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Chris McMorrow Chris McMorrow is a Dublin-based p
ainter that moonlights as a writer and actor in his spare time. When he saw a post on Facebook asking people to share their experiences of Clerys Clock for the film, he knew he had some good stories to tell. “It led to some ridiculous moments, because there were no phones or computers. I remember when I was 14, my brother was too hungover to meet this girl, so he sent me to Clerys to tell her he couldn’t make it. All I had was this grainy photo, so I ended up having to ask every girl if they were Marion. When I found her, she was so annoyed, that she turned and walked away without saying goodbye. A couple of years later they married and they’ve been together for 40 years.” Like many of the people in Under the Clock, McMorrow expresses some sadness for Clerys current state. “It’s an institution. It’s a shame to see it go the way it did.” Over the years, it’s featured in two of his paintings. One of them depicts a couple embracing under the clock on a rainy night. McMorrow says he wanted to capture the romance of the building, calling it “a little slice of the old Dublin.” Nonetheless, McMorrow’s nostalgia is tempered by recent developments in the city, and he tries not to live too much in the past. “It’s a different era, but not necessarily in a bad way. Dublin now is so much more vibrant and there are so many places that have opened up. The likes of South William Street didn’t have anything except warehouses. You can miss stuff from your youth, but you get to exchange it for other things. Nothing stays the same so you just embrace it.” You can miss stuff from your youth, but you get to exchange it for other things. Nothing stays the same so you just embrace it Ann Ball Ann Ball will always have fond memories of Clerys Clock. It was under its hands that she met the boy who would eventually become her husband. “He was so handsome and lovely. Though these days, I try to put him up on Ebay to sell!” Her love of Clerys led to her writing a blog about the place, describing There’s a huge culture in the city that’s going missing and it needs to be shown her experiences in her youth. When she heard that Under the Clock was being made, she rang up the production office and asked if they would like her to share her stories. Though Ball has always wanted to act, the realities of filmmaking have made her reconsider. “The lads are lovely, but we were knackered by the end of the day. It took about seven hours. They asked me to gaze out the window, gaze at the photo of my husband, all this gazing. I came in at the end of the day and asked my husband did he want to see my gaze. He begged me to be quiet!” It’s not just romance that Ball discusses in the film; she also goes into detail about “getting your wear off of boys.” Are her grandchildren excited to see her talk about kissing on the big screen? “They’re having conniptions! I told them they’re going to be seeing me in the trailers and the film, and they were mortified!” Unlike her granddaughters, Ball is excited to see the finished product. For her, it’s a chance to show people a part of Dublin that’s slipping through their fingers. “It’s like O’Connell Street has lost its life. That might sound ridiculous to someone else, but whenever I walk by, I think ‘oh you poor thing.’ There’s a huge culture in the city that’s going missing and it needs to be shown.” Under the Clock (Snackbox Films) is in cinemas from October 5 34