Page updated 10/8/2021
Added – “Operation Irish Triangle” (1966)
O’Brien’s, The (2013) (84 mins) Romantic Comedy
Liam McMahon, Tommy O’Neill, Slaine Kelly and Emmett Hughes.
Directors: Richard Waters, Emma Gahan.
Production Co: Saoirse Films.
Shot in Headford, County Galway; Dublin; New York and London.
Two years after the death of his beloved wife, Pat O’Brien (Tommy O’Neill) summons his children back to their homestead in the west of Ireland. Fionn (Liam McMahon) travels from New York, Gareth (Emmett Hughes) from London, and daughter Una (Slaine Kelly) returns from Dublin, fearing the worst. Pat is not the only family member bearing the burden of a secret. The O’Briens is a modern comedy about a dysfunctional Irish family and the town they grew up in.
Verdict: Can it be as bad as the trailer? I don’t want to know – even in the interests of research.
Available on DVD.
Occupation (2009) (176 mins) Drama. BBC.1. Three-part mini-series.
James Nesbitt, Stephen Graham and Warren Brown.
Director: Nick Murphy.
Production company: Kudos Film & TV Ltd.
Filmed in Northern Ireland and Morocco.
This powerful, compelling drama traces the fraught interwoven journeys of three British soldiers who take part in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, return to Manchester, but are then inspired to revisit the chaos of Basra.
Danny, Mike and Hibbs, friends in the same army regiment, have their own very different reasons to return: Danny (Stephen Graham) sees rich financial pickings in private security work, in a land awash with billions of dollars of reconstruction money, Mike (James Nesbitt) has fallen in love with Iraqi doctor Aliyah, and Hibbs (Warren Brown) goes back because he believes in the mission to rebuild the country and help the Iraqi people. Life in the new Iraq however is unpredictable, chaotic and dangerous. Over the course of five years, the friendship of the three men comes under fierce pressure, as they pursue their dreams against the backdrop of growing fundamentalism, sectarian violence, and corruption in the world of privatized security.
Available on DVD.
“Oceans Apart” (2005) (90 mins) Drama. German TV movie.
Hardy Krüger Jr., Katja Weitzenböck and Jürgen Hentsch.
Aka “Jenseits des Ozeans”.
Director: Stefan Bartmann.
Based on the novel ‘An Ocean Apart’ by Robin Pilcher.
Co-produced with German FFP New Media, set in Ireland and New Zealand, this TV film for ZDF was filmed on location entirely in Ireland – County Cork – Cork City, Bantry House, Dunboy Castle and County Kerry – Kenmare.
The story of Lord David Inchelvie who escapes to New Zealand after the death of his wife. Taking a job as a gardener for Jennifer Newman opens up a new friendship with Jennifer and her son, giving David hope that perhaps his wounded heart can one day be healed. Element Pictures.
Seems to have been given a German DVD release?
“Odd Man Out” (1947) (113 mins) Thriller.
James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, F.J. McCormick, William Hartnell, Fay Compton, Kathleen Ryan, Dan O’Herlihy, Noel Purcell, Albert Sharpe, Eddie Byrne.
Director: Carol Reed.
Based upon the novel by F.L. Green.
The film was partly shot in Belfast with a predominantly Irish cast, including many Abbey Theatre regulars. Robert Krasker, the cameraman on Brief Encounter , was responsible for the film’s striking photography, and William Alwyn contributed a memorable musical score, incorporating individual leitmotifs for three of the central characters. On its release, the film was met by almost unanimous praise (“the best film that has ever been made in Britain” according to the Daily Express ) and received the British Film Academy’s award for the Best British Motion Picture of 1947.
Largely filmed at Denham Studios in Buckinghamshire but also used the famous Crown Bar in Belfast for some interior shots.
IRA volunteer Johnny McQueen (James Mason) escapes from prison in Northern Ireland where he has been serving a sentence for gun running. Needing money he holds up a linen mill, only to be shot. Left to die by his driver Pat (Cyril Cusack), Johnny, bleeding and badly wounded, tries to reach his girlfriend Kathleen (Kathleen Ryan). Over the next eight hours the fugitive is befriended by some, spurned by others as he stumbles through the back-alleys of Belfast city with only one thing driving him on – to reach the docks and escape on a ship.
