The Hanging Gale

Great ensemble piece not only for the McGanns but for a group of strong Irish actors (plus the estimable Michael Kitchen) this is an unflinchingly close up view of the effects of the pan-European potato famine in one tiny portion of the north of Ireland.

The script wisely avoids casting the English as "the villains" - rather it is the system of absentee English landlords and local grasping profiteers who break the community up. The crossfire of politics, starvation and government indifference creates enormous suffering, graphically portrayed and stunningly contrasted with the wild and romantic scenery.

Every descendent of the Irish diaspora should have a copy of this at home. But I'd recommend it to everyone.