stephen Darcy, and Stanley by his own great-grandson Trevor Stanley.

The Easter Rising of 1916 had failed, crushed in six days by the might of the British Empire. However, it was just over five years later in 1922, that the Irish had wrested back most of their country and the Irish Free State came about.

Back in 1916, Irish Members of Parliament at Westminster mounted a barrage of questioning in an attempt to force the British Government to release the men imprisoned in Frongoch. The release of the last prisoners was achieved shortly before Christmas that year but not before they had laid the foundations for a movement that would change Ireland forever.

The prisoner of war camp was eventually demolished. All that remains today is a small monument and, ironically, the site is now home to a local school.

Frongoch producer Ifor ap Glyn says: "Frongoch has interested me for years and I felt it was a story that would make a gripping documentary; and considering recent events in places like Abu Ghraib, perhaps we would do well to remember the lessons of Frongoch, even today."

                  Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
Sunday 16 December, 3:30PMTo attend this special screening, please RSVP to BAFTA Cymru on 02920 223898 or membership@bafta-cymru.org.uk  by Friday 14 December. Each BAFTA Cymru member can bring a guest also free of charge, and would need to show their membership cards.