''Penance'' () is a 2019 Irish
historical drama
A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...
film directed by
Tom Collins and set in
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
during 1916 and 1969. It stars
Peter Coonan as an
Irish nationalist
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of ...
Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
who recruits a boy to the cause, only to regret his actions decades later.
Production
''Penance'' was filmed in
Ramelton, County Donegal and
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. Th ...
, Northern Ireland and is primarily in the
Irish language
Irish (an Caighdeán Oifigiúil, Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages, Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European lang ...
. Filming in Derry took place at
St Columba's Church, Long Tower
St Columba's Church, Long Tower is a Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Derry. It is located in the heart of the city of Derry in Northern Ireland.
The present church is built on the site of Roman Catholic worship which goes back as far ...
, on Bishop Street and Society Street, as those areas had changed little since the 1960s.
It was based on the
Pádraic Ó Conaire story "Seacht mBua an Éirí Amach" ("Seven Virtues of the
asterRising").
Production was financed by
TG4
TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was formerly known a ...
, the
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, the
Irish Film Board (€150,000), the Irish Language Broadcast Fund,
Northern Ireland Screen and
Section 481.
Plot
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. Th ...
, 1969. Catholic priest Fr. Eoin McDonnell prevents the arrest of Antaine, a senior
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief t ...
commandant. Fr. Eoin casts his mind back to rural
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...
in 1916, when he recruited a teenage Antaine into the Irish independence movement.
Cast
1916
*
Peter Coonan as Fr. Eoin McDonnell (young)
*Padhraig Parkinson as Antaine (young)
*Barry Barnes as Inspector Joyce
*Mimi Carroll as Mairéad
*Diona Doherty as Ellie Nic Shiubhlaigh
*Dara Devaney as Peadar
1969
*Terry Byrne as Fr. Eoin McDonnell (old)
*
Gerard McSorley
Gerard McSorley (Irish: Gearóid Mac Somhairle; born 1 January 1950) is an Irish theatre, television and film actor.
Early life
He was born in the County Tyrone town of Omagh and, after attending a Christian Brothers school in his hometown, h ...
as Murray
*
Barry McGovern as Antaine (old)
*Corey McKinley as Feidhlím
Release
''Penance'' was released on 1 May 2018.
The film received its TV premiere on
TG4
TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was formerly known a ...
on 20 April 2019.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 5471258
2018 drama films
County Donegal in fiction
Easter Rising
Films about The Troubles (Northern Ireland)
Films set in 1916
Films set in 1969
Films set in Ireland
Films shot in County Donegal
Films shot in Northern Ireland
Irish drama films
Irish-language films
English-language Irish films