Film screening + Q&A at The Odeon

This special film screening programme at the Five Lamps Arts Festival celebrates the life, legacy and cultural influence of Dublin writer Brendan Behan, alongside stories rooted in the history of Dublin’s North Inner City.

The programme begins with Mary of Dublin by Colm Quarney (4pm), a short film capturing the mysterious and iconic figure known as “Mary of Dublin,” who walked and danced while praying with rosary beads along O’Connell Street. Filmed in 2003, the visual journey is accompanied by an atmospheric musical score that evokes a haunting rhythm of the city.

Next, The Execution (4.15pm) presents a cinematic adaptation of Brendan Behan’s short story from After the Wake. Directed by Colm Quarney and narrated by Jack Lynch, the film was created as a community project with Bradog Community Centre and features voices from Dublin’s North Inner City.

At 4.30pm, The Spirit of Behan by Stephen Dwoskin explores the writer’s powerful literary voice through performance and storytelling as actors move through Dublin’s streets, bringing Behan’s words and themes of prison, resistance and wit to life.

The programme continues with The Laughing Boy / An Buachaill Geal Gáireach (5.30pm), directed by Alan Gilsenan. This remarkable film traces the journey of a song written by a young Brendan Behan about Michael Collins that later became an anthem of resistance in Greece.

The evening concludes with The Charlie O’Leary Story – From Johnny Cullen’s Hill to The Olympic Stadium Rome (7.30pm), directed by Joe Lee. This inspiring documentary tells the story of Charlie O’Leary, a pioneering figure in Irish football whose life spans decades of sporting history from Dublin’s street leagues to the international stage.

Together, these films offer a compelling cinematic journey through Dublin’s cultural history, literature, music and sport, celebrating stories that have shaped the city and its communities.