Behind the Film: Star of the Sea – The Football, The Troubles and the Aftermath

Introduction:

My Star of the Sea – The Football, The Troubles and the Aftermath is a feature documentary which tells the remarkable story of a talented mixed-religion football team in Belfast in the 1960s who appear to defy the sectarian tide but are ultimately torn apart by the Troubles – the violent and bloody conflict that spanned three decades.

Inspiration:

Having grown up in Ireland as the conflict known as the Troubles raged and then slowly came to an end, I was always conscious of the fragile peace that existed in the North of Ireland and how, if we do not learn the lessons of the stories of the past, we are destined to repeat the same mistakes. The story of the Star of the Sea football team shows what’s possible when you bring communities together outside of religion or politics, but it also shows the carnage that can happen when sectarianism is given space to thrive. It should be everyone’s priority to protect peace.

The Process:

Filming took place in Belfast and Dublin in three filming blocks over a six-month period in 2025. One challenge we had to overcome was the lack of archive footage of the team itself, which we remedied by filming recreations of the team as they might have been back in the late 1960s. This, coupled with existing newsreel archive, allowed us to transport the audience back to the time of the Troubles and the chaos and carnage that came with what was one of the most notorious conflicts of the last 60 years. It was also important that we told the story from the victim’s perspective as, all too often, stories related to Northern Ireland are from the perspective of the paramilitaries. This balance was vital to give an honest and realistic insight into just how deeply traumatic this conflict was for so many.

What It Means to Be a Finalist:

Being selected as a finalist at Worcester Film Festival means so much to me and the crew. This is my debut feature documentary as a director, and this will be the first time the film is screened outside of Ireland, so it’s a huge honour to be part of the festival, and I’m excited to get feedback and reaction from an audience in the UK.