Developed in the midst of Ireland’s devastating property crash and subsequent recession, director Pat Collins uses this documentary to explore the materials – the institutions, attitudes, and politics –from which modern Ireland is made. Beginning by observing that throughout Irish history ‘property was power’ What We Leave in Our Wake has prominent cultural and social figures, including Declan Kiberd and Lelia Doolan, talk about capitalism, Catholicism, emigration, Ireland’s urban/rural divide, and a host of other seminal issues. As this dialogue plays out, a montage of images of Ireland’s country and cities tells its own story about Ireland’s history. Despite the temptation for such a documentary to become didactic What We Leave in Our Wake leaves its questions unanswered, preferring to allow the viewer to consider their own attitudes to the recent transformations in Irish society.