The Banshees of Inisherin

The Banshees of Inisherin is an Irish film nom inat ed for a record nine Oscars (and it has already w on t hree Golden Globes), is t his m ont h's popular donnybrook. Is it a dark com edy full of sym bolism or an unfunny, m acabre port rayal of Irish people living on an Island off t he West coast of Ireland in 1923?

Ireland has received a t ot al of 14 nom inat ions for t he Academ y Aw ards, including An Cailín Ciúin being t he first Irish-language film t o be nom inat ed for best int ernat ional film Ot her nom inat ions include Paul Mescal for Best Act or for his role in Aft ersun, up against Colin Farrell. The Irish short film An Irish Goodbye for Best Live-Act ion Short Dubliners Richard Baneham w as nom inat ed for best Special Effect s for his w ork on Avat ar: The Way of Wat er and Jonat han Redm ond for edit ing Elvis

Kerry Condon, w ho plays Farrell's sist er in Banshees, has received a nom inat ion for Best Support ing Act ress She had t he only redeem able role in t he film , w hile Mart in McDonagh received a nom inat ion for Best Direct or It w as t he film s w rit ing t hat w as cont roversial

Everyone seem s t o agree t he cinem at ography and t he act ing m ake t he film w at chable But disagree on t he screenplay and plot as eit her dist urbing self-m ut ilat ion or a m ast erful m ix of hum or and t ragedy.

In addit ion t o t he scenery and set t ing, I enjoyed t he film 's st ereot ypical charact ers: t he w it ch-like old lady, t he gobshit e, t he gossip, t he degenerat e m acho-policem an, and t he archaic slang

View ers are split ; I feel t he plot is t oo insane t o be considered a dark com edy or exem plary of Irish eccent ricit ies What I appreciat ed about t he debat es around Banshees is t hat none of t he com m ent at ors resort ed t o personal at t acks against t hose w ho int erpret ed t he film different ly.

John McNally, our feat ured w rit er and Irish Com m unit y Act ivist and Colum nist shares his t hought s on t he lat est new s and t rends concerning Ireland and Irish Am erica.

Different opinions and view s are essent ial in any. free societ y. We deeply appreciat e our press freedom s. Now , m ore t han ever, it is im port ant t o have Irish Com m unit y act ivism , diversit y and input

An In dulgen t Ch ick en Curry w it h f ragran t rice an d a garlic but t er f lat bread Serves2

You w ill need

The Curry past e

1 teaspoon of dried ginger

1 teaspoon of dried coriander

1 teaspoon of garam masala

1 teaspoon of turmeric

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of turmeric

2 tablespoons of curry powder

Mix all the spices together in a little warm water to form a paste.

For t he Flat bread

4 Cups of strong bread flour

1 tablespoon of honey

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon of dried mixed herbs

For The Rice

4 handfuls of long grain rice

8 cups of water

1\2 teaspoon of turmeric

1\2 teaspoon of curry powder

1 \2 teaspoon of chilli powder (optional)

The Chicken

4 Chicken thighs (off the bone) and cut into chunks

2 large onions cut into chunks

1\2 green pepper (diced or sliced)

1 \2 red pepper (diced or sliced)

2 large tomatoes (cut into chunks)

2 cans of chopped tomatoes

250 ml of chicken stock

Salt and pepper

A handful of chopped corriander(cilantro)

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Belf ast Based Irish Ch ef Paul Wat t ers

Our contributing Celebrity Chef has been creat ing dishes and preparing great food for over 30 years. He has w orked all over t he w orld from t he Savoy Hot el in London t o as far aw ay from Ireland as t he Sydney Opera House, Aust ralia A few years ago, Chef Paul ret urned t o Belfast and cont inued t o w ork at som e t op rat ed hot el rest aurant s. During t he lockdow n he set up a cooking page on Facebook t o share his love of food and cooking

Chef Paul also st art ing w rit ing about cooking for m agazines and papers around t he w orld. We are delight ed t o be associat ed w it h him .