Ciarán McMenamin Movies

Charles McDougall's Sunday is one of two films (the other being Paul Greengrass' Bloody Sunday) that were made in 2002 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of January 30, 1972, a date commonly known as Bloody Sunday. Originally aired on BBC television network, the film attempts to give a fact-based portrayal of the events, which began as a civil rights protest in response to some Catholic leaders being jailed without due process and ended in a gruesome massacre, with 14 Catholics shot dead and 14 others injured at the hands of the British military. After its television debut, Sunday went on to win the top prize at the 2002 Method Fest Independent Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

In between the big-budget Blade and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, British filmmaker Stephen Norrington directs the straight-to-video crime drama The Last Minute. Told in flashback, the story follows the rise and fall of Billy Byrne (Max Beesley). With a determined goal to be famous, he lands his first big show with the help of his slick agent, Walsh (Anthony Higgins). Fame comes quickly as he travels the globe and gets invited to hip clubs, becoming the darling of the London art scene. Due to his excessive, self-centered behavior, his girlfriend Janey (Kate Ashfield) leaves him. His fame fades away and he falls into a life of crime, drugs, and gangsters led by Grimshanks (Tom Bell), where he meets Anna (Emily Corrie). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Set in the titular district northwest of London that has long been heavily populated by Irish immigrants, County Kilburn opens as young bartender Mickey (Ciaran McMenamin) is working his last week on the job at the Waggon & Horses. Alone behind the bar thanks to the sudden death of the pub's owner, Mickey spends much of his time mulling over problems with his girlfriend and begins to suspect that there's more to life than hawking booze. During his last week -- the film is split into sections by days -- he is joined at various intervals by a series of regulars that includes Johno (Rick Warden), an old school friend who has a secret concerning his longtime unemployment; Black Jack (John Bowe), whose nasty misogyny may be a cover for something he's hiding; crotchety, laconic Mr. Bollox (Norman Rodway), so named because of his propensity to use the word; and Billy (Simon Sherlock), a slick car salesman. The pub's quiet routine is interrupted by the arrival of Sue (Georgia Mackenzie), an old schoolmate on whom both Mickey and Johno once had a crush. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

A distinguished cast highlights this made-for-TV adaptation of one of Charles Dickens' best-loved novels. Young David Copperfield (Daniel Radcliffe) is loved by his mother Clara (Emilia Fox), but does not get along with his foul-tempered stepfather, Murdstone (Trevor Eve). After biting Murdstone during a fight, David is forced to attend a boarding school operated by the vicious and humorless Mr. Creakle (Ian McKellen). After Clara suddenly dies, David is sent to work; while his labors are tiring and poorly compensated, he finds a benefactor in the good-hearted Mr. Micawber (Bob Hoskins) and his wife (Imelda Staunton). However, Micawber does not manage money well, and winds up in a debtors prison. Left to his devices, David sets out to find one of his few surviving relatives, his eccentric Aunt Betsy (Maggie Smith). The years pass, and the grown-up David (Ciaran McMenamin) has struggled to build a better life for himself, with the help of Betsy's attorney, Mr. Wickfield. David also becomes friendly with Wickfield's daughter Agnes (Amanda Ryan), but he finds a nemesis in the lawyer's clerk Uriah Heep (Nicholas Lyndhurst). David also marries a simple woman named Dora (Joanna Page), but their union brings him little happiness. David Copperfield was a co-production of the BBC and WGBH Boston. It received its American premier on the acclaimed anthology series Masterpiece Theatre. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Roger Michell directed this British drama based on Mary Costello's autobiographical novel about a Belfast housewife and peace activist. During early '70s conflicts in Northern Ireland, Bernie McPhelimy (Julie Walters) and her family move into a Catholic neighborhood in a West Belfast town famed as the location of the Titanic's construction but now a battlefield of bullets, tanks, and helicopters. When one of Bernie's old friends is trapped in a crossfire and killed, she attends a women's peace group but finds their approach ineffectual. Despite the resentment of her family, objections from her husband (Ciaran Hinds), and community hostility, the determined Bernie organizes her own group, teaming with co-campaigner Deidre (Aingeal Grehan) to mediate between the British government and the IRA, eventually collecting 25,000 petition signatures to limit residential neighborhood fighting. Shown in the market section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide