(DAVID KEENAN-FOCLA AR CHANBHÁS)

Four years after the breakthrough success of his debut album A Beginner’s Guide to Bravery, Dundalk songwriter, musician, and composer David Keenan is at a crossroads. After touring extensively and building a reputation as one of Ireland’s leading live performers, he returns to the studio to record new music. “Anger is easy to portray, it’s the hurt that’s hard,” David says, as the film explores his wordsmithing over the course of 500 days. This is a portrait of one artist as a young man, which in turn is a portrait of every musical artist as they endeavour to stand out in a world of “algorithm and blues,” while remaining authentically and powerfully true to themselves.  

Paddy Hayes’s intimate portrait arrives just in time for the release of Keenan’s new album Modern Mythologies.  

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with Paddy Hayes and David Keenan. The Q&A will be hosted by Louise Cantillon, Today FM / TG4 broadcaster, and presenter of the bilingual podcast How To Gael. 

Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn