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Irish Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Former US ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith turned against Sinn Féin after 9/11, British files claim
Jean Kennedy Smith, the former United States ambassador to Ireland, turned against Sinn Féin after the 9/11 attacks over delays in IRA decommissioning, according to UK files released on Tuesday. In a May 2003 letter to British prime minister Tony Blair's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, the historian Alistair Horne relayed details of conversations that 'our very old friend' had when she visited him. 'I thought I should perhaps pass on, in confidence, a piece of information that I feel might be of interest, and even some use, to the upper reaches when the PM goes to Washington,' Mr Horne wrote in the letter, which is heavily redacted. 'Recently, we had our very old friend, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, to stay. I always try to keep off Ireland, but was quite taken aback when she – and with no prompting – came out with the following two remarks. READ MORE 'One, Tony Blair should be much tougher with the IRA – and with all paramilitaries. The British should stop 'pussyfooting around' with Gerry Adams , etc, and the United States would support this. 'Two, Tony Blair should tell Congress, using his enormous current authority there, that Americans should stop sending any money to the IRA. 'I was quite staggered, knowing how close she was to Gerry Adams, but this seems to be just one more example of how American views have changed so radically since 9/11. 'Although Jean was very explicitly speaking as a private person, she does of course have the constant ear of brother, Teddy, who she telephones at least once a day. 'I assume these two sentiments would represent him, too. If you know this already, please forgive me; it just came to me as quite an eye-opener.' Mr Horne, who died in 2017, worked for British intelligence in the 1950s and 1960s and he was extremely well connected in top British circles. The IRA had destroyed some weaponry 18 months before Mr Horne's letter. In October 2001, the International Independent Commission on Decommissioning's head, Canadian general John de Chastelain, reported that the IRA had put weapons 'completely and verifiably beyond use'. This timing – coming just six weeks after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States – has been linked by some commentators to Sinn Féin and IRA concerns about US support. The tranch of UK files, most of which cover 2005, contain numerous instances of officials and politicians struggling to overcome logjams blamed on the pace of decommissioning or on the demands for it. In May 2003, according to the files, Mr Adams told Mr Blair during a meeting in Chequers, where he was accompanied by Martin McGuinness , that British demands for a definitive IRA statement were impossible to meet. 'Adams said of course republicans had said some stupid things, and in private he could say so, but we could not get the IRA to say words that were dictated to them,' Mr Powell recorded in a note sent to a Northern Ireland Office official. The letters bears an instruction that no further copies should be made of it, with Mr Powell saying that the two Sinn Féin leaders 'were very keen that we keep the fact of our meeting quiet'. In one of the files, the Belfast priest, Fr Alec Reid , who along with the former Methodist moderator, Harold Good, later witnessed the IRA's final acts of decommissioning, suggested that IRA weapons be stored in an Irish Defence Forces base 'north of Dublin'.
