Celebrating Irish Cinema: Conversations with Mary Robinson & Eva Birthistle

For the 2nd year in a row, Irish Stew hosts Maedhbh Mc Cullagh, the director of the Capital Irish Film Festival, who discusses the festival's offerings, the audience's response, and the challenges and rewards of organizing such an event in Washington, D.C.

Eva Birthistle joins John Lee and Martin Nutty to discuss her directorial debut, Kathleen Is Here, a gripping psychological thriller. The conversation explores the ideas behind the film, along with Eva's move to the other side of the camera.

The episode continues with Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Mary Robinson's story is brought to life in Mrs Robinson and will be the feature presentation on the first night of the film festival. Martin explores the former president's early background and her current efforts to address the climate crisis through Project Dandelion.

Film Links

• 19th Capital Irish Film Festival -  (Feb 27 - Mar 2, 2025)
  
  
• Mrs Robinson
  
  
• Kathleen Is Here Preview
  
  

Mary Robinson Links

• Project Dandelion
  
  
• The Elders
  
  
• Wikipedia

Eva Birthistle Links

• Wikipedia Profile
  
  
• IMDB

Episode Details: Season 7, Episode 4; Total Episode Count: 107

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 2:03 Maedhbh Mc Cullagh: Festival Lessons
• 3:12 Mary Robinson at the Capitol Ireland Film Festival
• 5:49 The Tension of Kathleen Is Here
• 7:38 A Deeper Look at the Capitol Irish Film Festival
• 14:23 Eva Birththistle Origins
• 19:15 Outsider Viewpoint and Kathleen Is Here
• 22:38 Surprises From the Director Experience
• 24:51 The Tonal Imagery of Kathleen Is Here
• 28:14 Kahleen Is Here as s Universal Story
• 37:40 Mary Robinson Introduction
• 39:58 Thoughts on Showing Mrs Robinson in Washington DC
• 42:17 Coming to the Climate Crisis
• 44:08 Climate Tipping Points
• 47:11 Reasons for Optimism
• 49:40 Recap
• 50:49 Credits