Shaun O’Connor & Alan Daniel Tobin team up for film and music project The Consequences of Breaking the Heart

Filmmaker and writer Shaun O’Connor and singer-songwriter Alan Daniel Tobin (ADT) join forces to create a new multidisciplinary project of film and music, The Consequences of Breaking the Heart - An Irish Folk Tale.

The project is centred around folk tales of the Selkie - the mythological creature that turns from seal to human when it reaches land. Based on a script by award-winning screenwriter Paul Cahill, the story follows Muirín and Tadhg, a young artsy couple living and working by the Irish coast. Muirín's sudden disappearance sets up a chain of events that leads to a remarkable discovery.

“Paul and I had initially planned the story as a short film. But when I heard Alan’s album, which is so influenced by the ocean and the coast, I immediately thought of how well-suited the story would be to one of the songs,” said O’Connor. “Even the title, The Consequences of Breaking the Heart, spoke so clearly to the tone and feel of the story. Paul and I went back to the script and restructured it to work in images only, and fit the lyrics of Alan’s song.

"Initially we had planned to shoot the music video last year, but Covid put it on the back burner for a while," the director continued. "As the restrictions lifted in the last few months it’s been such a joy to finally get back out into the world and make new work. The story’s theme of art being a sustenance in difficult times also felt even more pertinent after Covid.”

Shot in a number of stunning locations in West Cork including Lough Eyne and Inchydoney Beach; the film stars Elaine O Dwyer (Arracht), Barry McKiernan (Valhalla / The Bright Side), and Claire Loy (In Orbit / Crosshair) who plays the couple's friend Liz.

The film will premiere officially at Connolly’s of Leap, West Cork, on Saturday, 21st November, along with live performances of music from the film by ADT. The tickets are €16.50 and are on sale now.

The music and film will release worldwide on Tuesday, November 23rd.

Get your ticket for the film's debut here.