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Hundreds of soldiers descend on Parliament angry at 'witch hunt' plan that could drag British veterans of the Troubles to court
Keir Starmer was yesterday accused of his worst 'two-tier justice' betrayal yet over a planned law change which could see British veterans of the Troubles dragged to court. MPs lined up during an emotional Westminster debate to warn the Prime Minister that pressing ahead would spark a 'witch hunt' that will 'shame our country for decades to come'. And they branded it outrageous that the overhaul will allow the likes of former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and hundreds of suspected terrorists to claim compensation from the Government over their imprisonment during the conflict. MPs, who were watched by dozens of veterans in the public gallery in Westminster Hall, urged the Prime Minister to think again about the decision to repeal the Northern Ireland Legacy Act. It had been introduced by the previous Tory government to stop veterans being hounded with 'vexatious' claims about their actions while on duty decades ago by granting them legal protections against prosecution. Supporters point out that veterans who killed IRA terrorists faced 'thorough investigations' at the time and so should not be dragged through the process again. The debate was sparked after more than 170,000 people – surpassing the 100,000 trigger point – signed a petition demanding Sir Keir ditch his plans to repeal the Act. The Mail's Stop The SAS Betrayal campaign is also pressing the Government to halt its repeal of the Act or instead produce a proper alternative. John Lamont MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, opened the debate saying that the move would 'shame our country for decades to come'. He added: 'We have seen a lot of examples of two-tier justice since this Labour Government came to power, but this may simply be the worst of all. 'How do those on the Government benches expect to go back to their constituencies and explain why they had just voted for the prosecution of veterans while allowing terrorists to sue the taxpayer? They know that is not right.' Former Cabinet minister Sir David Davis accused Sir Keir of 'threatening' veterans in their retirement. He added: 'It's a matter of justice, a matter of ensuring that those who risked their lives to protect our citizens during the Troubles know the state stands behind them.' Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a Scots Guards veteran who served in Northern Ireland, said: 'If this Act is repealed, then we are left with the single problem that it started with – how do we protect those veterans from vexatious persecution which has been going on?' The Mail's Stop The SAS Betrayal campaign is also pressing the Government to halt its repeal of the Act or instead produce a proper alternative Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin said: 'The IRA wants to rewrite history. Many of the so-called IRA victims killed were murderers and terrorists. How on earth can anyone stand up to defend these people over our Special Forces?' Ministers claim the Legacy Act has also halted investigations into the deaths of more than 200 British soldiers, insisting this justifies repealing the legislation and replacing it. Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said: 'I recognise the very real fears many veterans have.' Closing the three-hour debate, he said ministers were 'trying to reach an agreement with the Irish government... because doing nothing is not credible'.
The Independent
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
MPs slam ‘disgraceful' rollback of Northern Ireland veterans legislation
MPs have warned of a 'disgraceful' rollback of Northern Ireland veterans legislation which could lead to six-figure payouts to terrorists. A debate over withdrawing the legal protections established by the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act, which shield veterans from being prosecuted for historic actions between 1969 and 2007 during Operation Banner, took place at Westminster Hall on Monday. MPs critical of the move suggested it would open a 'witch-hunt' against veterans who served to protect citizens across communities in Northern Ireland. The debate followed a public petition against repealing the legislation which attracted more than 170,000 signatures. Conservative MP John Lamont, who opened the parliamentary session, said the rollback could lead to 'two-tier' payouts for figures such as former Republican politician Gerry Adams. Mr Lamont said: '[The change] could result in a six-figure payout for Mr Adams, simply because his interim custody order was not considered by the secretary of state, but rather a junior minister. 