A Love Divided (1999)

The true story of a Catholic man and his Protestant wife, and the events resulting in the Co. Wexford, Ireland community when the wife decides she doesn't appreciate being forced to send ... See full summary »

Director:

Syd Macartney

Writers:

Deirdre Dowling, Gerry Gregg,

Stars:

Orla Brady, Liam Cunningham, Peter Caffrey

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Orla Brady	...	Sheila Kelly Cloney
Liam Cunningham	...	Sean Cloney
Sarah Bolger	...	Eileen Cloney
Nicole Bohan	...	Mary Cloney
Brian McGrath	...	Fred Kelly
Ali White	...	Dorothy Kelly
Peter Caffrey	...	Andy Bailey
Tony Doyle	...	Father Stafford
Jim Norton	...	Reverend Fischer
Joe Gallagher	...	Alec Auld
Doreen Keogh	...	Lucy Knipe
Rynagh O'Grady	...	Minnie Kennedy
Ger Ryan	...	Anna Walsh
Garrett Keogh	...	Jimmy Kennedy
Peter Gowen	...	Patrick Peely (as Peter Gowan)

Storyline

The true story of a Catholic man and his Protestant wife, and the events resulting in the Co. Wexford, Ireland community when the wife decides she doesn't appreciate being forced to send their daughter to a Catholic school, despite the local priest's insistence she is bound by the pre-marriage agreement she signed to raise any children as Catholic.

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Plot Keywords:

love | catholic | ireland | protestant | 1950s | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

UK Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 1999 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Hit a szerelemben

Filming Locations:

Ballycastle, County Mayo, Ireland

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£31,793 (UK) (11 June 1999)

Gross:

£402,322 (UK) (18 June 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Parallel Film Productions, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

A Searing Example Of Religious Bigotary

Oh dear . Yet another example of " Oireland " and religion . No doubt we'll be seeing some depressing nonsense featuring some " hunky and macho freedom fighters " from the IRA . Well that was my initial reaction when the credits started but just over an hour and a half later I was in a state of shock . What a superb movie

The story starts on the day of the wedding between Sean Cloney and Sheila Kelly in the 1950s . There is a slight problem since they're getting married in the catholic church and that is Sheila is a protestant but in order for the wedding to happen Sheila takes a pledge that her children will be brought up catholic and attend the catholic school when they're old enough . The story - Which is set in the 1950s

• then jumps forward a few years when the Cloney daughters are about to

start school but Sheila has decided they'll be attending the local protestant school much to the disgust of local priest Father Stafford . From there things escalate

Let me put my cards on the table and state that despite having both Irish catholic and Scottish protestant heritage I was brought up as agnostic and have considered myself as an atheist throughout my adult life . In fact when it comes to religion I consider myself a Marxist and religion is a cynical weapon used to manipulate people . A LOVE DIVIDED shows what happens when self appointed moral guardians take it upon themselves to tell other people what to think and believe . May I have the temerity to state that if Karl Marx saw this movie he'd love it and call it a masterpiece ? Perhaps I shouldn't since the drama of this story shows what happens when other people do your thinking for you

In reply to the couple of reviewers who have claimed this movie is propaganda of the worst sort I don't claim to know the exact details of what happened in County Wexford and there's no denying that Father Stafford and his flock of catholic sheep are portrayed as being the bad guys but Sheila isn't blameless herself . Think about a woman living in a rural village in 1950s Ireland who takes a pledge to bring her children up as catholics then changes her mind and believes there will be no consequences of this ? This is a warning against taking pledges and not keeping to them . Not only that but she disappears to let other people pick up the pieces of their shattered lives . There's also something that no one else has picked up upon and that is that the only character with any type of moral sense is former IRA man Andy Bailey who is shown as being gallant not because he was a former IRA member ( That makes a change . We're not talking about THE DEVIL'S OWN here ) but simply because he is an atheist who has decided to think for himself

A LOVE DIVIDED is a superb movie that has a lot to say for itself , all of which I agree with . If there's any sort of criticism it's that it feels too much like a TVM rather than a cinematic movie but believe me I can live with that and is essential viewing to anyone who thinks religion is the opium of the masses