30/08/2018 - The Irish director’s second feature is set in the early 1980s and explores some of the most popular youth subcultures of that period

Irish director Ferdia Mac Anna’s coming-of-age drama Dannyboy began filming in the city of Kildare at the beginning of this week. The project will enter the post-production phase in three weeks’ time and will be Mac Anna’s second feature, after All About Eva, a low-budget thriller released in 2015.

This new production is set in a small Irish town in 1981 and explores the main popular subcultures from that era, such as Post Punks, New Romantics and Goths. The story, penned by the director himself and screenwriter Mary Duffin (All About Eva), centres on Daniel, an anxious, stuttering teen who tries to find love and struggles to save his demented family. Daniel will end up caught in a turbulent love triangle between gorgeous playgirl Carla and the nerdy Donna. The lead role is played by newcomer Darragh Byrne, while other cast members include Paddy C Courtney, Fiona Condon, Helena Geoghegan, Jack Hickey, Lucy Jones, Alexandra Moloney and Clelia Murphy. Dannyboy’s soundtrack will be made up of nostalgic hits by several Irish and international artists from the 1980s. 

The technical crew includes director of photography Alan Rogers (I’m Talking to You [+see also:
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Kearney explained that both the crew and the Kildare community are very excited about the project: “Ferdia and Mary have written a hilarious script, and Kildare, which is my home county, is a great location for filmmaking thanks to its urban/rural areas as well as local people acting as extras. We have a dynamic team in place, and the wonderful cast are all fired up, ready to go. The local community are behind us and are ready to welcome the 1980s again.” 

Dannyboy will be released in the first half of 2019.