DONEGAL’S 1992 ALL-IRELAND winning captain Anthony Molloy will present a TG4 documentary on a famous Irish emigrant in 1930’s New York.
Deoch an Dorais, which translates to ‘Name Your Poison,’ chronicles the story of Donegalman Mike Malloy, who was known as the ‘Rasputin of the Bronx’ and ‘Durable Mike Malloy’ in those times of prohibition.
Molloy (pictured above), it was claimed, was ‘the man who wouldn’t die’ and was also dubbed ‘the world’s hardest drinker’.
“Malloy was the unwitting subject of insurance fraud when a policy was taken out on his life by an Italian-American New York gangster and speakeasy owner, Tony Marino,” reads Film Ireland’s review.
“However, despite repeated attempts to collect the policy by killing Malloy in a manner that would suggest a natural death – from poisoning him with drink and food, to hitting him with a car and dumping his soaking body overnight in freezing weather – Marino and his accomplices were unable to collect.
“The documentary is presented by All-Ireland winning Donegal captain Anthony Molloy, who also reflects on his own struggle with alcoholism and the larger story of Irish emigration to the United States of which Malloy was but one of many examples.
“Incorporating contemporary footage of New York and interviews with a range of scientific and academic commentators (including historian J.J. Lee), Deoch an Dorais also includes reenactments of the events from the 1930s involving Malloy, Marino and his co-conspirators (including undertaker Francis Pasqua); the scenes in Marino’s speakeasy offer a convincing rendering of the period, with the lighting particularly impressive. Under Paddy Hayes assured direction, Deoch an Dorais is an engaging and thought-provoking account of an extraordinary story.”
Deoch an Dorais will be screened on TG4 at 9:30pm on Monday, December 28.
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