The film is based on The Lament for Art O'Leary (Irish: Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire) written by his widow Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill after his death in 1773, and performed, according to Irish tradition, during the wake and his funeral. The lament is regarded as an important piece of Irish literature and one of the most important Irish love poems of the 18th century.
The film was produced entirely on location in Connemara.
It was Eamonn Smullen, then Director of Education, Sinn Féin The Workers Party, who originally suggested the making of the film and gave his support to the production.
When the broadcast rights for the film had been acquired by an independent company and the film was shown on Channel 4, references to Sinn Féin were removed from the credits before broadcast.
The director of the play they are planning to produce speaks English throughout the film, and so does the commentator in the film he shows the actors, the Irish actors speak Irish. The Irish dialogue is subtitle in English. (DVD release)