Available on VHS (used) and DVD. Greek newspaper promo DVD too!
“Of Human Bondage” (1963) (98 mins) Drama.
Laurence Harvey, Kim Novak, Robert Morley, Jack Hedley, Nanette Newman, Siobhan McKenna, Robert Livesay, Brenda Fricker.
Director: Ken Hughes.
Based upon the 1915 novel by Somerset Maugham.
Filmed at Ardmore Studios in Bray.
Medical student Philip Carey (Laurence Harvey) falls in love with Mildred Rogers (Kim Novak), a waitress. Although she is a flirt, they have a love affair. But when Philip is told about her constant infidelity, they break up. Mildred quits her job and becomes a prostitute. But Philip is still in love with her.
Available on VHS and DVD – very scarce!
“Oh Mistress Mine” (1975) RTÉ Drama.
Kevin McHugh, Kate Canning, Dermot Tuohy……
Director: Deirdre Friel.
Writer: Michael Judge.
Aired 24/9/1975.
“Oh, Mr. Porter” (1937) (85 mins) Comedy.
Will Hay, Moore Marriott, Graham Moffatt, Frederick Piper.
Director: Marcel Varnel.
Set in Ireland but filmed in England – Basingstoke, Hampshire.
A misfit English railway employee (Will Hay) is about to be sacked but is instead sent to be station master at a remote Irish railway station (Buggleskelly) at the insistence of his brother in law – a director of the railway. Trouble comes when a train is hijacked by gun smugglers.
Verdict: One to see before you die!
Available on VHS and DVD.
“Old Curiosity Shop, The” (2007) (93 mins) Drama. Made for ITV television.
Sir Derek Jacobi, Toby Jones, Zoë Wanamaker, Martin Freeman, Gina McKee, Josie Lawrence and Sophie Vavasseur.
Director: Brian Percival.
Based on the novel by Charles Dickens.
Filmed in County Dublin – Drimnagh Castle, Henrietta Street etc. and in County Wicklow – Powerscourt Estate and Ardmore Studios in Bray.
Little Nell Trent (Sophie Vavasseur) lives with her devoted grandfather (Derek Jacobi) in his London shop, a magical place filled from wall to wall with dust-laden treasures. Grandfather keeps his nocturnal gambling activities a secret but is deeply in debt to the evil profiteering loan shark Quilp (Toby Jones). When he gambles away what little money they possess, The Old Curiosity Shop is seized by Quilp as payment and Nell and her grandfather are forced to flee London and seek refuge elsewhere. On the run, and with Quilp on their tails, the pair fall in with a number of colourful characters, some friendly and some villainous.
Available on DVD.
“Old Irish Washer Woman, The” (2014) (81 mins) Drama/Fantasy
Brendan Quinn, Pearse Mooney, Paul Laverty, Nigel O’Neill, Melissa Reid, Mary French and Aaron Smyth.
Director: Carleton Rodgers. Written by Michael Costelloe.
Production Company: Apex Pictures.
Filmed in Northern Ireland – Belfast, County Antrim; The Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, Cultra; Bangor, County Down.
Low budget: £7,500.
Ireland 1905. When two friends go for a fishing trip in the mountains, one learns a shocking discovery that will change both of their lives forever.
Available on DVD.
“Omagh” (2004) (106 mins) True Drama. Made for TV.
Gerard McSorley, Michele Forbes, Brenda Fricker.
Director: Pete Travis.
Filmed in Dublin and Navan, Co.Meath.
15th August 1998: the Real IRA exploded a bomb on a crowded street in Omagh, Northern Ireland, to try and derail the Good Friday Agreement and peace process; 29 people died. Families formed the Omagh Support Group to press the police in their inquiries. At the heart of the story is Michael Gallagher (Gerard McSorley), who lost his 21-year-old son Aiden in the explosion. Michael, a mechanic, becomes chairman of the support group and the film shows his family’s private trauma and his public struggle to uncover the truth about the bombing. Shadowy figures offer intelligence that calls into question the integrity before and after the bombing of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and its Special Branch. Will the murders remain unsolved?
Available on DVD and as a News of the World promo DVD.
“On a Paving Stone Mounted” (1978) (96 mins) B+W.
Maureen Toal, Paul Bennett, Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Rea and Peter Caffrey.
Aka “Aisling”.
Director: Thaddeus O’Sullivan.
