Omagh (2004) (TV)

Director:

Pete Travis

Writers:

Paul Greengrass (writer)
Guy Hibbert (writer)

Release Date:

22 May 2004 (Ireland)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An examination of the aftermath of the 1998 Real IRA bombing that killed 29 people in Omagh, Northern Ireland.

Plot Keywords:

Northern Ireland | Bombing | Death In Family | Irish Republican Army | Terrorism

Awards:

13 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Gerard McSorley	...	Michael Gallagher
Michele Forbes	...	Patsy Gallagher (as Michèle Forbes)
Brenda Fricker	...	Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan
Stuart Graham	...	Victor Barker
Peter Ballance	...	Mark Breslin (as Peter Balance)
Pauline Hutton	...	Sharon Gallagher
Fiona Glascott	...	Cathy Gallagher
Kathy Kiera Clarke	...	Elizabeth Gibson
Claire Connor	...	Caroline Gibson (as Clare Connor)
Gerard Crossan	...	Hugh
Ian McElhinney	...	Stanley McCombe
Sarah Gilbert	...	Patricia McLaughlin
Alan Devlin	...	Laurence Rush
Frances Quinn	...	Marion Radford
Tara Lynne O'Neill	...	Carol Radford

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for an intense scene of terrorist violence, disturbing images and brief strong language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Ireland | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Tiger Aspect Productions

Trivia:

Out of respect for the victims families and the other survivors, the producers opted not to shoot any portion of the movie in Omagh. Instead it was shot on location in Navan, County Meath, Republic of Ireland.

Quotes:

Michael Gallagher: There's Catholics in this room, and Protestants, and Mormons - Marion's here - and some of us believe in God, and now maybe some of us have no God.
Michael Gallagher: But I can tell you this, we're not going to get anywhere unless we do it together. That's the truth of the matter.
[crowd: Here, here]

The Screen Becomes a Window

I do not believe I have ever seen a movie that more truthfully and compellingly captures tragedy than Pete Travis's Omagh.

Omagh tells the story of the 1998 Real IRA bombing that killed 29 people in the city of Omagh, Northern Ireland, and the aftermath that followed. Yet what endears me to this film is that this could have been any town, any family, any tragedy. The film is completely without frills. It is one of the few films I've seen that does not romanticize death and tragedy. It has no towering musical score telling your emotions where to go (there is no score at all, actually), no dramatic final words, no sanguine epitaphs. Instead, Travis shows us what the camera usually leaves out -- the dirty dishes after the funeral party has left your house, the ubiquitous reporters asking for pictures of the deceased, the kind but nuisance of a neighbor offering help when you just want to be left alone.

The technical aspects of the film were all very well done, as were the actors' performances. Everything about the film makes you feel as though you are looking through a window into what really happened at Omagh, rather than watching an screen adaptation of the events. Omagh is well worth a see.