King of the Travellers
King of the Travellers is a 2012 Irish revenge drama written and directed by Mark O'Connor. The film also marks the acting debut of John Connors.
Plot
The story follows John Paul Moorehouse on his destructive quest to uncover the truth about the killer of his father twelve years ago. John Paul's desire for revenge is swayed as he falls for Winnie Power, the daughter of the man he suspects killed his father. John Paul must now battle between his consuming passion for justice and his desire to be with the woman he now loves.Cast
- John Connors as John Paul Moorehouse
- Peter Coonan as Mickey Da Bags
- Michael Collins (Irish actor) as Francis Moorehouse
- Carla McGlynn as Winnie Powers
- David Murray as Black Martin Moorehouse
Production
Director Mark O’Connor had always had an affinity for Travellers, having grown up around them during his childhood and being hit over the head by one when he was young. O’Connor wanted to write a Romeo and Juliet type story, based around two rival Travelling families. The film was originally titled ‘Grooskill’ with Cormac Fox of Vico Films coming on as producer.In a bid for realism, diversity and authenticity, many non-actor Irish Travellers were cast in acting parts. Actor Peter Coonan spent 3 weeks in a Traveller halting site in North Dublin to properly prepare himself for the role of Mickey Da Bags. Michael Collins took the films director Mark O’Connor to numerous Traveller weddings and halting sites so that he could get a better sense for Traveller culture and life. Traveller’s were selected to be extras from all parts of the country. Fighting rehearsals took over eight weeks, with the actors landing many real punches during shooting. The fighters wanted the bare knuckle fights in the film to look like Traveller fights from a YouTube video.
O’Connor revealed in an interview with The Irish Times that many people had told him not to make a movie about Travellers, telling him that audiences wouldn’t be interested in seeing it.