Page updated 24/8/2022
“Redemption of a Rogue” added 3/1/2022.
“Race, The” (2009) (84 mins) Drama.
Colm Meaney, Susan Lynch, Niamh McGirr.
Director: André F. Nebe.
A young girl from rural Ireland dreams of one day becoming a champion race car driver and jumps at the opportunity to compete in a local go-cart race despite the fact that the odds seem to be stacked against her. Mary (Niamh McGirr) may only be 11 years old, but she’s got the spirit of a seasoned race car driver. She lives on a County Antrim farm with her bickering parents, who are too distracted by personal and financial issues to recognize their daughter’s true passion. One day, a wealthy farmer announces he’ll be staging a go-cart race and encourages the local children to participate, Mary sees it as her big chance to hone her skills behind the wheel. Unfortunately for Mary, competing in the race at all is going to be an uphill challenge; her parents are dead set against it, and the kids at school tease her for wanting to make a name for herself in such a traditionally male-dominated sport.
Available on DVD.
“Racer, The” (2020) (95 mins) Drama/Sport
Louis Talpe, Matteo Simoni, Tara Lee, Iain Glen, Karel Roden.
Writer/Director: Kieron J. Walsh.
Summer 1998 – the opening stages of Le Tour de France are relocated to Ireland. Belgian rider Dom Chabol (late 30s) has been one of the best “Domestiques” (support riders) on the Tour for the last 20 years. It’s a sacrificial role – setting pace, blocking wind, and providing support to enable the team’s sprinter to victory – winning is not an option. But Dom secretly harbours a desire to wear the yellow jersey – just once before his career is over. At the start of what will likely be his last Tour, Dom is unceremoniously dropped from the Team he has dedicated his life to. His best mate Sonny, the team masseur, fails to reassure him about his future. But a chance liaison with Lynn, a young Irish doctor, softens the blow, and Dom starts to accept – and even enjoy – the idea of civilian life. But as he gears up to go home and to face his estranged sister, a massive doping error knocks another teammate off the Tour and Dom is thrown back in the saddle. Kieron J. Walsh.
In Irish cinemas from the 11th December 2020.
Available on Region.4. DVD.
“Rafferty’s Rise” (1918)
Fred O’Donovan, Kathleen Murphy, Arthur Shields.
Director: J.M. Kerrigan.
Produced by the Irish Film Company of Ireland.
“Rafters, The” (2012) (80 mins) Horror.
Marcella Plunkett, Killian Scott, Sean Donegan, Maire O’Neill., Des Nealon.
Director: John Carney.
Production company: Warehouse Pictures.
Ghosts stalk an old guesthouse in the Aran islands, as two American backpackers vie for the affections of a young woman who is, literally, haunted by her past. Irish Film Board.
Premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh in July 2012.
No DVD release.
“Raic” (1984) (59 mins) RTÉ Irish language TV movie.
Daire Brehan, Seamus Forde, Martin Dempsey, Micheál Ó Conaola, Bairbre Uí Churraoin, Sarah Ghriallais, Eoin O’Súilleabháin, Cormac O’Murchú.
Director: Noel O’Briain.
Writer: Antoine O’Flatharta.
Filmed in Connemara, Co.Galway.
Emma and her father Martin move to Connemara in 1942. Emma has lost her job as a teacher for hitting a child and Martin is close to the end of his life.
Aired on RTÉ 26/12/1984.
“Railway Station Man, The” (1992) (93 mins) Thriller.
Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, John Lynch, Frank MacCusker, Mark Tandy.
Director: Michael Whyte.
Based on the novel by Jennifer Johnston.
Filmed in West Donegal. Glencolumbkille and Gortahork?
After her husband is murdered in a terrorist attack, Helen Cuffe (Julie Christie) and her teenage son, Jack, move across the border to a peaceful coastal village in the Republic. With a new lease of life, Helen flourishes as a painter and Jack grows up removed from urban violence. When Helen meets the town’s eccentric newcomer, Roger Hawthorne (Donald Sutherland), she’s captivated by the American’s obsession with restoring a long-abandoned railway station – and they soon fall in love. However, her happiness is shattered when a former IRA volunteer warns Helen that her son has become involved with people who want to hide explosives at the railway station……
Available on VHS from Amazon.com – scarce! Also available on unofficial DVD.
“Randomer, The” (2016) (82 mins) Comedy
George Hanover, Daryl McCormack, John Lynn, Nelli Conroy, Caoimhe O Maille.
Directors: Naji Bechara, Caoimhe Clancy, Iseult Imbert.
Script: Gerry Stembridge.
Low budget – Crowdfunded.
The last thing Meg wants is a child. Her and bohemian boyfriend Teddy, live a liberated life in the heart of Dublin. When she finds herself confronted by her 39th birthday, she starts to see motherhood in a different light. After rejecting her sister’s conventional approach to family, and seeing her new neighbours’ modern style of parenting, she decides to find a way to be a mother on her own terms. When Teddy doesn’t share her new found desire, she must go out and find the right guy to spend a perfectly random night with. If only she can avoid the pitfalls of modern dating, she might discover that one random night could leave her expecting more.
Premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh in July 2016.
“Rap at the Door, A” (1998) BBC (NI). Drama.
Ciarán McMenamin, Patrick O’Kane, Maria Connolly.
Director: Mark Brozell.
Writer: Pearse Elliott.
Two brothers and their sister try to make sense of what happened fifteen years ago when their mother disappeared forever after answering a rap at the door.
Not available.
“Rapt in Éire” (2009) (95 min) Drama
Kalu Ikeagwu, Robert Goodman, Mike Kelly.
