Skintown

There have been a multitude of films and series that have dealt with the Troubles in Ireland (and there will doubtless be many more) but Kieron J Walsh delivers an original take on the relatively recent past in 1994 and the optimism surrounding the 'ceasefire' which ended most of the violence and lead to the Good Friday Agreement four years laster.

Adapted by Ciarán McMenamin from his own novel, it boasts an infectious sense of sardonic humour as the two protagonists, Vinny (Jack Rowan) and Jonty (Chris Walley), try to hatch an escape plan with the proceeds of a cash stash in a biscuit tin under Vinny’s bed.

Hiving off from their evening jobs at Tony Pepperoni’s Pizzeria, they agree to flog 400 ecstasy pills stolen from the Ulster Volunteer Force at Kellys club in Portrush in County Antrim, close to their home town of Enniskillen, nicknamed Skintown. It's a risky business, with the prospect of discovery by the paramilitaries from whom the tablets have been spirited away.

The club actually existed and in a mix of drugs and rave music from the likes of Prodigy, Josh Wink and Jaydee among others, differences and old enmities melt among the heady atmosphere of flashing lights and the hedonism of the dance floor.

Walsh and McMenamin capture a moment in time when the younger generation try to surmount the sins of their fathers and grandfathers to establish their own futures on a wave of optimism - some of it wildly misconceived - while they fraternise with the Brits, the IRA and the RUC on a chemically-induced cloud of euphoric MDMA.

Perhaps it was the secret ingredient that aided and abetted the peace process and became embedded in the UK’s youth culture of the time.

As a portrait of what it was like to grow up under the cosh of conflict, the film accurately portrays a generation in the crossfire which hasn’t been seen before. The central pairing of Rowan and Walley gives the film its pulsating core, but the rest of the supporting cast, notably Jamie Lee O’Donnell and Hope Ikpoku Jnr, also make high energy contributions across the board.

The script too has the ring of authenticity which could only come from a writer who lived through the period and has experienced personally what it was like under the constant threat of violence and destruction and the long-lasting pain of divided communities.

Reviewed on: 21 Aug 2026