'That is simply outrageous. 'We have seen a lot of examples of two-tier justice since the Labour government came to power, but this may simply be the worst of all. 'Is the Government really contemplating creating a system to drag northern Irish veterans through the courts, whilst potentially paying millions to terrorists? 'We should also be clear about the differences between the actions of soldiers and terrorists. When terrorists get up in the morning, they go out with murderous intent to use violence to attack our democracy. Soldiers do not. 'The Legacy Act is by no means perfect, but it is better than the disgraceful spectacle of veterans being dragged through the courts. 'Doing so is not sustainable – legally or morally.' Others echoed Mr Lamont's comments, highlighting the implications the rollback could have on the armed forces in future conflicts. Conservative MP Sir David Davis argued the change would mean that British soldiers would be abandoned by the country they served. He said: 'Getting this right is not just a matter of historical justice. 'The legal witch-hunt won't end in Northern Ireland. 'It'll cast a shadow over every future conflict that our armed forces engage in, and undermine their abilities to defend us.' He added: 'Those who freely talk about human rights would do well to remember that our rights, our law, our democracy and our nation were protected by the very veterans that are at risk today. 'So let us all make one promise, that no British soldier will ever again be abandoned by the nation they have so bravely protected.' Other MPs voiced their support in favour of the Government's proposals, arguing that the current act is not fit for purpose. Labour MP Louise Jones suggested that the lack of support for the legislation among victims, politicians across parties in Northern Ireland, and veterans themselves meant it ought to be repealed. She said: 'This Legacy Act has been found to be unlawful. It gives immunity to terrorists, and it denies justice to the families of the 200 service personnel that were murdered by terrorists during the Troubles. 'It is not supported in its current form by victims, it's not supported by a Northern Irish party, and many veterans are troubled by it. It must go and be replaced, and I call on the minister to outline how we can protect veterans from malicious lawfare of any conflict.' 'We have a huge duty here in Westminster to work with those communities not against them, and I hope everyone here will reflect on that important undertaking.' Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn pointed to statistics from the Centre for Military Justice that show that only one British soldier has been convicted since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. He suggested that this was the case over the 27 years, despite immunity for British military personnel not being enshrined in law for the majority of this time. Mr Benn also argued that the changes would allow incomplete investigations into the deaths of soldiers to reopen. He said: 'Legacy is hard. This is the unfinished business of the Good Friday agreement. 'And that is why we need to listen to the many families who lost loved ones, including the families of British service personnel, who served so bravely. 'There are more than 200 families of UK military personnel who are still searching for answers 30, 40, 50 years ago about the murder of their loved ones. 'The Police Service of Northern Ireland recently confirmed they had 202 live investigations into Troubles-related killings of members of our armed forces, and a further 23 into the killings of veterans. 'Each and every one of those investigations was forced to close by the Legacy Act, and we will bring forward legislation to deal with that. 'The other challenge is the lack of confidence in the act on the part of communities in Northern Ireland, which we are going to seek to reform. 'We owe it to all these families.'
Irish Times
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Galway Film Fleadh 2025: The big winners at the hottest festival in memory, including Gerry Adams basking in adulatory sunshine
