Film: HOW TO DEF– USE A BOMB: THE PROJECT CHILDREN STORY

UNAFF SCREENING SESSION 11: HOW TO DEF– USE A BOMB: THE PROJECT CHILDREN STORY (Ireland/UK/US, 90 min)

The untold story of how—over a forty-year period—an NYPD cop brought over twenty-three thousand children from the worst areas of the troubles in Northern Ireland to America for a summer of getting away from it all, not only winning their hearts and minds, but also influencing American politicians and contributing to winning peace in Northern Ireland. In 1975 Denis Mulcahy—an Irish Immigrant—decided he couldn’t stand idly by whilst Northern Ireland blew up on his nightly news bulletin. Along with his family and neighbours in small town New York he started a scheme that would ultimately see twenty-three thousand children escape the worst of the violence and in the process discover they had more in common with the ‘enemy’ at home than they thought. From the seemingly intractable conflict of the early seventies to the signing of an historic agreement in the late nineties, we chart the incredible story of how one man’s visionary approach to reconciliation paved the way for peace in Northern Ireland. more