9 min read Ireland's most garlanded director talks about ageism in film, Harvey Weinstein and his new novel, about the aristocratic rebel Lord Edward FitzGerald and his manservant, the freed slave Tony Small We begin by comparing facial hair. Neil Jordan has cough-cough years on me, but, over the previous 12 months, we seem to have mutated into variations on the same grizzled, spectacled hermit âHow is that beard coming?â he asks. Our most garlanded film director â who is currently holed up in his rural Cork pad â has been eyeing the closing, opening and closing again of cinemas with weary interest. Among his greatest pleasures is âwalking down a city centre street and going into the cinemaâ. That wonât be happening for a while.