In a small wooden house in County Kilkenny, Ireland, Patrick Lydon’s life is ebbing away. Throughout his final year he reflects on an extraordinary life that took him from a budding career in rock journalism in America to trailblazing, with his wife, Gladys, the development in Ireland of the radically inclusive Camphill Movement, sharing life in community with people of diverse needs and abilities… Director Éamon Little introduces his new film Born That Way, a remarkable documentary portrait of Patrick Lydon’s final year, released in Irish cinemas this month.
I discovered Camphill in 1991 when my youngest brother went to live in the newly established Grangemockler community. He had been orphaned young so his siblings were greatly relieved to see him settle and flourish in what felt like a large, eclectic, organic family farm. It was eye-opening to discover such an egalitarian and affirming community in this country, where people with and without disabilities shared life together creatively and productively, all day every day. I can’t explain Camphill here, but if you see the film you’ll get a good idea.
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Watch the trailer for Born That Way
In 2008 I was commissioned to make a fundraising film for Camphill and was steered towards Patrick Lydon. Here I found a man who instantly bestowed on me, to quote the narrator of The Great Gatsby, “one of those rare smiles with a quality of reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced – or seemed to face – the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favour.”
This was a last opportunity to view the world through Patrick’s unique lens.
Patrick and I were soon friends and when, in 2010, I made the documentary Living Colour, set in the KCAT Studio, a product of the Camphill impulse and his vision and energy, I supped regularly at the Lydons’ table upstairs. I soon realised that what I admired about the Lydons was not just their radical commitment to others, but the creativity, intelligence, energy and utter dedication with which they went about their work. I saw Patrick as a sort of social artist – human relations were his material, making surprising connections his modus operandi. Far from po-faced or holier-than-thou, he got his kicks from what he did.
Patrick Lydon, pictured on his porch
Over the next decade I documented on video the evolution of Nimble Spaces, a social architectural exploration that led to the development of the Inclusive Neighbourhoods project in Callan, with Patrick at its heart. By March 2021 we were discussing a creative collaboration to mark Camphill’s fifty years in the Republic. I suggested finding our way in by recording conversations. Days later, Patrick rang to say, “whatever you want to record, you’d better do it soon. I’ve been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.” Instantly I knew it was a film I needed to make, that it should be about Patrick’s life, that the story of Camphill in Ireland would surely emerge through that. Rather than “in praise of” him, this was a last opportunity to view the world through Patrick’s unique lens.
Patrick, Gladys, Georgie and others
With the Lydons’ consent, I started immediately on a series of interviews with Patrick, covering many themes. Over the next five months I learned more about him than I had in the previous thirteen years, and our friendship deepened greatly. As his illness progressed and he gave us intimate access to his illness, I was privileged to witness the great grace with which he accepted the care and support of his family and their enormous community of friends, and to witness his tireless warrior spirit, still planning and scheming for a better future right to the very end. As things transpired, my first and last encounters with Patrick were both recorded. The opening scene of the film was the very first footage I shot with him.
Born That Way screens at the Irish Film Institute, Dublin and Mayo Movie World, Castlebar from Friday 14th November