Presented with the Omaha Irish Cultural Center, this special screening will be followed by a panel discussion. Pre-show entertainment, beginning at 6 pm, will be provided by vocalist Jill Anderson, who will perform traditional Irish ballads.

Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, director Ken Loach’s rich drama is set in 1920s Ireland, when workers from field and country were uniting to face the ruthless “Black and Tan” squads shipped from Britain to block Irish independence. Driven by a deep sense of duty and a love for his country, Damien (Cillian Murphy) abandons his burgeoning career as a doctor and joins his brother, Teddy (Padraic Delaney), in a dangerous and violent fight for freedom. After both sides finally agree to a treaty to end the bloodshed, civil war erupts among Irish factions. Families, who fought the British side by side, find themselves pitted against one another as sworn enemies.

Following the film will be a panel discussion with Dr. Lisabeth Buchelt, Associate Professor of Medieval British and Irish Literature and Culture, UNO Department of English; Dr. Barry Murphy, Professor Emeritus, Creighton University; and Douglas County Commissioner James Cavanaugh, Presenter for the Nebraska Humanities Council on Irish History.

This screening and discussion are part of an Omaha Irish Cultural Center initiative to observe the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, which launched the Irish independence movement depicted in THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY.