The Clash of the Ash

The Clash of the Ash Is a 1987 Irish film written and directed by Fergus Tighe,^[1] and starring Liam Heffernan as Phil Kelly, with co-stars Gina Moxley, Vinny Murphy and Alan Devlin.^[2][1] The film is set in the early 1980s and centered around the aspirations of a promising hurler, a popular Gaelic sport in Ireland.

The Clash of the Ash was produced by Circus Films and funded by Bórd Scánnán na hEireann and RTÉ.^[3] It lasts 50 minutes and was shot largely in Fermoy, County Cork.^[3] The soundtrack includes The Pogues cover of Ewan McColl's "Dirty Old Town".

The Irish Film & Television Network describes it as a story in which the central character Phil is "under pressure from his parents who have decided how his life should proceed, [he] refuses to sit his Leaving Cert. and runs off to London to follow his own ambitions."^[4]

According to the Irish Examiner, "the basic script would be familiar to frustrated youngsters anywhere in the world, all of them eager to clear out for the bright lights; the difference here is that the frustrated teenager in this case is a talented hurler."^[2]

The Clash of the Ash was critically acclaimed and became a widespread popular success in Ireland.^[5][6][7] Time Out described it as a "sensitively portrayed slice of provincial life, which manages to tell its yarn with a great deal of humour and compassion."^[1]