SOURCE: "Avenging Angel: An Analysis of Neil Jordan's First Irish Feature Film," in Studies, Vol. LXXI, No. 283, Autumn, 1982, pp. 296-303.

In the following essay, Kearney praises Jordan's Angel and asserts that "the credit must surely go to Neil Jordan himself whose inspired scripting and directing prove him to be one of the most talented imaginations working in Ireland today."

Angel, directed by Neil Jordan, is ostensibly a film which deals with political violence in Ireland. I believe it does so in a highly original and perceptive manner. But before analysing and assessing Angel in detail, I think it may be useful to give a brief account of other Irish films to have tackled such a theme.

In 1934, Frank O'Connor's Guests of the Nation, treating of the I.R.A.'s reluctant execution of two British soldiers in 1921, was made into a silent movie. O'Connor was so impressed by...