Noteworthy for the debut of Gabriel Byrne in a minor role
Experimental docudrama blending documentary footage with actors recounting the experiences of Irish emigrants living in London.
No sign of online.
“Once” (2006) (85 mins) Musical/Romance.
Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová.
Director: John Carney.
Filmed on location in Dublin.
Neither of the lead actors were professionals, both being musicians and Glen Hansard’s only previous acting experience was as guitarist ‘Outspan’ in the 1991 Alan Parker hit movie “The Commitments”.
“Once” is the inspirational tale of two kindred spirits who find each other on the bustling streets of Dublin.
One is a street musician who lacks the confidence to perform his own songs, and thus works part-time helping his father, who runs a small, vacuum cleaner repair business, whilst he dreams of landing a record deal. The other is a young mother trying to find her way in a strange new town. She works as a house cleaner in an upper-class residence and is struggling financially, yearning for a piano she cannot afford.
As their lives intertwine, they discover each other’s talents and push one another to realise what each had only dreamt about before. Once is the inspiring story of their budding love for one another.
Available on DVD.
“Once Upon a Time in Dublin” (2009) (97 mins) Thriller.
Karl Hayden, Emmett Scanlan, Bill Fellows, Jonathan Hyde, Samantha Mumba.
Director: Jonathan Figgis.
Production Company: October Eleven Pictures Ltd.
Working Title: Three Crosses.
Filmed in Ireland, UK and USA.
€1 million budget.
The story of Jay and Jonnie Linski, two Polish-Irish brothers who try to come to terms with the brutal murder of their youngest sibling, Danny. The story follows the terrible hallucinatory visions that haunt bare-knuckle fighter Jonnie as he battles with his own demons and a personal investigation into those responsible for the killing. As all his close relationships begin to crumble about him, he plunges head-long into a violent chain of events that will leave murder and mayhem following closely on his heels. Set in what could be any European City (and none specifically). Told through the emotional pain of the characters closest to Danny, and the sometimes violent events that follow on from the actions of these same tortured few. Written by Jonathan Figgis (Director)
Available on DVD – import from USA – scarce!
“On Dangerous Ground” (1996) (165 mins) Thriller. TV movie. 
Rob Lowe, Kenneth Cranham and Deborah Moore.
Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark.
Based on the novel by Jack Higgins.
Filmed in England, Wales and Luxembourg.
As Britain prepares to return Hong Kong to China in 1997, powerful business interests including the Mafia will do anything to stop it happening. In London, Brigadier Charles Ferguson (Kenneth Cranham), head of the Prime Minister’s personal action unit, and his assistant Inspector Hannah Bernstein (Deborah Moore), have learned of the existence of the mysterious Chunking Covenant, a long lost document signed in China in 1944 by Mao Tse Tung and Lord Mountbatten. In return for arms and assistance in his country’s war with Japan, Mao agreed to extend the Hong Kong treaty by 100 years if he ever came to power. Former IRA activist Sean Dillon (Rob Lowe) is ‘persuaded’ by the Brigadier to do “one more job” in order to prevent the document from falling into the wrong hands.
Verdict: Another poorly directed mess with wooden acting.
Available on DVD and as a Daily Mail promo DVD.
“Ondine” (2009) (111 mins) Romance.
Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Dervla Kirwan and Alison Barry.
Director: Neil Jordan.
Filmed in West Cork – Bere Island, Castletownbere, Dursey Island.
Ondine tells the story of Syracuse (Colin Farrell), a down on his luck Irish fisherman whose life is transformed when he catches a beautiful and mysterious woman Ondine (Alicja Bachleda) in his nets. His daughter Annie (Alison Barry) comes to believe that the woman is a selkie (a mythical seal turned human while on land), while Syracuse falls helplessly in love. However, like all fairy tales, enchantment and darkness go hand in hand….
Available on DVD.
One Hundred Mornings (2009) (85 mins) Dystopian Drama. 
Ciarán McMenamin, Alex Reid, Rory Keenan, Kelly Campbell, Robert O’Mahoney.
Director: Conor Horgan.
Filmed in County Wicklow.
