"Compelling... Fascinating....Beautifully photographed and with surprisingly forthright voices, this film haunts." - Chicago Tribune
Feature Documentary: Sins of Ireland, directed by Alex Fegan (Older Than Ireland, The Irish Pub, Abbeyfealegood), is a portrait of Ireland through the lens of the confession box. What became the practice of confession originated during the seventh century, when Irish missionaries took to continental Europe the ‘private’ practice of penance. These Irish monks would regularly confess their faults to a highly trusted brother monk who became known as the ‘anam chara’ (or ‘soul friend’). This was a major change from the public completion of penitential works which prior to that had been the norm throughout Europe.
In Sins of Ireland, fifteen Irish priests who have long listened to the sins of others, offer their own confessional on the rise and fall of a sacrament that now epitomises the turbulent changes in faith and spirituality in contemporary Ireland. The documentary is a nuanced and uncynical examination of confession, as the priests themselves acknowledge how a rite meant to offer absolution and guidance had for many years become a tool of control and shame, with devastating consequences.
Yet, Sins of Ireland also explores forgiveness - not as an easy resolution, but as a necessary reckoning with the past and a gateway to spiritual redemption. In confronting their own failings and the sins of the church, these priests lay bare the complexities of remorse, accountability, and the possibility of reconciliation. And looking forwards with hope & humility, they give their thoughts as to how the Church needs to evolve significantly if it is to serve the people it for so long let down.
Sins of Ireland was released in over 25 cinemas around Ireland from April, 2025 to critical acclaim.
Director Alex Fegan
Producer Aileen O'Carroll
Executive Producer for Strident Kelda Crawford MacCann
Executive Producer for RTÉ Gráinne McAleer
Executive producer for BBC Fiona Keane
Funded by RTÉ, BBC NI and Atom Films
