In the name of the father

¶ … Irish and the English have been in conflict for decades ever since the British defeated the Irish and made them subjects for almost 700 years until the 1916 Irish revolt. The state of affairs is renowned world wide mostly because of some of the Irish that have led a terrorist movement in order to give Ireland back its former status and to defeat British occupiers.

The IRA has its roots in the early twentieth century as an army that would fight for a united Ireland. Because of divergences in opinion within the army, the IRA had split into the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA in 1969. (bbc) the difference between the two was that while the Official IRA seemed to have a more diplomatic approach, the Provisional IRA chose a combative attitude. Initially the Provisional IRA's role was to defend the Catholics from the loyalists' assaults, but as matters evolved they went further and began their offensive.

The IRA is believed to have had their first attacks in England during the 1930s, but the first notable terrorist attack on behalf of the Official IRA took place in 1972 and with the Aldershot headquarters of the Parachute Regiment being bombed, the era of "The Troubles" began. (bbc) as the Provisional IRA became more confident because of the first IRA bombing, they took London as their main target. The bombing was planed to take place on the 8th of March, 1973, but only two of the four bombs were detonated successfully due to the fact that most of the members that took part in the plot had been captured. The campaigns continued and the PIRA added several other acts of terrorism in England on their list, including the Birmingham pub bombing.

The situation became tensed and people were demanding for justice to be done. The Birmingham pub bombing was a highly debated matter as the police decided to imprison ten innocent people that were believed to be terrorists. Those arrested weren't released until the early nineties when they were found to be wrongfully convicted. (bbc)

The director of the motion picture "In the name of the Father" recreated the circumstances in which those that were believed to be involved in the Birmingham bombing had been arrested and how they spent their time in prison until the truth was unfolded. The film presents the life of young Gerry Conlon, a petty Irish thief, as he is going through a multitude of events which change his life forever.

Similarities:

Gerry's neighborhood slightly resembles that of an ordinary U.S. area inhabited by low-skilled workers. An interesting resemblance between the Irish and the U.S. cultures is to be noticed as Gerry is portrayed as hippie-like, long-haired man in his early twenties, determined to get rich overnight at any cost and with little worries. The hippie trend can be seen across the movie as Gerry comes to England in search of "free love and dope" (in the Name of the Father). At some points in the movie Gerry might even be mistaken for a young American on British soil. Apparently both the Americans and the Irish were influenced by the hippie wave at the beginning of the 1970s. The younger people were the ones that were more easily influenced by the trend and almost every hippie was dreaming of living the life of a rock star.

Gerry lives in Ireland under pressure because of the IRA that is fighting the British governments in the Irish streets. He is most likely to get involved in the war at one point of his life due to his restless nature and due to the fact that he, as most young people, is in search of fame and glory. Similar to Gerry, in the same time period, a young American would be inclined to get involved in the Vietnam War from where he would return as a hero and a rich man. During the 1970s Ireland and America were each fighting against different countries (Ireland with the IRA against the British and the U.S. against North Vietnam), but what makes the conflicts similar is that rebellious young people are absorbed by every war either to boycott or to join it.

Differences:

One of the main distinctions between the Americans and the Irish, or the Europeans generally, will be that each country has its national sport. While the Irish are fond of Rugby or Hurling, the Americans would rather enjoy a Baseball match or a Football one. In spite of the thousands of Irish that left their country in favor of living on American soil, the American sports have not been influenced by the Irish. As Gerry comes back from England with his pockets full of money he comes across some children playing soccer on the street. The probability of one finding some kids playing soccer in the U.S. is very little as the sport is unpopular among the children and especially among the 1970s children.

Because of the good impersonation done by the actors, one can sense fear and distress in the look and manner of speaking of each of the Irish people in the movie. This was not something one would see in the 1970s U.S., as America was the land of freedom at that time, with no existent threat to its people. Unlike the U.S., the Irish had been living under extreme pressure because of the constant war between the IRA and the British with its front on the Irish streets.

In the Name of the Father" is a 1993 motion picture inspired from a real life event from England in which several Irish people have been wrongfully accused of bombing a local pub. The movie is presented as a story recorded by Gerry Conlon for his lawyer to be better acquainted with the case of Gerry and his kin.

The action begins when Gerry and some friends of his are in search of scrap metal they can later sell. Because of the noise that the gang makes, a British military patrol is alerted and mistakes Gerry for a sniper from the IRA. After being followed by the British, Gerry and his friends turn the people from the streets into a raging mob determined to fight the British military. In his run Gerry accidentally stumbles upon an IRA nest full of weapons and thus he turns the IRA against him as well. After these events Gerry has no other alternative than leaving his native land to go to England.

Once on the boat, Gerry meets Paul Hill, an old friend of his, and as they reach England the two join a hippie movement with the help of one of Gerry's Irish friends. Living a happy life by doing drugs and not working seems to perfectly fit Gerry and Paul, but after a conflict with an anti-Irish Englishman within the hippie group the two decide to leave the shelter and sleep on a bench in the park. As they walk the streets, Gerry robs a lot of money from a prostitute's house and he returns to Ireland with the loot.