Writer/Director: Akibor Emihian.
Low budget – €250,000.
Filmed in Galway City.
Clifford Oyenma (Kalu Ikeagwu) is a Nigerian academic who has come to Ireland looking for a better life, but who instead becomes unwittingly embroiled in the criminal underworld. This is the story of a good and gentle man who triumphs against all the odds to realise a dream.
Premiered at Galway Film Fleadh in 2009.
No trace of a DVD release.
“Rásaí na Gaillimhe” (2009 – ) Comedy. TG4 TV series
Don Wycherley, Tomás O’Suilleabhhán, Ruth Bradley, Frankie McCafferty, Darine Ní Dhonnchú, Owen McDonnell, Olga Wehrly.
Director: Robert Quinn.
Production company: Great Western Films.
Filmed on location in County Galway.
Contemporary comedy drama series spanning the seven days of Galway’s most famous festival – Race Week. The annual Galway Races provide the magnet for a group of disparate characters which converge in Galway, crossing paths with each other with hilarious, tragic and often disastrous results.
Not available.
“Rat” (2000) (89 mins) Comedy.
Pete Postlethwaite, Imelda Staunton, Niall Tobin, Simon Delaney and Frank Kelly.
Director: Steve Barron.
Filmed in Dublin.
Hubert Flynn (Pete Postlethwaite), a bread delivery man who loves his Guinness and horse racing more than his wife, and who one night comes home from the pub to discover that he has been turned into a rat. His wife Conchita (Imelda Staunton) is not impressed. She does not forgive easily and refuses to take pity on him. But when a ghost-writer knocks on the door offering to put their story into a book and then a film of the book and then a book of the film, she is sorely tempted to cash in. This sets the stage for a series of comical adventures for Hubert the rat.
Available from Amazon on VHS and DVD – scarce!
“Rawhead Rex” (1986) (89 mins) Horror.
David Dukes, Kelly Piper, Niall Toibin, Ronan Wilmot, Sheila Flitton, Donal McCann, Derry Power.
Director: George Pavlou.
Writer Clive Barker adapted his own story for the film but disowned the result.
Filmed in County Wicklow.
Rawhead Rex is a demon, alive for millennia, trapped in the depths of hell, and waiting for release. He is held by an ancient seal, imprisoned for centuries in a barren field near the hamlet of Rathmore, Ireland.
In time, this gruesome legacy has been forgotten, dismissed as an odd pre-Christian myth until Tom Garron (Donal McCann) decides to plough the field his ancestors knew better than to disturb. The seal is broken and an unspeakable evil is unleashed – on a rampage of blood and lust.
Howard Hallenbeck (David Dukes), an American historian on a working vacation in Ireland, discovers, on the stained glass windows of the local church, the series of scenes illustrating the reign of terror of Rawhead Rex. But the one piece of glass depicting the defeat of the monster is missing. Howard is desperate for an answer – for Rawhead Rex is loose, and he is insatiable.
Available on VHS (used) and DVD – scarce and expensive.
A new (May 2018) Blu-ray edition is available on Amazon.
“Real Charlotte, The” (1988) (1990 imdb) (240 mins) Drama. TV mini-series.
Jeananne Crowley, Joanna Roth, Patrick Bergin, Sorcha Cusack, Aiden Grennell.
Director: Tony Barry.
Based on the novel by Somerville & Ross.
Filmed in Ireland at Ardmore Studio in Bray; Dublin – Heuston Station…
Ireland 1895: The beautiful, aristocratic Francie Fitzpatrick (Joanna Roth) arrives in Ireland to live with her cousin, Charlotte (Jeananne Crowley). Sombre and middle-aged, Charlotte is the epitome of everything sensible. However, her plain exterior masks a sly woman hungry for money and prestige. To her, the flirtatious Francie is just the thing to tempt the wealthy gentlemen of the country and gain her a foothold in their privileged world. However, when Francie falls in love with a penniless English officer Roddy Lambert (Patrick Bergin), a furious Charlotte unleashes a devious scheme of revenge.
Available on VHS and DVD – scarce and expensive.
“Rebel Heart” (2001) (196 mins) Drama. 4 part BBC/RTE mini-series.
James D’Arcy, Frank Laverty, Vincent Regan, Brendan Coyle, Paloma Baeza and Dawn Bradfield.
Director: John Strickland.
Palace Pictures/BBC/RTE production.
Filmed in Ireland – Dublin and Wicklow.
Released on VHS – occasionally available on Amazon and eBay.
“Rebellion” (2016) (255 mins) 5 part RTE drama
Charlie Murphy, Ruth Bradley, Sarah Greene, Brian Gleeson, Michelle Fairley, Ian McElhinney, Michael Ford-Fitzgerald, Paul Reid, Barry Ward, Tom Turner, Perdita Weeks, Andrew Simpson and Sophie Robinson.
Director: Aku Louhimies.
Writer: Colin Teevan.
Produced by Zodiak Media Ireland Ltd.
The tumultuous events of the “Easter Rising” are seen through the eyes of three young women and their families, lovers and friends from Belfast, Dublin and London, who play vital and conflicting roles in the rebellion. Some prioritise family loyalties, and some are motivated by the noblest of ideas or opportunism; others, meanwhile take up arms, prepared to sacrifice everything for the dream of a better society.
First aired on RTE – 3/1/2016.
Available on DVD.
“Redemption of a Rogue” (2020) (95 mins) Black Comedy
Aaron Monaghan, Aisling O’Mara, Kieran Roche, Pat McCabe, Shane Connaughton, Hugh O’Brien, Liz Fitzgibbon, Charlie Bonner, Lorna Quinn and Kevin McGahern.
Writer/Director: Philip Doherty.
Low budget – €112,500 (estimated).
Dishevelled Jimmy Cullen returns to County Cavan after seven years of exile to make peace with his dying father and seek redemption for past sins before he too bids this world farewell. Moments after his arrival, his father breathes his last and a steady rain begins to pour. A condition in his will reveals that he must not be buried on a wet day or Jimmy and his brother will be disinherited. With no sign of the rain abating, Jimmy embarks on an existential journey to make amends and ultimately redeems himself through love.
“Red Mist” (2008) (85 mins) Horror.
Arielle Kebbel, Sarah Carter and Stephen Dillane.
Director: Paddy Breathnach.
Aka “Freakdog“.
Set in America but filmed in Belfast – Northern Ireland.
A young student doctor uses an experimental cocktail of drugs to resuscitate the hospital janitor, who has fallen into a coma following an accident caused by a student prank. But instead of bringing him back to consciousness, the drugs spark a depraved killing streak in the comatose man, who sets out to wreak his bloody revenge on those who caused his condition.
Available on DVD.
“Red Rock” (2015 -) Drama. TV3 series.
Martin Galligan, Jane McGrath, Patrick Ryan, Richard Flood, Róisín O’Donovan, Andrea Irvine, Seán Mahon, India Mullen, Donal Crowley, Boyko Krastanov, Paul Roe, Stephen Cromwell, Pandora McCormick, Cathy Belton, Jack Nolan, Adam Weafer, Valerie O’Connor, Ann Skelly.
Director: Matt Carter. Written by Peter McKenna. Executive Producer: Peter McKenna.
Filmed on location in County Dublin – Dun Laoghaire, Howth and the old John Player Factory.
Charting the life and dramas of a community about to be enveloped by a feud, through the eyes of those who police it, each episode is a mix of ‘crime of the week’ stories and on-going serial arcs, following principle characters in both their professional and personal lives.
Series began airing 7/5/2015.
“Red Roses And Petrol” (2003) (97 mins) Drama.
Malcolm McDowell, Olivia Tracey, Heather Juergensen, Max Beesley, Greg Ellis, Susan Lynch.
Director: Tamar Simon Hoffs.
Filmed in the USA – California and Ireland – County Dublin.
Amid a haze of cigarette smoke and uneaten food, the family of Enda Doyle (Malcolm McDowell) gathers in Dublin for his wake. A university librarian, poet, and rascal, Doyle has left behind a trail of unresolved issues, a dysfunctional family, and a disturbing mystery. A cache of self-recorded video diaries sheds light on who he really was and the secrets that he was never able to share. Based upon the acclaimed play by Irish author Joseph O’Connor, Red Roses and Petrol explores the complex dynamics of family relations with sharp humour and surprising turns, taking us on an intense emotional journey into the depths of what is true and what is love. You’re invited to the rowdiest Irish wake of the year!
Available on DVD.
“Redwater” (2017) (360 mins) Drama BBC mini-series.
Jessie Wallace, Shane Richie. Angeline Ball, Fionnula Flanagan, Maria Doyle Kennedy and Ian McElhinney.
Filmed on location in Dunmore East, Co.Waterford and in Co. Wicklow.
Redwater tells the story of what happens when EastEnders’ stalwarts Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) visit the Kellys and Dolans in the fictional Irish village of Redwater in search of Kat’s long-lost son.
First aired RTE – 14th May, 2017.
“Reefer and the Model” (1988) (93 mins) Romance. Thriller.
Ian McElhinney, Sean Lawlor, Ray McBride, Carol Scanlan.
Writer/Director: Joe Comerford.
Production company: Berber Film Productions.
Filmed on location in Galway Bay, Connemara and the Aran Islands.
Reefer (Ian McElhinney), Spider (Sean Lawlor) and Badger (Ray McBride) eke out a living on a dilapidated fishing trawler, having renounced their lawless past. When a homeless, pregnant ‘model‘ joins the crew and begins a hesitant relationship with Reefer, the men’s complacent beliefs and faded ideals come in for reappraisal and one last caper proves inevitable. Described as both a psychological thriller and a political commentary on modern Ireland, ‘Reefer and the Model’ balances elements of Ealing-esque whimsy with violent realism.
Never released on DVD but was available on VHS.
Unofficial VHS Rips exist.
“Reflections” (1984) (100 mins) Drama.
Gabriel Byrne, Donal McCann, Fionnula Flanagan, Harriet Walter and Niall Tobin.
Director: Kevin Billington.
Based upon the novel ‘The Newtown Letter‘ by John Banville.
A pompous young academic (Byrne) rents a cottage on a dilapidated Irish estate in order to finish off his book on Sir Isaac Newton. The days are hot, the grass is high, and the folks in the Big House soon prove a whole lot more interesting than Newton…
Does not appear to have been released on VHS or DVD.
Complete movie available here: Reflections
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“Reign of Fire” (2002) (101 mins) Fantasy/Drama
Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale and Izabella Scorupco.
Director: Rob Bowman.
Filmed in Ireland – Counties Dublin, Wicklow and Mayo; and England – London.
In present-day London, 10-year-old Quinn visits his construction engineer mother at her work. When he crawls into a cavern the workers have uncovered, he finds a large, fire-breathing dragon–which destroys the site and kills his mother. Fast-forward to 2020. Quinn (Christian Bale) is living in a castle in Northumberland, the leader of survivors of the dragon plague which has wiped out a large portion of the human population. He and his colony, including dozens of orphans, eke out an existence in hopes that the human race will someday take back the planet from the gigantic, winged monsters. Enter Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), a war-mad American and his team of military trained fighters. They offer to team up with Quinn and his people, but only if they consent to the American’s extreme tactics to destroy the fire-breathing beasts.
