Springfield, Tallaght to get special Simpsons screening
The hotly-awaited film 'The Simpsons Movie' is to get a special screening in Ireland's very own Springfield tomorrow ahead of its general release nationwide.
The showing in the Tallaght estate in Co Dublin that shares the name of the famous cartoon family's fictional home follows a campaign by the local TD.
Fianna Fáil's Charlie O'Connor got the idea after 14 towns in the US called Springfield fought it out for the right to premiere the new film version of the smash hit animated sitcom there.
"When I'm going about my business, going into schools talking, like politicians do, young people often say to me where are you from," said Mr O'Connor.
"And when I say Springfield they say: Oh, the same as 'The Simpsons'. So that's where the idea came from."
The TD lobbied the film's distributors 20th Century Fox for the special screening in Springfield, Tallaght to raise the area's profile and make some money for charity.
Although the event at the UCI cinema tomorrow morning is free - and already fully booked out - a collection is expected to raise cash for Tallaght Hospital.
"I've been astounded by the interest. Everywhere I go in Springfield people are talking about it," said Mr O'Connor.
"Springfield has undergone a huge regeneration over the years with the development of new businesses, restaurants and a top class Institute of Technology.
"It is my hope that this great news will put Springfield, Tallaght, firmly on the map as the community-focused, booming neighbourhood that it is."
A town called Springfield in Vermont, in the US, won a competition to host the world premiere this weekend of the Matt Groening-created parody of suburban American life.
The Simpsons is an international TV hit best known for the antics of beer-guzzling family man Homer and his mischievous son Bart and is the longest-running prime-time entertainment series in the US.
Fianna Fáil Deputy for Tallaght Charlie O'Connor speaking at the start of his campaign to bring The Simpsons to Springfield, Tallaght
