The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2007) - Quotes

A Question of Timing and Choices

Teddy: It's not too late, Damien.

Damien: For me or for you?

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Debate Over Treaty and Democracy in Ireland

Priest: I never thought I'd see the day. Military courts established in Ireland by Irishmen. Deportation or the death penalty for those caught with arms. In the name of God, what is going on? I found this on the street during the week. "Under the Republic, the lands of the aristocracy who live in London will be seized and divided up against landless workers and small farmers." "All industry and agriculture will be controlled by the state for the workers and farmers benefit." Not content with stealing your savings, they'll be nationalising the 12 apostles next. Dear brethren, we have an opportunity for the first time in generations in this country for peace and prosperity. We have that opportunity without English soldiers marching in our streets and outside our churches on a Sunday morning. We have that opportunity because we have signed a treaty. A treaty of peace. Quiet! Let me remind those of you who have forgotten of the pastoral letter signed by Cardinal Logue and other bishops. Anti-Treatyite irregulars have, and I quote, "Wrecked Ireland from end to end." "And all those who participate in such crimes are guilty of the gravest sins and may not be absolved in confession nor admitted to Holy Communion." In other words, excommunication! This opinion of the treaty is not just the opinion of the Catholic Church, it is the opinion of other churches. And it is the opinion of every newspaper up and down, and the length and breadth of this country. But most importantly, this treaty was ratified, overwhelmingly ratified, by the people in their democratic expression in the June election.

Damien: Can you tell me, Father, how can there be a fair election in this country when the most powerful country in the world threatens war? This is not the will of the people. It is the fear of the people.

Priest: How dare you talk to me in the house of God! Silence! Damien O'Donovan, you're a disgrace to the memory of your parents. Yes! Get out!

Lily: The Free State Constitution was only printed the morning of the election so nobody had time to read it.

Priest: Young lady, this is not the marketplace! Sit down, shut up, or get out of my church!

Damien: And once again the Catholic Church, with honourable exception, sides with the rich.

Priest: GET OUT!

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Farewell and Tension in a Conflict Zone

Dan: One-way ticket now, lads. Have a safe journey and God bless all of you.

Soldier: Bugger off, Paddy!

Dan: And I'll see you in Hell.

Sergeant: Eyes to your front, soldier!

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Discussion on British Soldier Presence

Damien: How many British soldiers in the country, Tim?

Tim: Too many.

Damien: How many?

Teddy: About ten thousand, Damien.

Damien: Ten thousand. Tans, artillery units, machine-gun car, cavalry...

Teddy: And many more besides. What's your point, Damien?

Damien: It's young men like Micheail we're talkin about, Teddy.

Teddy: Micheail was a real Irishman, Damien.

Ned: You're a coward, Damien.

Damien: I'm a coward? And you're a hero, isn't it, Ned? You're gonna take down the British army with your hurley, is that it?

Rory: For Christ's sake, Damien. What about Micheail?

Damien: Look, Micheail was killed because he wouldn't say his name in English. Is that what you call a martyr, Teddy, is it?

Sinead: So we should all buy a one-way ticket to London, is that it, Damien?

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Moral Dilemma in Times of Conflict

Damien: [Loading his revolver; Approaches Sir John] I studied anatomy for five years, Dan. And now I'm going to shoot this man in the head. I've known Chris Reilly since he was a child. I hope this Ireland we're fighting for is worth it. Where's your letters?

Sir John: [Gives Damien two letters] For my wife... and my children.

Damien: I'll make sure they're delivered. Turn around!

Sir John: You'll never beat us! Ever!

Damien: Give me your letters, Chris.

Damien: Give me your letters, Chris!

Chris: I didn't know what to write. And Mam can't read.

Chris: [points to Sir John] Just tell her I love her. And where I'm buried... Promise me, Damien. Promise me you won't bury me next to him?

Damien: The chapel. Do you remember, on the way up? Do you remember?

Chris: Yeah.

Damien: In there.

Chris: Tell Teddy I'm sorry. I'm scared, Damien.

Damien: [sighs] Have you said your prayers?

Chris: Yeah.

Damien: [Shoots Chris] God protect you.

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Conflict of Ideals and Perspectives

Teddy: [looking around Hamilton's study] Such a beautiful room, it's hard to imagine a man's scream from here. Ever seen fingernails ripped out with a rusty pliers, Sir John, hmm? All your learning, and you still don't understand.

Sir John Hamilton: [Contemptuously] Oh, I understand perfectly, Mr. O'Donovan. God preserve Ireland if ever your kind take control.

Damien: [trains his gun on Hamilton] Well, you'd better start getting used to the idea.

Defiance Against Oppression and Violence

Finbar: [The IRA have just destroyed a Black-and-Tan mechanised infantry patrol; [world] Mercenaries! That were paid to come over here to make us crawl, and to wipe us out. We've just sent a message to the British cabinet that will echo and reverberate around the ]! If they bring their savagery over here, we will meet it with a savagery of our own!

Changing Accents and Flags in Power Dynamics

Dan: If we ratify this treaty, all we're changing is the accents of the powerful and the colour of the flag.

Consequences of Loss and Grief

Damien O'Donovan: [to Sinead, about Chris; sighs; sighs] We buried him in this chapel in the mountains. And I went down and... and I told his mother. His mother, who has cooked meals for me and her son. And when I told her she... she just looked at me. and then she went in and she put on her shoes. Then she came out and she said, "Take me to my child." And we walked for six hours and she didn't say one word. Then we got to the chapel. And I showed her the grave. And I'd put a... cross and some flowers on it. And she turned to me and she said, "I never want to see your face again." I've crossed the line now, Sinead.

The Complexity of Human Nature

Damien O'Donovan: Strange creatures we are, even to ourselves.

Resistance Against Foreign Occupation

Damien O'Donovan: Your presence here is a crime, a foreign occupation. You tell me what I'm supposed to do as a democrat. Turn the other cheek for another 700 years? Is that it?