For Those I Love shares Holy Trinity live film, announces UK tour dates

For Those I Love, the brainchild of Dublin producer/songwriter David Balfe, has shared a 17-minute short film shot at the home of Shelbourne F.C., titled Holy Trinity.

Directed by award-winning Irish director Hugh Mulhern (Fontaines D.C., Inhaler), the endlessly poignant piece contains both a narrative storyline as well as live performances from David, set in Tolka Park.

Balfe released his debut album to significant public and critical acclaim last month, landing the No. 2 spot in the Official Irish Albums Chart the week of its release. At its core, the self-titled album pays tribute to Dave’s best friend and former bandmate, Paul Curran, who passed away in 2018. Following Paul’s tragic death, Dave locked himself away in his home studio for months, ultimately recording over 76 songs that would eventually be condensed down to form the basis of his debut album.

Holy Trinity speaks great truths of friendships, hurt and grief, the power of empathy and community in times of loss, and sees David perform three of the most personal pieces from the record.

The performance features the LP's motif and beating heart in 'I Have A Love', 'The Myth / I Don't' and the LP's penultimate track 'You Live / No One Like You':

You live in every twist and turn at Shels,
Alan Byrne head the ball,
And all the glory and hell,
And at times we win as well.

Still sit in your spot at the New Stand,
Watch the young ultras throw cans
And get banned,
Beside old men smoking subpar soapbar hash,
As we look out onto the field
Where we laid your ash.

Speaking about the astonishing film's production, David said:

"For me, collaboration has always been based on trust. So much of this project was spent sharing memories of my life over Zoom, and listening to Hugh share his. That's the lifeblood, where the trust is built, and I'm glad it was. I feel like we helped each other see the world anew."

It's that trust that built the groundwork for the patience and comfort on set," Balfe added.

"That trust took away the fear of sharing this pain on film. That trust helped me feel cared for while still being a subject, not the easiest thing to do. That trust is what I'm most proud of here. As the myth goes, the public presence of this album can be traced back to Hugh. How beautiful it feels to make things full circle and cap this record off together."

Hugh Mulhern also spoke of his inspiration and direction for the piece, stating that his intention was to provide the same space for grief:

“While the album is about Paul, I wanted to provide a wider context of loss in the film. On a personal level, it provided me with something massive."

"My uncle Kieran appears in this film talking about my Dad, Mick and my uncle John. John left us this year and I couldn’t go home with lockdown. I think grief never leaves you, it just changes shape and size. When I find it in a particularly pointed form, For Those I Love is something I’ve found a release in."

"We didn't lose Mick or John to suicide but their deaths were a direct result of their battles with alcoholism, Hugh continues.

"Our lead actor Tony Doyle drew on his own experience getting sober and losing friends to suicide. It's hard not to see how they all correlate. It's hard not to see the impact of a collective intergenerational trauma and for me not to acknowledge [the deaths of] Jack, John, Mick and Paul as symptoms of a deeply rooted problem in Irish society. I wanted this film to focus on those left behind, because that's all who’s left. Although this piece is an exploration of pain I wanted there to be hope in its conclusion. I believe we can only make the world a better place than we left it by imagining it as so.”

The self-titled debut album from For Those I Love is out now on September Recordings. Read the Hot Press review of the work by Tanis Smither here, along with Stuart Clarke's interview with David Balfe in our current issue - out now.

Watch the brand new short film below:

As well as the release of Holy Trinity, and after selling out Dublin’s prestigious Olympia Theatre in a matter of hours, For Those I Love has also announced his first ever UK live dates.

UK tickets go on-sale at 9am tomorrow (Friday, April 23rd).

David will play the following shows in October:

October 17th - Audio, Glasgow
October 20th - Courtyard Theatre, London
October 21st - Courtyard Theatre, London
October 23rd - Louisiana, Bristol
October 24th - Deaf Institute, Manchester