For Irish people of a certain vintage, Into The West is a movie that holds a special place in our hearts and thanks to TG4, we can relive it all on Christmas night.
The station has revealed a whole host of films it will be screening over the course of the festive season but it’s the 1992 flick written by Jim Sheridan that has caught our eye. If you’re too young to remember its impact or have simply never heard of it, Into The West tells the story of Tito (always thought it was Tayto?) and Ossie, a pair of brothers whose father is Papa Reilly, ‘King Of The Irish Travellers.’
Having to grow up without their mother, who died during Ossie’s birth, the boys befriend a magical white horse called TÃr Na nÓg. When the horse is stolen from them, they set off on an adventure to get him back.
Into The West made a child star of Ciaran Fitzgerald (Ossie) who went on to appear in other productions such as Some Mother’s Son and The General. Along with Rúaidhrà Conroy, Fitzgerald won the 1994 Young Artist Award for Outstanding Youth Actor in a Family Film at the Young Artist Awards.
Into The West will be shown on Christmas Day at 6.55pm and while it is a highlight of TG4’s Festive schedule, other stand-out screenings include Dirty Dancing (Christmas Eve 11pm), Fargo (December 28 10.20pm) and Apollo 13 (December 30 9.30pm).
A trailer for Into The West can be viewed below.
