Oscar-winning actor Cillian Murphy brings an important yet painful chapter of Irish history to the screen in his latest film, Small Things Like These. Based on Claire Keegan’s 2021 Booker Prize-shortlisted story, the film is set in 1985 and reveals the dark realities of Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries—a harrowing institution where women and girls, often unmarried and pregnant, were confined.
Murphy, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer, stars as Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and father of five daughters in a small Wexford town. Furlong’s life takes a drastic turn when he uncovers a disturbing scene at a local convent, where a young girl has been locked away. As he learns more about the girl’s fate, Furlong is forced to confront the unsettling truths of his community.
In a recent interview on BBC Radio Ulster’s Vinny & Cate Show, Murphy spoke about Ireland’s social landscape at the time. “It’s a seemingly simple story, but it’s an incredibly complex tale,” he shared. “If you think about Ireland in 1985, it was a different country—the Kerry babies scandal was in ’84, the moving statues phenomenon in ’85, and there was no abortion, divorce, or widespread contraception. It was a completely different landscape.”
Murphy noted that while the film’s 1985 setting might feel like the 1950s or 60s, subtle details like the popular song “Come on Eileen” remind viewers that it’s closer to recent history than it may seem. He added, “I was surprised to hear the film being called ‘historical,’ but it shows how much the country has changed since then.”
Eileen Walsh, Murphy’s co-star, hopes the film will encourage important conversations about Ireland’s past. “There’s so much subtext within it,” she said. “Three people can watch the film and walk away with three different interpretations of its ending. The film finishes just as the drama is about to begin, so everyone will have a different idea of what the next chapter might be.”
The film sheds light on the staggering history of these institutions, which operated until as recently as 1996, with over 10,500 women spending time in mother-and-baby homes from 1922 to that point. Northern Ireland’s last institution only closed in 1990, marking the end of a painful era that Small Things Like These brings to the fore with powerful storytelling and evocative performances.
