Following on from The Commitments and The Snapper, The Van is the third instalment of ‘The Barrytown Trilogy’ and offers another look into the tragi-comic, working class lives of Barrytown’s residents. Here it is unemployed middle-aged men Larry (Colm Meaney) and Bimbo (Donal O’Kelly) who take centre stage, as they start up a ramshackle business selling fast food from a broken down van. As a result of an oversight by Bimbo’s wife Maggy (Ger Ryan) the two men enjoy sudden and unexpected success, only to find the pressures of running the business driving a wedge between their friendship. Ireland’s 1990 World Cup campaign – a sporting event that has assumed mythic significance in Irish culture – forms the crucial backdrop to this down-to-earth story of ordinary people trying to improve their lot in life.