Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story
Schedule
Fri, 23 Jan, 2026 at 08:00 pm
UTC+00:00Location
Desmond Complex, Gortboy, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, Newcastle West, Ireland | Limerick, LK
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Due to demand, for all those who missed the screening of Blue Road at Éigse Michael Hartnett festival we are doing another screening!Filmmaker Sinéad O’Shea (Pray for our Sinners) brings us author, playwright and socialite Edna O’Brien, as she reflects upon her life and career with astounding candidacy. Defying Ireland’s patriarchal, religious constraints with her sexually frank 1960 debut novel, The Country Girls, she became a literary
sensation. Vilified in Ireland and escaping an abusive husband, O’Brien was empowered and prolific, controversial and sexually open, a taboo-breaking powerhouse who made a fortune and lost one.
Completed shortly before her death last year, Blue Road features extracts from O’Brien’s
journals (read by Jessie Buckley); contributions from, among others, Gabriel Byrne and Anne Enright; and a remarkable final interview with Edna, aged 93, as she reflects with dignity and candour on her extraordinary life.
Festivals:
Cork International Film Festival 2024
Toronto International Film Festival 2024
Awards
Winner – Best New Irish Feature, Cork International Film Festival 2024
Quotes:
“All in all, this portrayal of one woman’s life, both public and private but all from a literary
standpoint, is intimate, heartfelt, insightful and rewarding.”
-Aoife Fealy, Film Ireland Magazine
"★★★★ The film speaks to Walter Mosley, Anne Enright and Andrew O’Hagan who talk
insightfully about her work, and perhaps most touchingly of all with her sons Carlo and Sasha Gébler. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging study."
-Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“Blending evocative archival footage, audio and new talking-head interviews, director O’Shea collages together an accessible look at a life seemingly lived to the full."
-Catherine Bray, Variety
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Where is it happening?
Desmond Complex, Gortboy, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, Newcastle West, Ireland, 3 Gortboy Court, Limerick, County Limerick, V42 FC95, IrelandEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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