Paraic Breathnach
The story begins in Connemara, Ireland 1845. A peasant and a fisherman called Colman (an endearing Dónall Ó Héalai) dutifully takes care of his family and his piece of land. He is an honest man who always keeps to his word and enjoys a good relationship with his landlord. But when the taxes go up yet again, even though the crops are rotting and the famine is getting worse, Colman goes to speak to his landlord in the hopes of solving this whole situation amicably. That is not to be. The meeting ends in violence and Colman is on the run, hunted for crimes he did not commit.Not only must he struggle with hunger and despair, but also with gnawing guilt because of all the people he couldn’t save.
In the 1970s, a foundling lad, Patrick "Kitten" Braden, comes of age by leaving his Irish town for London, in part to look for his mother and in part because his transgender nature is beyond the town's understanding.
Sweety Barrett is a giant of a man with the mind of a child. An easy target in a corrupt world, Sweety becomes embroiled in a smuggling operation unleashing a spiral of dangerous and unexpected events.
Francie and Joe live the usual playful, fantasy filled childhoods of normal boys. However, with a violent, alcoholic father and a manic depressive, suicidal mother the pressure on Francie to grow up are immense. When Francie's world turns to madness, he tries to counter it with further insanity, with dire consequences.
Michael Collins plays a crucial role in the establishment of the Irish Free State in the 1920s, but becomes vilified by those hoping to create a completely independent Irish republic.
Reefer and the Model is a 1988 Irish film written and directed by Joe Comerford. It concerns Reefer, a former Irish Republican Army man who operates a ferry using an old trawler between the Galway coast and the Aran Islands; his friends Spider and Badger; and the pregnant Teresa ("the Model"), who has abandoned a life of drugs and prostitution in England. The group become involved in the armed robbery of a post office and are pursued by the Gardaí. The film premièred in Galway in August 1988. Reefer and the Model won the Europa Prize at the Barcelona Festival, and Best Feature at the Celtic Film Festival in Wales. At the 1988 European Film Awards, the film was nominated for Best Young Film, Carol Scanlan was nominated for Best Actress, and Ray McBride was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