We can safely assume it was mere accident that Trisha Ziff's Gerry Adams : A Ballymurphy Man arrived at the 37th Galway Film Fleadh on The Twelfth (of July that is). Such a prominent release was always going to land a Saturday-evening premiere. Nonetheless, there was a pretty irony in Adams escaping the marchers to be lauded in blistering Galway sunshine. As we sweated in the square outside the Town Hall Theatre, the grizzled republican paused for more selfies than came the way of any attending star. Few could reasonably deny that Ziff's film is a sympathetic work. We begin with Adams using a hurley to propel balls into the sea for his pet dogs and then settle in to hear him – comfy in an armchair – talk us through his version of an undeniably extraordinary life. Ziff, an English film-maker who lives and works in Mexico, allows the word 'activist' to do a lot of heavy lifting. 'The words '60 years of activism' act as subtitle. He ponders a return to 'activism' after being released from prison. The film's vagueness about the nature of this activism in the 1970s is sure to raise some hackles, but Adams's gifts as a grimly amusing storyteller maintain attention through a hefty running time. His description of intimidated Catholics arriving as refugees to Ballymurphy in the 1960s is moving and enraging. His analysis of a shift from passive acceptance in the nationalist community is convincing. Ziff leaves it until the closing moments to address the bandoliered elephant in the room. 'I have never disassociated myself from the IRA,' Adams doesn't quite clarify. READ MORE [ Poignant documentary about Sunny Jacobs to be aired at Galway Film Fleadh Opens in new window ] Adams and Ziff took the stage after the world premiere to discuss a well-made film stuffed with fascinating archival footage. Adams, asked why he agreed to the project, noted he was 'persuaded it would be helpful, because most of the stuff that's been done about me is a hatchet job'. Probed about recent experiences, he seemed to make oblique reference to the TV series Say Nothing, which represented him in controversial fashion. 'I don't have the words to actually explain the strange experience of seeing someone pretending to be you,' he said cryptically. Gerry Adams: A Ballymurphy Man took the Fleadh's prize for best international documentary. Elsewhere, the hottest Fleadh in memory – gone are the days of paddling up Shop Street in monsoon floods – confirmed its reputation as the prime spot to premiere Irish features. There were, indeed, more domestic openings than any one person could digest. A fascinating complement to the Gerry Adams film arrived in the form of Trevor Birney's The Negotiator. Also very much on its subject's side, the film offered a warm and deeply researched portrait of Senator George Mitchell from beginnings as an Irish-American boy adopted by inspirational, working-class Lebanese-Americans and on to the army, to the law, to politics, back to the law again and back to politics. The temptation would be to focus acutely on his time as negotiator during the talks that led up the Belfast Agreement. There is plenty on that topic. But Birney gives at least as much time to the rest of a busy, varied career. The Fleadh has long celebrated the Irish documentary. Other true stories attracting attention this year included Mieke Vanmechelen and Michael Holly's beautifully made, elegantly edited, slightly baffling Immrám. The film goes among Siobhán de Paor, spoken word artist, and Diarmuid Lyng, former Wexford hurler, as they exercise beliefs derived from Celtic Christianity, closeness to the land and the eccentric philosophies of John Moriarty. Offering little gloss on their adventures, Immrám allows viewers to make up their own minds about the virtues of incanting prayers while wearing a fox's head. It has a tremendous, sometimes abrasive score by Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh. Frank Shouldice told us a touching story about raging against the light in Once We Were Punks. Deep into middle-age, the former members of The Panic Merchants, a Cavan-based post-punk band, come together for one more gig at Whelan's in Dublin. The film, which sold out its Fleadh premiere in no time, takes in fascinating personal stories – Justin Kelly, lead singer, is the son of Captain James Kelly, found not guilty in the 1970 Arms Trial – as it stomps towards stirring affirmation. Few documentaries this year were more bewitching than Nuala O'Connor's lovely, monochrome Dónal Lunny: In Time. The musician meditates wisely on a hugely influential career as colleagues such as Christy Moore and Andy Irvine drop in to remind us of the wild times that accompanied the rise of Planxty and The Bothy Band. There is a wintry sadness to a film that, along with a celebration of the good years, touches on tragedy such as the recent death of Lunny's son, Shane. In Time was cleverly scheduled right before the world premiere of Lance Daly's careering, joyful drama Trad. Megan Nic Fhionnghaile, virtuoso fiddler, takes her first acting role as a traditional player who, divided about the music, flees her Donegal home with an eccentric troupe headed by Aidan Gillen's mad hatter. 