
Best Documentary Longlist
Academy Awards
2018
Best Sports Documentary
Celtic Media Festival
2018
Official Selection
Irish Film Festa, Roma
2017
Best Documentary
Galway Film Fleadh
2017
Official Selection
IFI
Doc Fest
2017
Best Documentary
Irish Film Festival Boston
2017
Official Selection
San Francisco Irish Film Festival
2017
From humble beginnings, to challenging for a world title crown. From the quiet Gaeltacht village of Ros Muc in Co Galway, to the criminal underworld of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger and the mean streets of Boston. Rocky Ros Muc examines spirit inside the ring and troubles outside; the reality of emigration and its impact on identity.
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Rocky Ros Muc, produced by Below the Radar TV in conjunction with TG4, BBC, the Irish Film Board, Broadcast Authority of Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen, is a multi-award winning feature documentary which has sold out at film festivals around the world since its record-breaking premiere at the Boston Irish Film Festival in March, 2017.
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The film tells the story of Seán Mannion, who left Galway for Boston in the mid 1970s. Like many before him, he left behind his home village of Ros Muc and headed for a new life in America.
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He had a talent for boxing. His sparring partners at his gym were at the heart of Whitey Bulger’s Winter Hill gang. Friends. Fellow emigrants. His world was their world. The fighting Irish. Drugs, racketeering and murder. This was the reality of life in South Boston.
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In October 1984, Seán stood in the boxing ring in Madison Square Garden, in New York City, fighting for a WBA world title crown. His rise up the professional ranks wasn’t straightforward. Neither was his descent.
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Rocky Ros Muc is Seán Mannion’s story. His life and boxing career. The ups and downs of both. A story of survival. Of determination, honour and strength. A story about identity and community. Not just for Seán Mannion, but for the thousands of emigrants like him.
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Rocky Ros Muc is produced by Below The Radar TV.