'Eamonn Keane', the actor who played Dan Paddy Andy/Matchmaker in the film, was John B. Keane's brother. John B. Keane was the man who wrote the play The Field, which was eventually made into this film.
During the opening scene when the donkey is thrown off the cliff, as it hits the water its legs collapse into it. This shows that the donkey was a stuffed animal.
"Bull" McCabe: Go on father, go on. Lock the gates to God's house. Sure they were locked at the time of the Famine too. No priest died the time of the Famine: only poor people like us.
No, it is based on a 1965 play of the same title by John B. Keane. It was partially inspired by the 1959 murder of "Moss" Moore in Reamore, County Kerry.
Q
When is "The Field" set?
A
The play was premiered in 1965 and was partially based on a 1959 incident, so it's set around the early 1960s. The fact that electricity is a novelty in the area reinforces this date - many rural areas of Ireland were not electrified until the 1960s or even the 1970s.