irish cinema

September 5 will see the release of one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Irish movies of all time Black 47. Directed by Lance Daly, and set against the backdrop of the single most horrific event in Irish history, the film tells the story…

The trope of the hero who's wronged by evildoers is a common one on screen. It's normally little more than an excuse to justify righteous, cathartic bloodshed. Lance Daly's Black 47, a Famine set,  Irish Western, ups the ante by asking…

For film buffs living in Ireland, it's been frustrating witnessing parties, clubs and nightlife onscreen. These depictions are often America-set. Scenes of inebriation feel more sanitised in a mainstream movie. Meanwhile, the ones that…

Irish cinema has really blossomed in the past few years. In the 90s and early 2000s, (outside of Neil Jordan and Jim Sheridan’s work) one could synonymise the country’s output with adjectives like cheap, stuffy and slog. For whatever reason…

As Saint Patrick’s Day approaches, it is only fitting that we celebrate one of the great unsung heroes of Irish folklore who got rid of a different kind of snake. The English businessman snake. I speak of course of Mark Taffin and his best…

Bad Day for the Cut is the type of B-movie genre exercise one wished Ireland made more of. Donal (Nigel O’Neill) is a middle-aged Northern Irish farmer who spends his days caring for his elderly mother, Florence (Stella McCusker). After she…

In the tradition of Senna and to another extent The Armstrong Lie, Irish documentary film Crash & Burn follows the life and career of a prolific racing sportsman, in this case Dundalk racing badboy Tommy Byrne who dominated Formula Ford…

Darren Thornton’s A Date for Mad Mary, adapted from Yasmine Akram’s play 10 Dates for Mad Mary, is delightful because of what it doesn’t do. The titular Mary (Seana Kerslake – Dollhouse) has just been released from prison for assaulting a…