The Banshees of Inisherin

Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin is one of the most nominated and beloved films of the Oscars season, but is it too subversive and Irish for ...

Despite being separated by 70 years, The Banshees of Inisherin is an answer to the Oscar-winning The Quiet Man. Technically, The Banshees of Inisherin is one of the perceived Best Picture frontrunners at the Oscars, with a total number nine nominations, including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Farrell), Best Supporting Actress (Condon), and two nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Gleeson, Keoghan). So it is in The Banshees of Inisherin that despite being surrounded by the rural, majestic beauty that cinema tends to mythologize, blokes like Pádraic and Colm are completely consumed by their perceived troubles and slights. Even so, whether it’s 1952 or 2022, the Academy tends to favor life-affirming stories over grim or ambiguous portraits of the abyss. Unlike Gleeson’s Colm, she actually knows what century Mozart lived and died in, and is clear-headed enough to see that “you’re all fucking boring!” when Colm laments to her the dullness of her brother. It’s a bitter metaphor for Ireland, and the antithesis of the version which won Ford an Oscar. And by setting The Banshees of Inisherin in roughly the same era as The Quiet Man, McDonagh is offering an authentic counterpoint to wistful American fairy tales. Banshees’ Pádraic was born and raised all his life on Inisherin, and is so isolated on the island that even the Civil War occurring on the mainland almost seems like an abstraction. But he’s also creating a seemingly farcical premise to grapple with the Irish character during times of extreme strife. Like Ford, McDonagh was not born in Ireland; he grew up in London as the son of Irish immigrants, with his father being the one who was raised in Galway. The Banshees of Inisherin does not forget that context. Yet unlike the real-life director, Wayne’s fictional Sean Thornton eschews the fame and fortune of American luxury in the 1920s.

“We're also delighted to see so many nominations for 'The Banshees of Inisherin,' short film 'An Irish Goodbye' and for Irish actors Paul Mescal, Colin Farrell, ...

Best international feature is an intensely competitive category this year and so it is remarkable to have received the nomination.” There is a fifth Irish acting nomination, for star [Paul Mescal](https://variety.com/t/paul-mescal/) in “Aftersun.” [The Quiet Girl](https://variety.com/t/the-quiet-girl/),” Colm Bairéad’s coming-of-age tale which began its awards haul at the 2022 Berlinale, made history by becoming the first Irish film to be nominated in the international feature category.

Director (Martin McDonagh); movie; actor in a leading role (Colin Farrell); film editing (Mikkel E G Nielsen); supporting actor (Brendan Gleeson and Barry ...

Goldbeck); set decoration (Ernestine Hipper); international feature film; original score (Volker Bertelmann); adapted screenplay (Edward Berger, Ian Stokell and Lesley Paterson); sound (Viktor Prasil, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte) [here](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-gb/movies/the-banshees-of-inisherin/7Cj38ALjonSC). If you haven’t yet seen The Banshees of Inisherin, An Cailín Ciúin, Aftersun or An Irish Goodbye, here’s where to watch them at cinemas or at home. At cinemas Streaming [14 Oscar nominations](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/2023/01/24/oscar-nominations-2023-donald-clarke-on-an-astonishing-record-shattering-year-for-irish-film/) for domestic films and talent announced yesterday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A good day for Irish actors Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon. Director Martin McDonagh's darkly comedic look at an unraveling ...

Thank you to the Academy for recognizing me and the cast and crew members of The Banshees of Inisherin" After the last award is handed out, stay with "On The Red Carpet" for continuing coverage. Thank you to the Academy. "Just so grateful to the Academy for all the love it's shared with the Banshees cast and crew. A heartfelt congratulations to all the lads!" Colin's costars, Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan also heard their names called at the nomination ceremony.

The island town of Inisherin may be fictional, but the locations around Ireland where The Banshees of Inisherin was filmed are beautifully real — and very ...

In the months since The Banshees of Inisherin wrapped filming, Farrell's neon green jogging short-shorts have become the most recent hallmark of the landscape's memory, following all the actual Irish history contained on these lush islands. These moments represent the metaphor of brother against brother not just in the Irish Civil War, but also in this civil conflict between two former friends. Devine's Pub — overlooking a huge bluff of the Cloughmore coast with the Irish mainland in the distance — was actually built specifically for Banshees because of the view. It's also remote and quiet for the beach-goer desiring a hefty dose of solitude with their ocean dipping. [The Walt Disney Company Magazine](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/how-martin-mcdonaghs-the-banshees-of-inisherin-tells-a-universal-irish-tale/) about the locations, Brendan Gleeson said, "It's been informative, in terms of the broadness of Irish life, because the two locations are very different. Because this island is an Irish heritage site, the production crew not only had to ship in all their building materials by boat, but if they moved any of the prehistoric stones that crosshatch the island, [they needed to be numbered and placed](https://www.cntraveler.com/story/on-location-the-banshees-of-inisherin) in the exact same spot afterward. Achill Island is roughly 93 miles north of Inis Mór, but connected by bridge to the Irish mainland near Galway, and is the location McDonagh selected for Colm's solitary whaler's cabin in a small bay inlet. Further, [The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/secrets-of-the-banshees-of-inisherin-film-shoot-in-ireland-with-colin-farrell) reported McDonagh noting, "Colin is marked in one type of terrain, Brendan's in another." It also serves as a point of annoyance that Colm has elected this particular spot far from everyone, and Pádraic continues going out of his way to invade the space. This is an important place with regards to Irish and Celtic history and folklore, also featuring many ancient Christian relics that dot the luscious — but famously craggy — landscape. So, in light of the film's whopping nine But you'd be surprised to learn that Inisherin isn't a real place, it's actually a composite of several locations around Ireland.

The film was already on the awards track before its three Golden Globe wins, but The Banshees of Inisherin's nine Oscar nominations apparently finally got ...

The Banshees of Inisherin received Oscar nominations for Best Actor for Farrell, Best Supporting Actor for Barry Keoghan and Best Supporting Actress for Kerry Condon, as well as Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Director for McDonagh. Many of those queries related to Inisherin tourism. In fact, Google’s search automatically loads the common question “Is Inisherin a real place?” Alas, the picturesque Irish island town of the title doesn’t actually exist.