TO mark the 75th anniversary of the signing of the 1921 Anglo Irish Treaty, RTE 1 will rescreen The Treaty on Tuesday at 10.10 p.m. First shown in December 1991, this film drama was a co production between RTE and Thames Television.
The programme's initial screening caused nothing like the furore of Neil Jordan's Michael Collins. However, with Brendan Gleeson as Collins, Gleeson v Neeson portrayals of the Big Fella will provoke inevitable comparisons. The Treaty focuses on elements which Jordan's movie omitted the negotiations at Westminster between Collins and Lloyd George (Ian Bannen) and on Collins's relationship with Hazel Lavery. Therefore, characterisation, more than issues should interest viewers seeking comparisons.
