Themes in Irish films: Part 3 The Church

The Catholic Church seems to play a role in almost every Irish movie. In some cases, such as in The Commitments, it plays only a very minor role, but it is rare that the Church is not mentioned at all.
There are many reasons why the Church is so prevelant in Irish films. Firstly, the Church played such an large and important role in the running of the country and within everyday life in Ireland for so many years that it would be unusual for the Church not to play a role. The Catholic Church even assisted in the drafting of the Irish constitution, a draft copy of the constitution was sent to the Vatican for review before its publication.
Another reason why the Church is featured in so many films is because of the large degree of abuse that many of its institutions and preists have participated in. Many Irish films try to reflect these dark times on the silver screen. These films include 2003's Song for a Raggy Boy and the disturbing 2002 movie The Madgdalene Sisters. Sexual abuse is also breifly exposed in Neil Jordan's The Butcher Boy, but it is almost as a side story. There is many cases of abuse, especially of minors, in many Irish films, but it is reassuring to see that Irish film makers do not shy away from covering these controversial topics.