Available on DVD.
“Relative Strangers” (1999) (180 mins) TV drama. Mini-Series.
Robin Laing, Karen Ardiff, Brenda Fricker, Lena Stolze and Adrian Dunbar.
Director: Giles Foster.
Filmed in County Dublin and Germany – Düsseldorf and Mönchengladbach.
Relative Strangers is a gripping contemporary drama hinging on a tragic twist of fate. Life is good for Maureen (Brenda Fricker) a married Irish woman living outside Düsseldorf and celebrating her 50th birthday with her two teenage children. But her world is abruptly shattered by the sudden death of her husband. A shocking secret is revealed – he had a second family in Ireland.
Maureen travels to Ireland to confront his mistress, Liza Becker (Lena Stolze). Through the traumas of infidelity, bereavement and financial ruin, both women are compelled to face up to each other’s existence and the reality of their lives.
Available on DVD (2009) and as a newspaper promo.
“Resistance” 2019 (225 mins) 5 part RTÉ Drama
Brian Gleeson, Simone Kirby and Natasha O’Keefe.
Set in late 1920, Resistance is a sequel series to the 2016 mini-series “Rebellion”, which was set during the 1916 Easter Rising. The series dramatises the build-up and fallout from the events of Bloody Sunday in 1920, depicting “a world of shadows and echoes, double-agents and unreliable narrators at a time of high tension, fear and anxiety”.
Available on DVD.
“Rest in Violence” (1958) (60 mins) ITV Television Playhouse
Season 4, Episode 2.
Television Playhouse (ITV 1955-1964)
Maureen Connell, Donal Donnelly, Richard Harris, David Kelly, Patrick McGoohan.
Director: Cliff Owen.
Aired 12/9/1958. Not available.
“Resurrection Man” (1997) (101 mins) Thriller.
Stuart Townsend, John Hannah, James Nesbitt, Geraldine O’Rawe, Brenda Fricker.
Director: Marc Evans.
Filmed in England – Liverpool, Manchester and Warrington.
Belfast 1975: A loyalist thug Victor Kelly (Stuart Townsend) and his gang, called the ‘Resurrection Men’, murder an innocent Catholic man in an especially gruesome manner. Reporter Ryan (James Nesbitt) takes an interest in the story, especially after a second murder victim is found with a slashed throat. Ryan is determined to unmask the killers, despite having his own problems – he is a drunk who beats up his wife.
Available on VHS and DVD.
“Return, The” (2003) (98 mins) Psychological thriller. Made for TV.
Julie Walters, Neil Dudgeon, Lise Ann McLaughlin and Ger Ryan.
Director: Dermot Boyd.
Filmed in Ireland.
Lizzie Hunt (Julie Walters) has served her time…ten long years for the violent murder of her husband David during an alcoholic blackout. However, Lizzie remembers nothing about that night whatsoever. Free at last, she returns to her Irish hometown only to discover that people are not willing to forgive and forget, or to help her make a fresh start. An old flame, a local police officer Matt Dempsey (Neil Dudgeon), is the only person who holds out an olive branch to Lizzie, and as their relationship rekindles he helps her to rebuild her shattered life.
Available on DVD.
“Return to Glennascaul” (1953) (23 mins) Ghost story.
Orson Welles, Michael Laurence, Shelah Richards, Helena Hughes, John Dunne, Isobel Couser and Ann Clery.
Director: Hilton Edwards.
Exteriors shot in Dublin – the Phoenix Park, College Green and Milltown.
A short ghost story that was nominated for an Academy Award in Hollywood.
Welles (playing himself), taking a break from the filming of ‘Othello’, is driving in the Irish countryside one night when he offers a ride to a man with car trouble. The man relates a strange event that happened to him at the same location the year before. Two women flagged down his car one evening, asking for a ride back to their house. They invited him in for a drink, but after leaving, he remembered that he left his cigarette case behind. Minutes later having retraced his journey, he found the house closed-up and for sale.
Available on DVD as a bonus item on “Three Cases of Murder” from Odeon Entertainment.
“Return to the River” (2006) (90 mins) TV drama. German language.
Director: Stefan Bartmann.
Aka “Wiedersehen am Fluss“.
Based on the story “A Friend from England” by Rosamunde Pilcher and written by Gabriele Kister, TV film was made for ZDF and co-produced by Element Pictures with FFP New Media.
Filmed in Ireland – Westport, County Mayo.
Anne, Robert and their daughter Elizabeth are a small family with a successful wild salmon operation in the West of Ireland. Anne and Robert were married very young, because a child was on the way and they were subject to social constraints. They were close friends since childhood, but her heart belonged to another. Anne is terminally ill but conceals it from her family as she plans to disappear from their lives …
Available as part of a 2 movie DVD.
Rewind (2010) (90 mins) Thriller 
Allen Leech, Amy Huberman, Owen McDonnell, Sophie Brosnan and Simon Delaney.
Director: P.J. Dillon.
Filmed in Naas, County Kildare.
