1980s Derry: Goretti Friel (Emer McCourt) is one of a spirited group of teenage friends. She meets Ciarán (Michael Liebmann) at her Irish language class and romance soon blossoms. When he is arrested and imprisoned by the British army, Goretti is dismayed to find herself pregnant. Left to deal with the crisis alone, she is tormented by the conflicts of her growing belly and the influence of a Catholic upbringing. Sinéad O’Connor, who has a small role and composed music for the film, said it dealt with “the horror of being young, single, and pregnant in a country like Ireland with such backward views on femininity and sexuality”.

In her focus on young women dealing with a crisis for which there were no easy solutions, Margo Harkin began to explore issues which she revisits in her new feature documentary Stolen.

This screening will be introduced by Margo Harkin.

Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn

See also: New release Stolen and Archive at Lunchtime Unplanned.