SATURDAY, MARCH 4 AT 7:00 PM
Gallery THEATRE
Property of the State
2017 US Premier
Director: Kit Ryan
Cast: Aisling Loftus, Patrick Gibson, David Rawle, Elaine Cassidy, Hugh O’Conor, Gemma-Leah Deveraux
Script: Susan Morrall
Producer: Terence Ryan
Length: 107 min
Based on the true events that shocked Ireland in the 1990’s, Property of the State tells story of a disturbed young man, Brendan O’Donnell, as seen through the eyes of his sister Ann Marie. Piece by piece she threads together the events that ultimately lead to the harrowing murders of a young mother, her child and a local priest in the forest of east Clare, Ireland.
In the beginning of Ann Marie’s journal are the words “can you still love someone that has done a terrible thing?” Not succumbing to bitterness or blame Ann Marie quietly tells the story of a brother she loved and tried to help often not knowing where or who to ask for help. As the sister of a man described as “the most evil man in Ireland” many saw Ann-Marie as guilty by association and yet as the story unfolds it is clear that everything is not as clear cut as the public and media would like it to be and explores whether O’Donnell, who had struggled with mental health issues since childhood, has been let down by social services and others in authority positions.
Director: Kit Ryan
Cast: Aisling Loftus, Patrick Gibson, David Rawle, Elaine Cassidy, Hugh O’Conor, Gemma-Leah Deveraux
Script: Susan Morrall
Producer: Terence Ryan
Length: 107 min
Based on the true events that shocked Ireland in the 1990’s, Property of the State tells story of a disturbed young man, Brendan O’Donnell, as seen through the eyes of his sister Ann Marie. Piece by piece she threads together the events that ultimately lead to the harrowing murders of a young mother, her child and a local priest in the forest of east Clare, Ireland.
In the beginning of Ann Marie’s journal are the words “can you still love someone that has done a terrible thing?” Not succumbing to bitterness or blame Ann Marie quietly tells the story of a brother she loved and tried to help often not knowing where or who to ask for help. As the sister of a man described as “the most evil man in Ireland” many saw Ann-Marie as guilty by association and yet as the story unfolds it is clear that everything is not as clear cut as the public and media would like it to be and explores whether O’Donnell, who had struggled with mental health issues since childhood, has been let down by social services and others in authority positions.
This true story is tragic on many levels, from those directly impacted, to those who judged from afar…. the tragedy is that the effects of mental illness are as internationally relevant today as they were in 1990s.” Director Kit Ryan