'I've never even done a play in school,' the brilliant Nic Fhionnghaile told me. After the screening, Daly, director of Black 47 and Kisses, praised Gillen, whose participation came to the film's rescue after initial financing proved difficult. Daly also brought his admirable dog Basil, costar of Trad, on to the stage. The ecstatic response at the Town Hall on Friday night suggested we had a crowd-pleaser, and, sure enough, Trad took this year's audience prize. After winning Grand Prix in the Generation 14plus section at the Berlin Film Festival last winter, Brendan Canty's fine social-realist drama Christy received its Irish premiere by the Corrib. Daniel Power stars as the title character, a young man who reconnects with his half-brother after teenage years in care. Power plumbs Christy's frailties as he is buffeted about contemporary Cork in a film that revels in compassion for the excluded. Diarmaid Noyes is equally strong as the sibling with whom he has issues that may defy resolution. It is a loose-limbed film with a fine sense of place. The team can add the Fleadh's award for best Irish film to their gong at Berlin. Last year's winner, Kneecap, built on that platform with notable success. Girls & Boys, a nifty romantic drama from Donncha Gilmore, happens upon a neat, fecund scenario: a rugby player at Trinity College Dublin connects with a trans woman during a student party, and, after the bash is broken up, they chat the night away. Adam Lunnon-Collery is charming as Jace the jock. Liath Hannon is alternately fragile and assertive as the uncertain Charlie. Comparisons with Richard Linklater's Before ... films are unavoidable, but this beguiling film works wonders with its contemporary variation on (hearty) Montagues and (arty) Capulets. it just about gets away with the sort of unlikely mid-story reversal you'd expect from a 19th-century sensation novel. Seek it out on release. If Gilmore, making his debut, counts as a young gun, Liam Ó Mochain – if he'll forgive me – counts as a festival veteran. The independent-minded director returns with a characteristically humane anthology picture titled Abode. Wearing varying hair on head and face, he turns up in five stories focused on the theme of home. There is a sentimental Christmas yarn in which homeless folk take over a restaurant. In another, an older woman prepares to meet the son she has never known. The closing piece – somewhat surprisingly – looks to have escaped from Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror. Speaking of veterans, Jim Sheridan, the Oscar-nominated director of My Left Foot and The Field, opened this year's event with the ambitious, head-scratchy Re-creation. Sheridan imagines what might have happened if journalist Ian Bailey had faced trial for the 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier in west Cork. This fraught chamber piece, unmistakably modelled on Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men, follows the European jury as they chew over the evidence. Sheridan is the foreman. Vicky Krieps, the only one who initially thinks the defendant not guilty, takes over the Henry Fonda role from the Lumet film. Anyone who has seen Murder at the Cottage, Sheridan's sceptical documentary series on the Toscan Du Plantier case, (or who has seen 12 Angry Men, for that matter) will be unsurprised that the rest of the jury is gradually won over to Krieps's view. John Connors has a good role as a belligerent 'string him up' juror who looks to be processing past trauma. Space precludes any meaningful analysis of the trawl through swathes of contradictory evidence, but Sheridan is to be credited for his dedication to the task. Unfortunately, his character in the film shifts too jarringly from considered fence-sitter to relentless advocate for a not-guilty verdict (if not Bailey's innocence). And the film, co-written with David Merriman, can't quite find a life for itself outside its didactic purpose. A singular oddity, nonetheless. AWARDS PRESENTED at the 37th edition of the GALWAY FILM FLEADH Best Irish Film with Element Pictures CHRISTY Director: Brendan Canty Audience Award TRAD Director/Writer/Producer: Lance Daly Best Irish First Feature HORSESHOE Directors: Edwin Mullane and Adam O'Keeffe Best Irish Feature Documentary with Danú Media SANATORIUM Director: Gar O'Rourke