Set in a world upended by a complete breakdown of society, two couples hide out in a lakeside cottage in rural Ireland hoping to survive the crisis. Jonathan and his wife Hannah are sharing a cottage with another couple, Mark and Katie. Along with their neighbour, Tim, they have one rifle and limited provisions, which are running out fast. When a group of thugs turn up to steal what little the group have, it’s obvious that whoever has the ammunition will have the power. Tensions mount as they realize that they are going to have to find a way to survive in a world without power, money or communication.
Verdict: Low budget (€275,000) and it’s difficult to see where it was spent. Poor storyline and direction, some good acting but not enough to prevent this movie getting a turkey!
Available on DVD.
“O’Neill, The” (1912) (U.S.)
Pat O’Malley, Gene Gauntier.
Director: Sidney Olcott.
Not available.
“O’Neill of the Glen” (1916)
J.M. Kerrigan, Nora Clancy, Fred O’Donovan.
Director: J.M. Kerrigan.
Produced by The Film Company of Ireland.
Not available.
“One Is Always Too Good to Women” (1971) (75 mins) Comedy/Drama. French.
Elisabeth Wiener, Jean-Pierre Marielle and Roger Carel.
Original title “On est toujours trop bon avec les femmes”.
Director: Michel Boisrond.
Based on the novel by Raymond Queneau.
This French farce/drama takes place in Ireland in 1916, during one of the peak periods of revolutionary violence. Seven Irish revolutionaries have taken over a post office, totally evacuating the building. Or so they think. They missed Gertie Gertel, who was in the bathroom at the time. By the time she is discovered, they are sufficiently besieged that for her own safety, she must stay with them. Gertie, it turns out, is about as pro-British as it is possible to be, and the seven take it on themselves, in the midst of battles and gunfights, to win her over to their cause.
Does not appear to have been released on VHS or DVD.
“One Man’s Hero” (1998) (121 mins) War/Drama.
Tom Berenger, Joaquim de Almeida, Daniela Romo, Mark Moses, Stuart Graham, Patrick Bergin, Don Wycherley.
Director: Lance Hool.
Filmed in Mexico.
This serious-minded, large-scale historical saga casts light on a shadowy corner of American history, the “St. Patrick’s Brigade” in the Mexican-American war of the 1840s. Near the front lines, John Riley (Tom Berenger), a respected Irish-American officer, rebels when several US Army soldiers, fellow immigrants, are brutalized because of their Catholic faith. He goes AWOL with the men, eventually siding with the Mexicans in their fight to hold onto territories that would become the American southwest. It’s a tragic tale, recalling the era when Catholics (and Irish ones in particular) were widely mistrusted and despised by the country’s Protestant majority. Still, it’s no wonder that the whitewashed, remember-the-Alamo version of American history has persevered in previous dramas; between the factionalized Mexican side, the conflicted Riley and even the war-weary US “invaders,” it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys here, who is fighting who and why, and Riley’s romance with an Hispanic hottie muddies the picture even more.
Available on DVD.
“One of Ourselves” (1983) (49 mins) Drama. BBC NI/RTE.
Cyril Cusack, Niall Toibin, Tom Hickey, Pat Leavy, Bill Paterson, Stephen Mason.
Director: Pat O’Connor.
Filmed in Waterford – in and around Cappoquin.
Originally entitled “An Evening with John Joe Dempsey”, this television adaptation is a coming-of-age story featuring John Joe Dempsey (Steven Mason) on the occasion of his fifteenth birthday. At his happiest when alone with his fantasies or when keeping company with the town eccentric, Quigley (Cyril Cusack), John Joe is at a turning point in his life and under pressure to give up both fantasies and friend to become “one of ourselves” in the town.
Does not appear to be available – save for the poor quality YouTube upload.
“1,000 Times Good Night” (2013) (117 mins) Drama/War.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Juliette Binoche, Lauryn Canny, Maria Doyle Kennedy.
Aka ‘Tusen ganger god natt’.
Writer/Director: Erik Poppe.
Filmed in Ireland, Kenya, Morocco and Afghanistan.
Photojournalist Rebecca (Juliette Binoche) is passionate about capturing images of war, which often leads her into dangerous situations. On one of her assignments she is photographing a suicide bomber when the explosive goes off early, leaving Rebecca severely wounded. She returns home to her husband Marcus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and daughters, who, tired of constantly worrying about her safety, urge Rebecca to choose between them and her job. She decides to put her family first but when daughter Steph (Lauryn Canny) shows an interest in humanitarian work, Rebecca suggests that she travels with her to a Kenyan refugee camp. When the camp faces a violent attack, Rebecca instinctively takes out her camera instead of seeking safety. Will she survive the life-threatening situation?
