New from Cillian Murphy Little things like this The film is too “simplistic” and fails to portray the “pleasures” of living in Ireland in the 1980s, David Quinn said.

The film is set in a small Irish town in 1985 that has a woman who becomes pregnant out of wedlock.

It follows male character Bill Furlong, a middle-aged married man who grew up stigmatized because he was born out of wedlock.

In Newstalk BreakfastIona Institute director David Quinn took issue with the film’s depiction of life in Ireland in the 1980s as a melancholy place where everyone lived in fear of the Church.

“Everyone is terrified that if anyone challenges the nuns, there will be dire consequences,” he said.

“His wife tells Bill Furlong, played by Cillian Murphy, ‘Don’t do anything about what’s going on there because if you do, there will be terrible consequences for our daughters.’

“It doesn’t feel like the 1980s; It barely looks like the 1950s, and in some parts, it looks like the 1850s.

“I read the book too and thought, ‘Is this what life was like in the 1980s?’ “It might have been for some people, but it would have been a very small minority.”

Politics of the 80s

Quinn said the Church was not something his contemporaries thought much about and was far from being a “big cloud over our lives.”

“We were not terrified of priests or nuns getting in the way of our freedom and our enjoyments,” he said.

“The main thing on our minds when discussing current affairs was not the Church, but Charlie Haughey versus Garret FitzGerald.”

Crucifix in the library of a Catholic school. Image: lovethephoto / Alamy Stock Photo

In 1985, the sale of contraceptives without a prescription was legalized; However, marital rape remained legal until 1990 and homosexuality remained a crime.

State censorship and screenings of the 1979 comedy were maintained Brian’s life were carried out in secret.

Despite this, Quinn feels that most people had fun.

“In the 1980s I saw little that stood in the way of my contemporaries and their pleasures,” he said.

“A lot of people were having a lot of fun.

“We had things like Slane Castle, for example; The pubs were full and there was a great music scene.”

Public opinion

In the 1980s, two referendums were held on social issues.

In 1983, a large majority of voters decided to add the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibited abortion.

Three years later they also decided to maintain the constitutional prohibition on divorce.

“There were two-to-one majorities on both,” Quinn said.

“That was the democratic will: to pass the Eighth Amendment and defeat Garrett’s divorce referendum.”

Little things like this was an adaptation of Claire Keegan’s best-selling novel of the same name.

Main image: Cillian Murphy. Image from: Alamy.com