Karen (Amy Huberman), a former addict, has forged a new life for herself in a rural town with her husband Brendan (Owen McDonnell) and young daughter. Karl (Allen Leech), an old boyfriend recently released from prison, arrives in town out of the blue, bringing with him memories of Karen’s dark past, invading and shattering her new idyllic present. Fearful that Karl will jeopardise her family by revealing details about her past, Karen reluctantly agrees to take a trip with him to meet another old acquaintance who Karl claims has evidence that could compromise them both. Ghosts must be laid to rest and horrors acknowledged, before the perfect surface of Karen s life can be restored. Nothing is as it seems, but the past will be buried one way or another.
Available on DVD.
“Rialto” (2019) (93 mins) Drama.
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Tom Glynn-Carney, Monica Dolan.
Director: Peter Mackie Burns.
Based upon the play “Trade” by Mark O’Halloran .
Colm (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), a man struggling with the death of his destructive father and other personal crises, unable to confide in loved ones, seeks solace in the arms of a young male prostitute, putting family life at even greater risk.
In cinemas October 2020.
“Riders to the Sea” (1935) (40 mins) Drama.
Sara Allgood, Ria Mooney, Kevin Gutherie, Denis Johnston, Shelah Richards.
Director: Brian Desmond Hurst.
Based upon a play by John Millington Synge.
Filmed in Renvyle, County Galway.
Story of the traditional Irish fishermen in the West of Ireland.
Movie remastered in 2015 and available on YouTube – see above.
“Riders to the Sea” (1987) (47 mins) Drama
Geraldine Page, Amanda Plummer, Sachi Parker, Barry McGovern, Joan O’Hara, Michael O’Brian.
Director: Ronan O’Leary.
Does not appear to be available.
“Riordans, The” (1965-1979) Rural RTE television series.
Moira Deady, John Cowley, Tom Hickey, Chris O’Neill, Biddy White Lennon, Tony Doyle, Annie D’Alton, Joe Pilkington, Gabriel Byrne, Frank O’Donovan, John Hoey…
Created by Wesley Burrowes.
Legendary Irish Farming soap opera which had the whole nation in front of their television sets every week. Its premature axing while at its peak stunned the cast as well as the public.
More information than you could shake a stick at here: The Riordans
Not available.
“Ripper Street” (2012-16) 5 Seasons: 37 episodes. Crime Drama. BBC TV series.
Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, MyAnna Buring, Amanda Hale, Charlene McKenna, Jonathan Barnwell, David Wilmot and David Dowson.
Shot in Ireland – Dublin – the former Clancy Barracks, Trinity College, Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Jail. Also in England – Manchester.
April 1889: Six months since the last Jack the Ripper killing, and in Whitechapel, H Division is responsible for policing one and a quarter square miles of East London: a district with a population of 67,000 poor and dispossessed. The men of H Division had hunted the Ripper and failed to find him. When more women are murdered on the streets of Whitechapel, the police begin to wonder if the killer has returned.
Full series available on DVD.
“Rising of the Moon, The” (1957) (81 mins) Comedy/Drama
Frank Lawton, Denis O’Dea, Cyril Cusack, Noel Purcell, Maureen Connell, Jimmy O’Dea, Jack MacGowran, Michael Trubshawe, Donal Donnelly, Godfrey Quigley, Tyrone Power, Maureen Porter, John Cowley.
Director: John Ford.
Trivia: John Cowley – Gombeen Man in (“The Majesty of the Law”) – in later years best known for his role as Tom Riordan in “The Riordans”.
Filmed on the west coast of Ireland – Galway and Clare.
John Ford returned to his Irish roots in this lighthearted gem featuring three short films introduced by Tyrone Power and shot entirely in Ireland.
The first, “The Majesty of the Law”, is the droll tale of a police inspector (Cyril Cusack) trying to serve a warrant on an old man (Noel Purcell) who assaulted his neighbour.
“A Minute’s Wait” tells the farcical story of how a train’s one-minute station stop turns into a two-hour delay. Filmed on the late, lamented West Clare Railway.
The final episode, “1921”, stars Dublin’s famed Abbey Theatre Players in a drama inspired by Lady Gregory’s celebrated one-act play The Rising of the Moon, in which two bogus nuns attempt to save an imprisoned patriot (Donal Donnelly) from hanging.
One of the most personal films he ever made, The Rising of the Moon was Ford’s attempt to promote filmmaking in Ireland. He later remarked that he directed the picture “just for fun, and enjoyed it very much.”
Available on DVD (2013) Warner Bros. Archive Collection – not remastered. Many unofficial copies are also available online.
“Ritual, The” (2000) (89 mins) Fantasy
Stella Feehily, Aenne Barr, Leonard Hayden.
Writer/Director: Simon Linscheid.
Low budget – €250,000.
Shot in County Wicklow.
Nessa, an archeologist at odds with the establishment and haunted by violent dreams of Celtic sacrifices tries to find an ancient relic supposedly from the De Danann period (pre 500 B.C.) called the “Danu Amulet.”
Released on DVD and available on Netflix.com
“Roadkill” (2011) (88 mins) Horror. Made for TV movie.
Stephen Rea, Kacey Barnfield, Eliza Bennett.
Director: Johannes Roberts.
Filmed on location in Ireland.
Six young friends on a road trip in Ireland fall foul of a group of gypsies who put a curse on them for accidentally running down an old woman. The curse takes the form of a terrifying flying beast that tries killing them all.
I haven’t seen it yet but can it be as bad as it sounds?
Available on DVD.
“Roaring Twenties, The” (2008) (60 mins) Two-part RTE sitcom.
Diarmaid Murtagh, Amy Kirwan, Darryl Kinsella, Jason Healy.
Written and co-directed by débutantes Steven Stubbs and Ray Sullivan; recent graduates of Ballyfermot film school and Produced by Adrian Devane and Brian Willis of Igloo Productions.
Set in modern day Rathmines, Dublin, the series revolves around the adventures of four hapless twenty-something’s as they battle against the trials of everyday life.
Episode .1. available on YouTube here.
“Robbery” (1967) (114 mins) Crime drama.
Stanley Baker, Joanna Pettet, James Booth, Frank Finlay, Barry Foster, William Marlowe and Glynn Edwards.
Director: Peter Yates.
Mostly shot in England, but the prison scenes were filmed at Kilmainham and Arbour Hill Jails.
Film loosely based upon the British Great Train Robbery of 1963.
Available on VHS and DVD (2008).
“Robot Overlords” (2014) (90 mins) Sci-Fi 
Gillian Anderson, Ben Kingsley, Callan McAuliffe, Milo Parker, Geraldine James, Lalor Roddy.
Director: Jon Wright.
Shot in Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.
Earth has been conquered by robots from a distant galaxy. Survivors are confined to their houses and must wear electronic implants, risking incineration by robot sentries if they venture outside.
Available on DVD.
“Rock-a-Doodle” (1992) (1991 imdb) (77 mins) Animation.
Glen Campbell, Christopher Plummer, Phil Harris, Sandy Duncan, Eddie Deezen, Charles Nelson Reilly, Sorrell Brooke, Elen Greene, Toby Scott Granger.
Director: Don Bluth.
Filmed at Ardmore Studios, Bray, County Wicklow.
Available on VHS and DVD.
“Rocket to the Moon” (1966) (1967 imdb) Sci-Fi Comedy.
Burl Ives, Troy Donoghue, Gert Frobe, Daliah Levi, Terry Thomas, Lionel Jeffries, Dennis Price, Jimmy Clitheroe.
Director: Don Sharp.
Based upon the writings of Jules Verne.
Filmed at Kenure House in Rush, Dublin Castle, the Botanic Gardens, the Curragh, Avoca and Brittas Bay.
Contestants from all over the world compete in a competition to be the first scientist to construct and launch a rocket to the moon. Phineas T. Barnum, the great American showman, comes to England to escape his creditors. Always on the look-out for an opportunity to make money, he enters the competition in an ambitious attempt to launch a rocket to the moon with the aid of a powerful, new explosive. Money troubles, spies and saboteurs ensure that the plan is doomed before it starts.
New on DVD (2012) – be sure to buy this one not earlier poor quality DVDs.
“Rockingham Shoot, The” (1987) (59 mins) Drama, BBC Northern Ireland.
Bosco Hogan, Marie Kean, Gerard McSorley and Niall Tobin.
Director: Kieran Hickey.
Bosco Hogan as Reilly the school teacher with a severe dislike for the landed gentry. Photo: IFI.
“Pheasants for peasants” declares the film’s protagonist Aidan Reilly to the pragmatic local gardai as they receive their annual gift from The Big House. Scripted as an original work for screen by John McGahern, this one-off tv drama – made by BBC Northern Ireland for the channel’s Screenplay Series – is set in rural Ireland in the 1950s.
Reilly (Bosco Hogan) is an intensely nationalistic teacher with a deep loathing for British society, a loathing that explodes into violence when he learns that some of his pupils have skipped school to work at Rockingham for pheasant shoot at which the British ambassador is a guest.
The movie was shown at a festival in Leitrim in 2005.
Does not appear to be available on VHS or DVD.
“Roma” (1979) (56 mins) Drama. RTÉ TV movie.
Mick Lally, Paddy Joyce, Pat Layde, Jacinta Martin.
Director: Louis Lenten.
Adapted by Eugene McCabe from his short story of the same name.
Filmed in County Kilkenny.
Benny Brady (Mick Lally), a local eccentric, is in love with Maria (Jacinta Martin), the teenage daughter of the Italian proprietors of a fish and chip shop in a small Irish town.
Shown at a special tribute to Mick Lally at the Irish Film Institute in October 2010.
Not available but presumably the IFI hold a copy.
“Rooney” (1958) (88 mins) Comedy.
John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow, Barry Fitzgerald, June Thorburn, Noel Purcell, Eddie Byrne, Jack McGowran, Godfrey Quigley, Philip O’Flynn, Liam Redmond, Maire Kean, Pauline Delany.
Director: George Pollock.
Based on a novel by Catherine Cookson.
Exterior scenes filmed in Dublin – notably Rathmines – while the interior scenes were shot at Pinewood Studios, England.
Fleeing the advances of an insatiable landlady, Corporation dustman (and All-Ireland hurler) Rooney (John Gregson) takes accommodation in the snobbish lower-middle-class O’Flynn household, where his profession is regarded somewhat dismissively, except by Grandfather (Barry Fitzgerald) and the unassuming Maire (Muriel Pavlow), a blood relative who is used by the family as a domestic. Gradually Rooney falls in love with Maire and Grandfather finds it within himself to confront the stingy, ill-spirited Mrs O’Flynn (the superb Marie Keane). When Grandfather dies, he leaves his savings to Maire, but things take a turn for the worse when Rooney unknowingly gives her a gift of a necklace which turns out to be stolen.
Featuring some fine comic scenes with Noel Purcell, Eddie Byrne, Philip O’Flynn and Jack MacGowran as Rooney’s fellow dustmen, and authentic footage of the 1957 All-Ireland Final between Kilkenny and Waterford, Rooney provides an intriguing snapshot of pre-1960s Dublin.
Available on DVD (2014).
“Rory O’Moore” (1911) (U.S.) Drama. B+W, Silent.
Gene Gauntier, Jack P. McGowan, Sidney Olcott.
Director: Sidney Olcott.
Filmed in Beaufort, County Kerry.
Featured the 1798 Rebellion, especially Rory O’Moore, who was a romantic figure in the later style of Robert Emmet. An Irish rebel is captured and sentenced to death, but he escapes with the help of a priest and sails to America with his love.
Available on “The O’Kalem Collection” DVD (2011) – from the Irish Film Institute.
“Rosaleen Dhu” (1919) Drama
William Powell, Kitty Hart.
Director: William Powell.
Filmed mainly in the Bray area although the desert scenes were shot in Arklow. A crossroads dancing scene was filmed in Kilmacanogue. The film premiered in Mac’s, a cinema located in the old Turkish Baths in Bray, and then was shown throughout Ireland. An American company offered $2,000.00 for this film. Nothing of William Powell’s works have survived to the present.
A Fenian is exiled from Ireland and joins the Foreign Legion. He then meets and marries an Algerian woman who he finds out later is an heiress to a large Irish estate.
Not available unless you know otherwise?
“Rose of Tralee” (1937) (54 mins) Musical.
Binkie Stuart, Kathleen O’Regan and Fred Conyngham.
Director: Oswald Mitchell.
Filmed at Stoll Studios, Cricklewood, England.
Not available.
“Rose Plays Julie” (2019) (100 mins) Drama
Ann Skelly, Aidan Gillen, Orla Brady.
Writer/Directors: Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy.
Veterinary student Rose (Ann Skelly) has a loving relationship with her adoptive parents but decides to contact Ellen (Orla Brady), the birth mother who gave her up for adoption. However, Ellen, who is now a successful London-based actress, doesn’t want to know. Undeterred, Rose will not be ignored. And curiosity leads her to discoveries that shake the fragile identity she has built for herself.
Due for Irish cinema release May 2020.
“Rosie” (2018) (86 mins) Drama
Sarah Greene, Moe Dunford, Ellie O’Halloran.
Director: Paddy Breathnach.
Scriptwriter: Roddy Doyle.
Filmed in Ballymun, Dublin.
After their landlord decides to sell the house they were living in, Rosie Davis (Sarah Greene), her partner John Paul (Moe Dunford) and their four children are made homeless and forced to live in their car. After sending her three eldest children to school each day, Rosie searches Dublin for a temporary shelter for her and her family. Unable to afford the city’s rising rental costs, she works through a list of suitable accommodation given to her by her local authority, with little luck. Meanwhile, her children’s school troubles threaten to make Rosie’s dire situation even more perilous….
Available on DVD.
Rósie and Frank (2022) (90 mins) Drama
Bríd Ní Neachtain, Cillian Ó Gairbhí, Lorcan Cranitch, Ruadhán de Faoite, Michelle Beamish, Claire O’Connor, Peadar Cox and Deaglán de Paor.
Written and Directed by Rachael Moriarty & Peter Murphy.
Shot on location in the Ring Gaeltacht in County Waterford during 2019.
It’s been two years since Róise lost her husband Frank. Isolated in grief she has cut herself off from family and community. Then one day the arrival of a mysterious dog, who seems intent on connecting with Róise, heralds a huge change, but is it for the better? The dog loves hurling and steaks, has a favourite armchair and an aversion to their neighbour, Donncha. Róise quickly comes to the conclusion that this dog is her beloved Frank, reincarnated. While her son worries that his mother has lost her mind, the local community seem to embrace the idea of Frank’s return, especially as he coaches a shy local kid to become a star player and ensure success for the school team. Róise is happy once more but is there a real future for her with a dog-husband?
Irish Cinema release – 16th September 2022.
“Rough Diamond” (2006) (360 mins) Drama. BBC/RTÉ Co-production. Six part mini-series.
Conor Mullen, Stanley Townsend, Lorraine Pilkington, Eamon Morrissey, Ben Davies.
Directors: Simon Massey, Dermot Boyd.
Co-Producer: World Productions.
Shot entirely in Ireland.
The story revolves around the rivalry between a struggling, near bankrupt young trainer, Aidan Doherty, (Conor Mullen), and his millionaire neighbour, Charlie Carrick (Stanley Townsend), who – together with his wife Yolanda (Lorraine Pilkington) – owns the successful ‘Firebrand’ yard, up the road.
When the series opens, Aidan is set to sell his stables and start over on the other side of the world in Australia. Just as he is about to sign his late father’s stables over to Charlie Carrick, a young stranger turns up with news that rocks Aidan’s world.
Available on DVD.
“Round Ireland with a Fridge” (2010) (89 mins) Comedy.
Tony Hawks, Josie Lawrence, Sean Hughes, Valerie O’Connor, Ed Byrne.
Director: Ed Bye.
Based on the book of the same name by Tony Hawks.
1997: Tony Hawks, a disillusioned TV personality, accepts a drunken bet that he cannot hitch-hike around the entire circumference of Ireland, accompanied by his fridge, within one calendar month. En route, he re-evaluates his life and career, finds romance, meets some bizarre characters and discovers that people are perfectly prepared to treat a small white domestic appliance as a fully fledged person with a personality in its own right. The fridge goes surfing, is christened, blessed by nuns, serenaded by a bagpiper, attends a bachelor festival and becomes a national celebrity, as Tony, and all those he encounters, become caught up in the power and philosophy of the fridge!
Available on DVD (2013)
“Run and Jump” (2013) (102 mins) Drama
Will Forte, Maxine Peake, Edward MacLiam.
Director: Steph Green.
Filmed in Ireland – Kerry and Wicklow.
