Meath parents of Mad Mary filmmakers hoping for a hit

With the help of rave reviews the new film ‘A Date for Mad Mary’ is starting to gain a reputation as one of the best Irish productions of recent years - and that’s something the Meath parents of the filmmakers are delighted to see.

It was written by brothers Darren and Colin Thornton from Drogheda. Their parents are Patricia Smith from Athlumney, Navan and Kevin Thornton from Bohermeen.

The film was shown for the first time in Irish cinemas last night and looks set to be one of the hits of the year.

Kevin Thornton, who runs a launderette in Beechmount, Navan says that next Saturday night there will be a big contingent of people from Meath going to Drogheda to support the film.

“There won’t be a minibus left in Navan next Saturday as people from Navan and Bohermeen will be going to see the film in the Arc Cinema, Drogheda. We want to give the film as much support as possible. Darren and Colin have put a huge effort into it,” said Kevin Thornton. 

The reviews have been glowing in their praise of the film with the Irish Independent today describing the production as “An Irish gem.”

The newspaper's film critic Paul Whitington praised the way the story is told: “The most impressive thing about Darren Thornton’s film, however, is the intensely visual way in which it tells a story.”

He added: 'It may, in fact, be the best Irish film I've seen since Lenny Abrahamson's 'Garage' and it boasts a truly remarkable performance from a young actress (Seana Kerslake) who's surely bound for great things.'