The Boys and Girl from County Clare (2005)

Synopsis: John Joe MacMahon (BERNARD HILL) may be an aging bachelor and solitary farmer, but he plays a rousing fiddle with his own little band. John Joe is quite the local hero in County Clare because his... John Joe MacMahon (BERNARD HILL) may be an aging bachelor and solitary farmer, but he plays a rousing fiddle with his own little band. John Joe is quite the local hero in County Clare because his band won the All Irish Band Competition for the last two years. Naturally, John Joe is determined to win the trophy again this year, but rumor has it that for the first time a hot Irish band out of Liverpool will be crossing the Sea to give them a run for their money. Well, John Joe has a pretty good idea that the band might be none other than that of his long lost brother, Jimmy (COLM MEANY), whom he has not heard a bloody word from for twenty odd years. Over in Liverpool, the now prosperous Jimmy has heard just how good John Joe's band is, and he's not leaving anything to chance. Paying some hooligans to steal the wheels from John Joe's van, Jimmy hopes to prevent his older brother from registering in time to enter the competition. But, Jimmy and John Joe are cut from the same cloth, and John Joe has himself arranged for the customs inspector to delay Jimmy as he drives off the ferry. In spite of all their shenanigans, both brothers manage by hook or by crook to register in the nick of time and after all these years they finally meet again, face to face. And, well, to put it mildly, it's not a pretty sight. Meanwhile, Anne (ANDREA CORR), the beautiful young fiddle player in John Joe's band meets and falls in love with the handsome young flute player, Teddy (SHAUN EVANS), from Jimmy's Liverpool band. And Anne's mother, Maisie (CHARLOTTE BRADLEY) who plays piano in John Joe's band becomes highly distraught upon learning that Jimmy is back in Ireland. Then, when she overhears Jimmy talking about her in a pub, a furious Maisie hauls off and slaps him hard across the face. And when Maisie, an overly protective mother, learns that Anne is in love with Teddy, all hell break loose. To discourage Anne from seeing Teddy, Maisie reluctantly reveals to her daughter her deepest, darkest secret - the mystery of her father's identity. Anne's father is Jimmy, John Joe's rotten brother, who promised Maisie the world and then abandoned her when she became pregnant with Anne. And now we realize why John Joe is so angry with him, for he was once in love with Maisie himself. Family ties trump family feuds, but when the time comes to play who is going home with the trophy? And who is going home with Anne? -- © First Look [More]

Starring: Colm Meaney, Bernard Hill, Andrea Corr, Charlotte Bradley

Starring: Colm Meaney, Bernard Hill, Andrea Corr, Charlotte Bradley, Shaun Evans, Catherine Byrne, Patrick Bergin

Director: John Irvin

Director: John Irvin
Producer: Evzen Kolar
Screenwriter: Nicholas Adams
Composer: Fiachra Trench
Studio: First Look

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