Filmed in Ireland, Kenya, Morocco and Afghanistan.
Available on DVD.
“On Home Ground” (2002) (480 mins) (8 episodes) TV Drama.
Frank Laverty, Cathy White.
Directors: Kevin Liddy, Declan Recks, Ciaran Donnelly.
On Home Ground builds over eight hour-long episodes: The focus shifts from the epic tension of the football matches to the nitty gritty of everyday routine, from the relatively straightforward imperative of winning and losing on the field to the more complicated matter of getting on with life. Throughout, the trials, tribulations and teamwork of the five key families-the Collins, the O’Farrells, the Kings, the O’Connors and the O’Keefes- reflect a community that is very modern and very recognisable. www.iftn.ie
Does not appear to have been released on DVD.
“Only Child, An” (1974) (60 mins) TV Drama – episode
Joe Lynch, Kate Binchy, Brenda Doyle, Seamus Healy, John Kavanagh, Eamon Keane and Joe McPartland.
Director: Donald McWhinnie.
Adapted for TV by Brian Wright.
Based on a story by Frank O’Connor about his childhood in Cork City.
Shot in Cobh, County Cork in 1972.
Shown at the Cobh Readers & Writers Festival – 2nd May 2017.
“On The Edge” (2001) (82 mins) Drama.
Cillian Murphy, Tricia Vessey, Stephen Rea, Jonathan Jackson, Alison Coffey, Paul Hickey.
Director: John Carney.
Production Company: Hell’s Kitchen.
Filmed in County Dublin (Howth).
Within a space of 24 hours, Jonathan Breech (Cillian Murphy) attends his father’s funeral, gets high, steals a car, picks up someone else’s girlfriend, dumps her on the side of the road and then drives himself off a cliff. Having suffered no more than a broken finger, he is faced with either a spell in prison or a stay in a psychiatric hospital…
Available on VHS and DVD.
“On the Nose” (2001) (104 mins) Comedy.
Dan Aykroyd, Robbie Coltrane, Brenda Blethyn, Don Baker, and Simon Delaney.
Aka “Delaney’s Flutter”.
Director: David Caffrey.
Production company: Subotica Films.
Filmed in County Dublin.
Brendan Delaney (Robbie Coltrane) is a janitor at a university who has a fondness for gambling on the horses. The problem is, he doesn’t have much skill at it, and poorly considered bets have drained all the money he’d set aside for his daughter’s education. Brendan’s wife (Brenda Blethyn) has made Brendan promise to give up gambling, but when their daughter announces she’s just been accepted to Trinity College in Dublin, Brendan has to come up with the tuition money, and fast! While doing his sweeping at work, Brendan makes a remarkable discovery; the preserved head of an aboriginal tribesman, which under proper conditions, can pick the winners in horse races… Brendan must protect ‘Bobby’ from a civil servant who wants to return him to his tribe and from a group of gangsters who want to use his special powers.
Available on VHS (scarce) and on DVD.
“Operation Irish Triangle” (1966) Part.12. of ITV series “The Rat Catchers”
Patricia Haines, John Macklin, Alan Gifford and Eugene Deckers.
Written by Victor Canning.
Director: James Ormerod.
The Rat Catchers was a 1960s British fictional television series made by Rediffusion and broadcast on the ITV Network. It was about a top secret British Intelligence Unit that received its orders from the Prime Minister, and without questioning proceeded to battle enemy spies, saboteurs, and others to protect the security of Great Britain and the Western Alliance.
It ran to two seasons but the bulk of the 25 episodes are believed wiped or lost so your chances of ever seeing any part of this series are remote. So far I haven’t been able to establish if the solitary Irish episode was filmed in Ireland.
Two books were released accompany the series during the time it was broadcast; ‘All in a Day’s Work’ and ‘The End of the Fourth Reich’ by David Ray.
“Oracle, The” (1953) (84 mins) Comedy.
Robert Beatty, Joseph Tomelty, Mervyn Johns, Michael Medwin, Virginia McKenna, Gillian Lind, Ursula Howells, Arthur Macrae.
Aka “The Horse’s Mouth”.
