An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir November 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 8 | BY SGT WAyNE FITzGERALD The "An army of men brought her to her knees but no one could conquer… the Viking Queen." Hammer Films. Before Braveheart was made on the Curragh plains and before Tom Hanks filmed Saving Private Ryan on the beaches of Curracloe, The Viking Queen utilised the Defence Forces personnel as extras while filming in the Wick- low Mountains. (I suppose I'll have the Air Corps on to me about The Blue Max being filmed in Baldonnel in 1965. OK then, send us in your stories lads!) The recent 20th anniversary of the filming of Mel Gibson's Braveheart, with its large PDF and FCA (RDF) involvement, has stirred memories. Tpr Jackie Cousins, who served with 1 Tank Sqn in the Curragh during the 1960s and '70s and worked on The Viking Queen along with other members of his unit as extras, sent us in the pictures accompanying this article. 'To honour her father's dying wish, Queen Salina shares the rule of Icena with Justinian, a fair and just Roman. This displeases the bloodthirsty Druids on one side and the more hard-line Romans on the other. As Salina and Justinian fall in love their enemies start to plot and blood soon stains the green hills of Britain.' So goes the plot of the Hammer Films movie, filmed in 1967 at Ardmore Studios in Bray and other locations through- out Co Wicklow, on an estimated budget of £471,000. The film was directed by Don Chaffey with screenplay by Clarke Reynolds from an original story by John Temple-Smith. It starred Don Murray, who was in Knots Landing (1979-81), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), and over 80 other TV/film productions, and who has a place on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. His co-star was Carita, a Finnish actress known only for the films Ladies' Man (1962) and The Viking Queen. The 91-minute film was not a box office success; probably due to the misleading title, as the movie is about a Celtic queen and her people, not Vikings. But we are sure all the cavalry lads enjoyed the acting and the scenery nonetheless! Special thanks to Col George Kerton (retd) for bringing this story to us. viking Queen A view of the set Tpr Archie Moore Tpr Jackie Cousins Tpr Bunny Lambe

• Cover