Maps of Movies

My Left Foot (1989)

Where My Left Foot says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

Dublin's poorest street, a pub on Poolbeg Street and a hill over the bay: where My Left Foot was really made

Scenes and places

The fall on the stairs (1932)

Christy's mother trips down the stairs while in labour, and he is the only one home to see it. Unable to walk or speak, he has to find a way to raise the alarm. He alerts the neighbours, and the family learns how much he can do.

Set in The Brown family home, Dublin — The crowded working-class Dublin house where Christy grows up.

The house stands in for a poor family home in 1930s Dublin; the film used a real Dublin housing area.

Filmed at Kimmage, south Dublin (housing area; no street address known) (Kimmage, Dublin, Ireland) — Kimmage is named as a place where the film was shot; the exact house is not known. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Chalk, football and stolen coal

Christy writes the word 'mother' on the floor with chalk held in his left foot, and his doubting father is finally proud of him. The neighbourhood boys let him join street football, but a girl he likes hands back his painting. When money runs out, he plans a coal theft with his brothers.

Set in The Brown family's street, Dublin — The street and neighbourhood where Christy plays with local children and helps his brothers steal coal.

No street name is given in open sources, so only the story place is recorded.

Eileen Cole's school and the dinner

Eileen Cole takes Christy to her school and persuades a friend to hold an exhibition of his paintings. Christy falls in love with her. At a dinner he learns she is engaged, and it hits him hard.

Set in Eileen Cole's school for cerebral palsy patients, Dublin — The school where Eileen Cole takes Christy, and the exhibition and dinner that follow.

No filming place for these scenes is named in open sources.

The pub scenes

Christy goes drinking in a Dublin pub among the men, and the room has to take him as he is. The scenes show his pride and his stubborn side.

Set in A Dublin pub — The pub where Christy drinks and talks among men. Order in the film is approximate.

Mulligan's is an old Dublin pub near the docks area of Poolbeg Street.

Filmed at Mulligan's, Poolbeg Street (Poolbeg Street, Dublin, Ireland) — A pub on Poolbeg Street named as the place where most of the film's bar scenes were shot. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Poolbeg Street, in central Dublin just south of the River Liffey.

The charity fete

Christy attends a charity event where he meets his handler, a nurse named Mary Carr. She begins reading his autobiography. He asks her to go out with him.

Set in The charity event (fete), Dublin area — The charity event where Christy meets nurse Mary Carr.

A viewpoint over Dublin Bay at the southern edge of the city.

Filmed at Killiney Hill (Killiney Hill, Dublin, Ireland) — A hilltop viewpoint over Dublin Bay named as a location in the film; which scene it matches is not stated. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: A short DART train ride south of Dublin city.

Filmed at Ardmore Studios, Bray, Co. Wicklow (Bray, Dublin, Ireland) — Interior scenes Google Maps · Apple Maps

Characters

• Christy Brown — An Irish man born with cerebral palsy who can control only his left foot and becomes a writer and artist.
• Mrs. Brown — Christy's mother, who saves coin by coin to buy him a wheelchair.
• Mr. Brown — Christy's father, who never believed Christy would amount to anything.
• Eileen Cole — A teacher who takes Christy to her school and arranges an exhibition.
• Mary Carr — A nurse Christy meets at a charity event.

Questions answered on the map

• Which Dublin pub did My Left Foot use for its bar scenes?