Director: C.M. Pennington Richards.
Adapted from the radio play “To Tell You The Truth” by Robert Barr.
Scriptwriter: Patrick Campbell.
Made at Southall Studios, Middlesex, England.
Timothy Blake (Michael Medwin), the obituaries and births editor for The Daily Post, is in disgrace with his overbearing editor Bob Jefferson (Robert Beatty) because of a mixup. He takes a birdwatching holiday on a remote Irish island, where he is welcomed by the local postmaster Terry Roche (Joseph Tomelty) and his attractive daughter Shelagh (Virginia McKenna). But then he makes the discovery that Roche has a well in an abandoned shed on his property that contains a Greek oracle. Roche has allowed the Oracle tenancy in the well in return for it daily answering one question and giving him information about the weather or the whereabouts of locals’ lost property.
Available as a ‘Manufactured on Demand’ DVD from Amazon.com
Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000) (93 mins) Crime Drama
Kevin Spacey, Linda Fiorentino, Colin Farrell, Peter Mullan, Stephen Dillane and Patrick Malahide.
Director: Thaddeus O’Sullivan.
Writer: Gerard Stembridge.
Filmed on location in Dublin.
The third of three films dealing the life of the notorious Dublin criminal Martin Cahill aka “The General” and by far the most loosely based. “The General” (1998) and “Vicious Circle” (1999) can be recommended ahead of this production. That said, there’s a strong cast and it rollicks along at a good pace with an interesting twist in the tail.
Available from Amazon on VHS and DVD. Also as a newspaper Promo DVD.
Ordinary Love (2019) (92 mins) Drama
Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville and Esh Alladi.
Directors: Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn
Joan and Tom have been married for many years. There is an ease to their relationship which comes from spending a lifetime together, a depth of love which expresses itself through tenderness and humour. When Joan is diagnosed with breast cancer, the course of her treatment shines a light on their relationship; they are faced with the challenges of what might happen.
Opening film of the 2019 Cork International Film Festival.
Available on DVD (2020).
“Other Side of Sleep, The” (2011) (93 mins) Thriller
Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Sam Keeley and Olwen Fouere.
Director: Rebecca Daly.
Production company: Fastnet Films/Irish Film Board.
Filmed in County Offaly.
A withdrawn factory worker Arlene (Antonia Campbell-Hughes) who’s prone to bouts of sleepwalking awakens in a forest, lying beside the corpse of a young woman. She becomes obsessed with the girl’s murder – her mother had met a similar fate decades earlier – and finds herself drawn to the victim’s family as her grasp on reality begins to unravel.
Available on DVD.
“Ouija: The Insidious Curse” (2017) Horror
Dominique Swain, Emma Eliza Regan, Adam Weafer
Director: Christophe Lenoir.
Producers: Kathy Horgan, Vivek Singhania, Manju Gautam
Writers: Vikram Gupta & Vivek Singhania
Irish/French/Indian co-production
Filming locations: Killarney, Kerry; Paris, France and Mumbai, India.
Hannah returns home to her estranged Father to piece together the circumstances of her Mother’s death. On the discovery of an ancient Ouija board from a local antique dealer, Hannah uncovers a deadly curse from the past.
Available….?
“Ourselves Alone” (1936) (67 mins) Romance/Drama.
John Loder, John Lodge, Antoinette Cellier, Niall McGinnis, Clifford Evans, Maire O’Neill.
Aka: “River of Unrest“.
Directors: Brian Desmond Hurst, Walter Summers.
Filmed at British International Pictures Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England.
1921: as IRA fighters battle with the Royal Irish Constabulary and the Black and Tans, a young girl finds herself under terrible pressure; she is torn between loyalty to her brother, unbeknownst to her an IRA leader, her fiancé, an RIC inspector, and his comrade and rival in love, a British Army captain.
Ourselves Alone (a translation of ‘Sinn Fein’) was banned in Northern Ireland on its release in 1936, but with sympathetic performances from a strong cast, the focus remains firmly on the human cost of conflict in uncertain times.
Available on DVD.
“Our Wonderful Home” (2008) (80 mins) Drama.
Myles Horgan, Emma Eliza Regan and Karen Griffin.
Director: Ivan Kavanagh.
Filmed in Dublin.
Fred, a husband and father, who struggles to keep his family in the comfortable lifestyle they have grown accustomed to while keeping his financial worries secret from them. But they also have secrets. His wife Fiona breaks the boredom of their loveless routine with an affair and their teenage daughter Emma uses hard drugs to keep her weight down. Captivated by the cult of celebrity and easily influenced by her friends, Emma demands a new car for her 18th birthday. When her parents refuse she goes to extreme lengths to get what she wants, making a decision that will ultimately change all their lives forever. http://rippleworld.com
Not available – 5/2013 confirmed no plans for a release.
“Outcast” (2010) (98 mins) Horror.
James Nesbitt, Kate Dickie, Ciarán McMenamin, Hannah Stanbridge, Niall Bruton and James Cosmo.
Director: Colm McCarthy.
Filmed on location in County Galway and at the Studio Solas at Ballinahown. Also some filming in Scotland – Edinburgh.
The tale of Petronella (a Scottish/Romany girl) and Fergal (her mysterious Irish traveller boyfriend). As their doomed relationship plays out, a Beast stalks the estate, killing locals, working its way towards our protagonists. Meanwhile, Cathal and Liam, two mysterious travellers from Ireland use ritual and magic on a blood hunt. Mary, Fergal’s mother performs ritual and magic of her own. As Cathal comes face to face with Mary in a vicious finale we know one thing: the Beast must die.
Available on DVD.
“Outcasts, The” (1982) (100 mins) Drama. Made for Television
Cyril Cusack, Mick Lally and Mary Ryan
Writer/Director: Robert Wynne-Simmons.
The story of ‘The Outcasts’ is a myth spun together from Irish folklore and true events, in particular tales of the “time before the famine”. It was also influenced by the poets William Blake (The Book of Thel), and William Butler Yeats. It tells the story of Maura, a girl thought to be backward, and of her awakening as a result of her encounter with the outcast fiddler and shaman, Scarf Michael, who becomes her lover and teacher.
The filming almost had to be abandoned when, just before Christmas 1981, the main location was buried under 14 feet of snow, but was resumed in February 1982, with money from the Irish Arts Council and the Irish Film Board, and was acquired by Chanel Four U.K. for the “Film on Four” series. It was the first feature film for fifty years to be primarily funded from Ireland and opened the door for the revival of the Irish Film Industry. It was shown at festivals around the world.
http://www.robertwynne-simmons.co.uk/outcasts.html
Was released on VHS but no longer available.
“Out of Here” (2014) (80 mins) Drama.
Fionn Walton, Annabell Rickerby, Aoife Duffin.
Written & Directed by Donal Foreman.
Filmed in County Dublin.
Low budget: €40,000 estimated.
Ciaran is a passionate yet restless college dropout who has returned home to recession-struck Dublin after a year of travelling. Broke and living with his parents, struggling to re-connect with the ex-girlfriend that he left behind and the friends and social scene that have moved on without him, Ciaran questions whether he should stay or go – and comes to realize the difference between being stuck and being present. www.outofherefilm.com
Available….?
“Outsider, The” (1979) (128 mins) Thriller.
Craig Wasson, Patricia Quinn, Sterling Hayden, T.P.McKenna, Niall Toibin, J.G. Devlin, John Paul Leeming, Gabriel Byrne.
Aka “Mourir a Belfast”.
Director: Tony Luraschi.
Based upon the book The Heritage of Michael Flaherty by Colin Leinster.
Northern Ireland scenes filmed in Ringsend, Dublin, and other scenes in County Wicklow with interiors filmed at Ardmore Studios, Bray.
The conflict between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the British Army in Northern Ireland provides the backdrop for this drama set in the early 1970s. Michael Flaherty (Craig Wasson) is an American of Irish descent who, after returning home from a tour of duty in Vietnam, is deciding what to do with his life. Since his childhood, Michael’s grandfather Seamus (Sterling Hayden) has told him of his glorious younger days in Ireland, when he fought against the British with the IRA. Michael decides to go to Belfast to help the fight to end British rule, but he soon finds out that he’s not welcomed by many of the locals. He’s considered more important as a symbol than as a soldier or an activist – so much so that the IRA plans to have him killed in a way that can be blamed on British forces in order to help elicit financial support from wealthy Americans. http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/images/cinema/nimovies.htm#outsider
DVD release in 2016 – Region.1. import.
Irish Movie Madness 