Chrissy Osborne author of Michael Collins, A Life in Pictures and Michael Collins, Himself will introduce this screening.

Beloved Enemy, a love-story loosely based on the alleged love affair between Michael Collins and Lady Lavery, is one of many feature films set against the exciting narrative backdrop of Ireland’s War of Independence. In this lavish Samuel Goldwyn production, Oscar nominees Merle Oberon and Brian Aherne play a beautiful young aristocrat and a charming Irish rebel who fall in love despite their social, cultural and political differences. The film is far from historically accurate but is fascinating nonetheless in its depiction of military activity, the negotiation of a peace settlement, and the treaty.

This film is restored from nitrate elements by the IFI Irish Film Archive and the Limerick Film Archive with support from the Heritage Council, and is screening as part of the inaugural Dublin Festival of History 2013.