On the box: Aoife Hinds, daughter of Ciaran Hinds, digs up Irish roots of Bronte sisters

A new documentary about the Bronte family’s Irish ties is on BBC One NI tomorrow night at 10.35pm, presented by Aoife Hinds, who is following in the footsteps of her Belfast-born dad.
By Graeme Cousins
Published 31st Jan 2022, 19:40 BST
Aoife Hinds visits the birthplace of Patrick Bronte in Rathfriland, Co Down, during filming for The Brontes: An Irish TaleAoife Hinds visits the birthplace of Patrick Bronte in Rathfriland, Co Down, during filming for The Brontes: An Irish Tale
Aoife Hinds visits the birthplace of Patrick Bronte in Rathfriland, Co Down, during filming for The Brontes: An Irish Tale

Aoife, who has appeared in hit shows Derry Girls and Normal People, is the daughter of renowned star of stage and screen Ciaran.

Her mum Helene Patarot is also an actress of French-Vietnamese descent.

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The 31-year-old was born in London but moved to Paris when she was 10. She said that being back in Northern Ireland to film The Brontes: An Irish Tale brought back lots of happy memories.

She said: “My dad is from Belfast, all of his sisters still live in Belfast. Growing up I’d go there quite a few times a year to visit family. My granny had a home in Cushendall, I spent quite a lot of time there.

“I’d have come over to Dublin in school summer holidays when dad was doing theatre there.

“I’ve very strong ties to Ireland and now I’ve been working there which has been brilliant.”

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In the documentary Aoife explores the surprising Irish connections that had a lasting impact on the Brontes, their work and their legacy in locations throughout Ireland and Yorkshire.

Aoife will visit Patrick Bronte’s birthplace in Rathfriland, Co Down and discover how a rural school teacher ended up studying in Cambridge. She will also explore the romance between Charlotte Bronte and Arthur Bell Nicholls, from Co Antrim.

Charlotte and Arthur Bell Nicholls married after a long courtship and ended up honeymooning in Ireland. Aoife will also visit Banagher, County Offaly, where Arthur lived after Charlotte’s death, and discover that it is thanks to Arthur much of the iconic Bronte memorabilia survives to this day.

Aoife said: “I went to school in France so we didn’t even study the Brontes. I didn’t know that much about them and I didn’t know about the Irish ties at all until I starting researching for the documentary. It was a brilliant learning experience. I’m now a big fan.”

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The documentary was filmed in December, but Aoife had also been in Northern Ireland the previous month to attend the premiere of Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast film which stars her father.

She said: “It felt really special to be there in Belfast watching it with my dad, his sisters and my cousins.”

Two new films in which Aoife stars are due out this year: “One of them is a reboot of Hellraiser, the other is a film called Cottontail which I’m happy to say I worked with my dad on.”

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Related topics:BelfastNorthern Ireland