Best Independent Irish Film with Moore Ireland (Joint winners) SOLITARY Director/Writer: Eamonn Murphy and GIRLS & BOYS Director/Writer: Donncha Gilmore World Cinema Competition WINTER IN SOKCHO Director: Koya Kamura Best International Film DRAGONFLY Director/Writer: Paul Andrew Williams Best International Documentary GERRY ADAMS – A BALLYMURPHY MAN Director/Writer: Trisha Ziff Best Irish Language Feature Film BÁITE Director: Ruán Magan Best International Short Animation LUZ DIABLA Directors/Writers: Patricio Plaza, Paula Boffo and Gervasio Canda Joe McMahon Award for Best International Short Drama/Fiction HEAT ME Director: Kelly Sari Best International Short Documentary (Joint winners) THE MIRACLE OF LIFE Director/Writer/Producer: Sabrine Khoury WE WERE THE SCENERY Director: Christopher Radcliff Best First Short Animation Award with Brown Bag Films ONE TRACK MIND Director/Writer/Animator: Faye Isherwood-Wallace James Flynn Award for Best First Short Drama INTERNAL BLEEDING Director/Writer: Zoë Nolan Donal Gilligan Award for Best Cinematography in a Short Film with the Irish Society Cinematographers (ISC) THE AXE FORGETS Cinematographer: Naoise Kettle Peripheral Visions Award VITRIVAL – THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGE IN THE WORLD Directors/Writers: Noëlle Bastin, Baptiste Bogaert Generation Jury Award: WHERE THE WIND COMES FROM Director/Writer: Amel Guellaty Best International Independent Film Award ADULT CHILDREN Director: Rich Newey Best Cinematography in an Irish Film with Teach Solais LISTEN TO THE LAND SPEAK Cinematographer: Michael O'Donovan The Pitching Award with Wild Atlantic Pictures The Body + Blood Carol Murphy Bingham Ray New Talent Award with Magnolia Pictures Jessica Reynolds: Actress – THE WOLF THE FOX & THE LEOPARD James Horgan Award for Best Animation Short with Animation Ireland ÉIRU Director: Giovanna Ferrari Best Short Documentary Award with TG4 DRAGON'S TEETH Director/Writer: Lennart Soberon Tiernan McBride Award for Best Short Drama / (Best Fiction Short) THREE KEENINGS Director/Writer: Oliver McGoldrick
Irish Times
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Galway Film Fleadh 2025 confirms reputation as prime spot to premiere Irish feature
We can safely assume it was mere accident that Trisha Ziff's Gerry Adams : A Ballymurphy Man arrived at the 37th Galway Film Fleadh on The Twelfth (of July that is). Such a prominent release was always going to land a Saturday-evening premiere. Nonetheless, there was a pretty irony in Adams escaping the marchers to be lauded in blistering Galway sunshine. As we sweated in the square outside the Town Hall Theatre, the grizzled republican paused for more selfies than came the way of any attending star. Few could reasonably deny that Ziff's film is a sympathetic work. We begin with Adams using a hurley to propel balls into the sea for his pet dogs and then settle in to hear him – comfy in an armchair – talk us through his version of an undeniably extraordinary life. Ziff, an English film-maker who lives and works in Mexico, allows the word 'activist' to do a lot of heavy lifting. 'The words '60 years of activism' act as subtitle. He ponders a return to 'activism' after being released from prison. The film's vagueness about the nature of this activism in the 1970s is sure to raise some hackles, but Adams's gifts as a grimly amusing storyteller maintain attention through a hefty running time. His description of intimidated Catholics arriving as refugees to Ballymurphy in the 1960s is moving and enraging. His analysis of a shift from passive acceptance in the nationalist community is convincing. Ziff leaves it until the closing moments to address the bandoliered elephant in the room. 'I have never disassociated myself from the IRA,' Adams doesn't quite clarify. READ MORE [ Poignant documentary about Sunny Jacobs to be aired at Galway Film Fleadh Opens in new window ] Adams and Ziff took the stage after the world premiere to discuss a well-made film stuffed with fascinating archival footage. Adams, asked why he agreed to the project, noted he was 'persuaded it would be helpful, because most of the stuff that's been done about me is a hatchet job'. Probed about recent experiences, he seemed to make oblique reference to the TV series Say Nothing, which represented him in controversial fashion. 'I don't have the words to actually explain the strange experience of seeing someone pretending to be you,' he said cryptically. Gerry Adams: A Ballymurphy Man took the Fleadh's prize for best international documentary. Elsewhere, the hottest Fleadh in memory – gone are the days of paddling up Shop Street in monsoon floods – confirmed its reputation as the prime spot to premiere Irish features. There were, indeed, more domestic openings than any one person could digest. A fascinating complement to the Gerry Adams film arrived in the form of Trevor Birney's The Negotiator. Also very much on its subject's side, the film offered a warm and deeply researched portrait of Senator George Mitchell from beginnings as an Irish-American boy adopted by inspirational, working-class Lebanese-Americans and on to the army, to the law, to politics, back to the law again and back to politics. The temptation would be to focus acutely on his time as negotiator during the talks that led up the Belfast Agreement. There is plenty on that topic. But Birney gives at least as much time to the rest of a busy, varied career. The Fleadh has long celebrated the Irish documentary. Other true stories attracting attention this year included Mieke Vanmechelen and Michael Holly's beautifully made, elegantly edited, slightly baffling Immrám. The film goes among Siobhán de Paor, spoken word artist, and Diarmuid Lyng, former Wexford hurler, as they exercise beliefs derived from Celtic Christianity, closeness to the land and the eccentric philosophies of John Moriarty. Offering little gloss on their adventures, Immrám allows viewers to make up their own minds about the virtues of incanting prayers while wearing a fox's head. It has a tremendous, sometimes abrasive score by Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh. Frank Shouldice told us a touching story about raging against the light in Once We Were Punks. Deep into middle-age, the former members of The Panic Merchants, a Cavan-based post-punk band, come together for one more gig at Whelan's in Dublin. The film, which sold out its Fleadh premiere in no time, takes in fascinating personal stories – Justin Kelly, lead singer, is the son of Captain James Kelly, found not guilty in the 1970 Arms Trial – as it stomps towards stirring affirmation. Few documentaries this year were more bewitching than Nuala O'Connor's lovely, monochrome Dónal Lunny: In Time. The musician meditates wisely on a hugely influential career as colleagues such as Christy Moore and Andy Irvine drop in to remind us of the wild times that accompanied the rise of Planxty and The Bothy Band. There is a wintry sadness to a film that, along with a celebration of the good years, touches on tragedy such as the recent death of Lunny's son, Shane. In Time was cleverly scheduled right before the world premiere of Lance Daly's careering, joyful drama Trad. Megan Nic Fhionnghaile, virtuoso fiddler, takes her first acting role as a traditional player who, divided about the music, flees her Donegal home with an eccentric troupe headed by Aidan Gillen's mad hatter. 'I've never even done a play in school,' the brilliant Nic Fhionnghaile told me. After the screening, Daly, director of Black 47 and Kisses, praised Gillen, whose participation came to the film's rescue after initial financing proved difficult. Daly also brought his admirable dog Basil, costar of Trad, on to the stage. The ecstatic response at the Town Hall on Friday night suggested we had a crowd-pleaser, and, sure enough, Trad took this year's audience prize. After winning Grand Prix in the Generation 14plus section at the Berlin Film Festival last winter, Brendan Canty's fine social-realist drama Christy received its Irish premiere by the Corrib. Daniel Power stars as the title character, a young man who reconnects with his half-brother after teenage years in care. Power plumbs Christy's frailties as he is buffeted about contemporary Cork in a film that revels in compassion for the excluded. Diarmaid Noyes is equally strong as the sibling with whom he has issues that may defy resolution. It is a loose-limbed film with a fine sense of place. The team can add the Fleadh's award for best Irish film to their gong at Berlin. Last year's winner, Kneecap, built on that platform with notable success. Girls & Boys, a nifty romantic drama from Donncha Gilmore, happens upon a neat, fecund scenario: a rugby player at Trinity College Dublin connects with a trans woman during a student party, and, after the bash is broken up, they chat the night away. Adam Lunnon-Collery is charming as Jace the jock. Liath Hannon is alternately fragile and assertive as the uncertain Charlie. Comparisons with Richard Linklater's Before ... films are unavoidable, but this beguiling film works wonders with its contemporary variation on (hearty) Montagues and (arty) Capulets. it just about gets away with the