The world premiere of 'In the Name of the Father' at the Savoy Cinema in Dublin.
The film tells the story of the wrongful imprisonment of The Guildford Four. Gerry Conlon, Paul Hill, Patrick Armstrong and Carole Richardson had been falsely accused of the Guildford Pub bombings in which five people died and sixty were injured on 5 October 1974. They spent nearly 15 years in prison before the charges were dropped and their convictions were quashed.
Directed by Jim Sheridan 'In The Name Of The Father' stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Gerry Conlon and Emma Thompson as lawyer Gareth Peirce. Both were in Dublin for the film premiere. Also in attendance were some of those who lived the reality of the film including Sarah Conlon, Anne McKernan and Gerry Conlon.
Commenting on the film, Gerry Conlon said,
I think it's a film with no heroes, only victims including the judiciary in Britain.
Emma Thompson said that she believes films can remind people of mistakes that have been and can be made. Daniel Day-Lewis said,
I think it encourages the British judiciary to subject itself to more rigorous self examination but I don't find it to be anti-English in any way.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 16 December 1993. The reporter is Colm Connolly.
