Raw and temperamental, King of the Travellers sees champion bareknuckle boxer John Paul Moorehouse (John Connors) questions his long time loyalty to his Uncle Francis (Michael Collins) when love and deception comes into his life. Encouraged by the combustive Mickey (Peter Coonan), John’s allegiances waver as finds himself in love with the daughter of Puc Power (James Reilly), his uncle’s latest enemy and the man believed to have killed John’s father. As John staggers between family and girlfriend, local residents fight his family with methods fair and foul, precipitating a conflict that leads John to choose where his allegiances lie. Made with a Shakespearean sense of grandeur, King of the Travellers wrestles with themes of love and revenge without compromising director Mark O’Connor’s sustained commitment to authenticity in his films, which here sees him casting Travellers in key roles.