sort of unlikely mid-story reversal you'd expect from a 19th-century sensation novel. Seek it out on release. If Gilmore, making his debut, counts as a young gun, Liam Ó Mochain – if he'll forgive me – counts as a festival veteran. The independent-minded director returns with a characteristically humane anthology picture titled Abode. Wearing varying hair on head and face, he turns up in five stories focused on the theme of home. There is a sentimental Christmas yarn in which homeless folk take over a restaurant. In another, an older woman prepares to meet the son she has never known. The closing piece – somewhat surprisingly – looks to have escaped from Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror. Speaking of veterans, Jim Sheridan, the Oscar-nominated director of My Left Foot and The Field, opened this year's event with the ambitious, head-scratchy Re-creation. Sheridan imagines what might have happened if journalist Ian Bailey had faced trial for the 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier in west Cork. This fraught chamber piece, unmistakably modelled on Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men, follows the European jury as they chew over the evidence. Sheridan is the foreman. Vicky Krieps, the only one who initially thinks the defendant not guilty, takes over the Henry Fonda role from the Lumet film. Anyone who has seen Murder at the Cottage, Sheridan's sceptical documentary series on the Toscan Du Plantier case, (or who has seen 12 Angry Men, for that matter) will be unsurprised that the rest of the jury is gradually won over to Krieps's view. John Connors has a good role as a belligerent 'string him up' juror who looks to be processing past trauma. Space precludes any meaningful analysis of the trawl through swathes of contradictory evidence, but Sheridan is to be credited for his dedication to the task. Unfortunately, his character in the film shifts too jarringly from considered fence-sitter to relentless advocate for a not-guilty verdict (if not Bailey's innocence). And the film, co-written with David Merriman, can't quite find a life for itself outside its didactic purpose. A singular oddity, nonetheless. AWARDS PRESENTED at the 37th edition of the GALWAY FILM FLEADH Best Irish Film with Element Pictures CHRISTY Director: Brendan Canty Audience Award TRAD Director/Writer/Producer: Lance Daly Best Irish First Feature HORSESHOE Directors: Edwin Mullane and Adam O'Keeffe Best Irish Feature Documentary with Danú Media SANATORIUM Director: Gar O'Rourke Best Independent Irish Film with Moore Ireland (Joint winners) SOLITARY Director/Writer: Eamonn Murphy and GIRLS & BOYS Director/Writer: Donncha Gilmore World Cinema Competition WINTER IN SOKCHO Director: Koya Kamura Best International Film DRAGONFLY Director/Writer: Paul Andrew Williams Best International Documentary GERRY ADAMS – A BALLYMURPHY MAN Director/Writer: Trisha Ziff Best Irish Language Feature Film BÁITE Director: Ruán Magan Best International Short Animation LUZ DIABLA Directors/Writers: Patricio Plaza, Paula Boffo and Gervasio Canda Joe McMahon Award for Best International Short Drama/Fiction HEAT ME Director: Kelly Sari Best International Short Documentary (Joint winners) THE MIRACLE OF LIFE Director/Writer/Producer: Sabrine Khoury WE WERE THE SCENERY Director: Christopher Radcliff Best First Short Animation Award with Brown Bag Films ONE TRACK MIND Director/Writer/Animator: Faye Isherwood-Wallace James Flynn Award for Best First Short Drama INTERNAL BLEEDING Director/Writer: Zoë Nolan Donal Gilligan Award for Best Cinematography in a Short Film with the Irish Society Cinematographers (ISC) THE AXE FORGETS Cinematographer: Naoise Kettle Peripheral Visions Award VITRIVAL – THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGE IN THE WORLD Directors/Writers: Noëlle Bastin, Baptiste Bogaert Generation Jury Award: WHERE THE WIND COMES FROM Director/Writer: Amel Guellaty Best International Independent Film Award ADULT CHILDREN Director: Rich Newey Best Cinematography in an Irish Film with Teach Solais LISTEN TO THE LAND SPEAK Cinematographer: Michael O'Donovan The Pitching Award with Wild Atlantic Pictures The Body + Blood Carol Murphy Bingham Ray New Talent Award with Magnolia Pictures Jessica Reynolds: Actress – THE WOLF THE FOX & THE LEOPARD James Horgan Award for Best Animation Short with Animation Ireland ÉIRU Director: Giovanna Ferrari Best Short Documentary Award with TG4 DRAGON'S TEETH Director/Writer: Lennart Soberon Tiernan McBride Award for Best Short Drama / (Best Fiction Short) THREE KEENINGS Director/Writer: Oliver McGoldrick