Vanetia Casey (Maxine Peake), the spirited and impossibly optimistic centre of the Casey family, is working hard to get life back to normal after her 38 year-old husband, Conor (Edward MacLiam), suffers a rare stroke which changes his personality. Tweedy American doctor, Ted Fielding (Will Forte), arrives in Ireland to stay with them for two months: his research grant providing the Caseys with essential financial aid. Vanetia’s a dynamo, but with two young kids and both men in the house, she’s feeling bombarded and initially treats Ted and his study of Conor with resistance. Only when she observes Ted’s calming influence on the family does she begin to value his friendship, and, in return, Ted enjoys their heady, happy-go-lucky world. He’s not normally given to repartee but he can’t stop himself sparking off Vanetia. But Ted’s continued presence in the house sets the family on course for an emotional collision.
Available on DVD.
“Running Man, The” (1963) (103 mins) Thriller.
Laurence Harvey, Lee Remick, Alan Bates, Eddie Byrne, Noel Purcell, Joe Lynch, Felix Aylmer, Eleanor Summerfield, Allen Cuthbertson.
Director: Carol Reed.
Screenplay by John Mortimer.
Based on the novel “The Ballad of the Running Man” by Shelley Smith.
Interiors filmed at Ardmore Studios and some exteriors at Bray. Other exteriors filmed in Spain and Gibraltar.
By successfully faking his death in a glider crash at sea, Rex (Laurence Harvey) and Stella Black (Lee Remick) defraud an insurance company of £50,000. Having changed his appearance and using a stolen passport, Rex waits in Spain for Stella to join him, as a casual ‘friend.’ Together again, Stella’s distaste for Rex’s new personality is heightened by the knowledge he intends to repeat the fraud scheme. The arrival of Stephen (Alan Bates), a young insurance agent who recognizes Stella and is attracted to her, frightens the girl and worries Rex. Stephen catches Stella in his hotel room, looking for evidence that he is aware of the fraud, and she pretends she is there to make love to him.
Not officially available.
“Running Mate, The” (2007) (240 mins) Bilingual. TG4 TV mini-series.
Denis Conway, Don Wycherley, Eamonn Hunt, Frank Kelly, Carrie Crowley.
Director: Declan Recks.
Production company: Rubicon Films.
Filmed in Dingle, County Kerry.
Vincent Flynn (Denis Conway) and Willie Costello (Don Wycherley).
‘The Running Mate’ is set in late 2006, and tells the tale of the political backbiting and intrigue that stems from the bid by a desperate politician to win a seat in a South Kerry constituency. It reveals the infighting and skulduggery that springs from constituency rivalry in rural Ireland. When his campaign begins to fall apart, Vincent Flynn(Denis Conway) teams up with his hapless mate, Willie Costello (Don Wycherley), to form Carrigeen’s most unlikely political machine. http://www.iftn.ie
Not available.
“Run of the Country” (1995) (109 mins) Drama.
Albert Finney, Matt Keeslar, David Kelly, Victoria Smurfit, Anthony Brophy.
Director: Peter Yates.
Based on the novel ‘A Border Station’ by Shane Connaughton.
Filmed at Redhills, County Cavan.
Set in the Irish countryside, this is the story of Danny, who has run away from home with his girlfriend and his wild and outrageous best friend, after the death of his mother. His father has become too overbearing and he is unable to cope. Things look good for him as he roams the country and its wilderness.
Available on VHS and on Amazon.com streaming service. Unofficial DVD also available.
“Runway, The” (2010) (101 mins) Drama.
Demián Bichir, Kerry Condon, Jamie Kierans, John Carpenter and James Cosmo.
Director: Ian Power.
Filmed on location in County Cork – Goleen and Schull.
County Cork, Ireland 1983, and for nine-year-old Paco, “Nothin’ ever happens around here”. But all this suddenly changes when late one night he witnesses a plane crash just outside the village and discovers Ernesto, the plane’s mysterious Colombian pilot who doesn’t speak a word of English. Determined to help him get his plane back in the air, Paco convinces the locals to rally together and build a runway to get Ernesto home – an endeavour that lifts the spirits of the entire village and changes Paco’s world forever. Inspired by the true story of a South American pilot who made an emergency landing on Mallow racecourse Co. Cork, in 1983. Element Pictures.
Verdict: An interesting true story butchered to make a poor movie.
Available on DVD from www.elementpictures.ie
“Runway One” (1995) Two-part BBC TV movie.
Marshall Bell, Robert Beltran, Ann Byrne and Tom Hickey.
Director: David Drury.
Production company: Burlington Films.
Filmed in NI (?)
Available…………………………?
“Ryan’s Daughter” (1970) (192 mins) Drama.
Robert Mitchum, Trevor Howard, Sarah Miles, John Mills, Christopher Jones, Leo McKern, Barry Foster, Marie Kean, Arthur O’Sullivan, Des Keogh, Niall Toibin, Emmet Bergin.
Director: David Lean.
Filmed mainly on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry.
Set in County Kerry during World War .I., young Rosy Ryan (Sarah Miles), the daughter of local publican Tom Ryan (Leo McKern), marries passionless schoolmaster Charles Shaughnessy (Robert Mitchum). Dissatisfied with her life Rosy embarks on an affair with Major Randolph Doryan (Christopher Jones), a British officer stationed in the town. When the village half-wit Michael (John Mills) innocently spills the beans on the couple the townspeople start gossiping. However, Shaughnessy chooses to ignore the scandal in the hope that Rosy will come to her senses and end the affair.
Available on VHS and DVD.
Irish Movie Madness 