In the tradition of WAKING NED DEVINE and THE MATCHMAKER comes John Irvin's THE BOYS AND GIRL FROM COUNTY CLARE, a charming Irish musical comedy. Set in the late 1960s, the film tells the story of two estranged brothers who reunite in County Clare to face off against each other in the country's biggest Ceili competition (a fiddle-based, traditional style of Irish music). When John Joe (Bernard Hill) discovers that Jimmy (Colm Meaney) has returned to Ireland from Liverpool to participate in the competition, the brothers' troubled past is brought to light once again. A major roadblock stands in the form of Maisie (Charlotte Bradley), the mother of John Joe's star fiddler, Anne (Andrea Corr, lead singer of the popular rock group The Corrs). Matters are further complicated when Jimmy's star flutist, Teddy (Shaun Evans), falls for Anne. As the competition builds to its climax, the convoluted personal politics threaten to overshadow the contest itself.

release year: 2005

star(s): Bernard Hill