''The Mighty Celt'' is a 2005 Irish-British drama film set in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, written and directed by Pearse Elliott. It stars

Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and activist. She is best known for her roles as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the sci-fi series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002; 2016–2018), Lily Bart in the dr ...

Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes: '' Trainspotting'' (1996), '' The Full Monty'' (1997), '' Ravenous'' and ''The World Is Not Enough'' (both 1999), '' There's Only One Jimmy Grimble'' (2000), '' ...

, Sean McGinley,

Ken Stott Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play ''Broken Glass (play), Broken Glass'' at Royal National Thea ...

and Tyrone McKenna. It is centred on

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...

in a Catholic community after the intercommunal "

Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed ...

" have ended but where their legacy remains strong. The film was well received in Ireland, with Gillian Anderson receiving an

IFTA Award The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) is an all-Ireland organisation focused on film and television. It has about 1000 members, and is based in Dublin, with branches in London and Los Angeles. The IFTA now holds separate ceremonies for the ...

for Best International Actress. The film's title is based on the name of a comic book shown in the movie. The greyhound scenes were filmed at

Ballyskeagh Ballyskeagh () is a small village and townland situated between Lambeg and Drumbeg in County Down, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 186 people. It lies within the Lagan Valley Regional Park and the Lisburn City Counc ...

Greyhound track Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of the greyhounds o ...

Cast

as O *

as Kate *

as Good Joe * Tyrone McKenna as Donal

Reception

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website

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, the film has an 67% approval rating based on 6 reviews, with an average ranking of 5.7/10. William Thomas of ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'' wrote "There's promise in the bursts of dark humour, but these are few and far between, only serving to remind us how much better directors like

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retiredhttps://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/ English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views ar ...

have dealt with the coming-of-age genre".

References

External links

*
''The Mighty Celt'' at the British Films Catalogue
British drama films Films from Northern Ireland Irish drama films Films set in Northern Ireland 2005 drama films 2005 films Films and television featuring Greyhound racing Greyhound racing films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films 2000s Irish films English-language drama films Films scored by Adrian Johnston (musician) Films about The Troubles (Northern Ireland) {{Ireland-film-stub