UK Premiere: Daniel O’Connell: The Emancipator with Q&A from Ruán Magan

In 2025, Ireland and the world will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Daniel O’Connell – a visionary statesman, reformer, and champion of human rights. To mark the occasion, a powerful new documentary, Daniel O’Connell: The Emancipator, will be released, offering a fresh exploration of the life and enduring impact of one of Ireland’s greatest figures.

The release of Daniel O’Connell: The Emancipator will form part of a year-long programme of commemorations honouring O’Connell’s 250th anniversary, inviting audiences to reflect on how his vision for justice and democracy continues to shape our world.

This one-hour documentary, produced by Create One traces O’Connell’s journey from Kerry lawyer to global advocate for justice. Known as The Liberator, he secured Catholic Emancipation, pioneered non-violent mass political mobilisation, and inspired democratic movements around the world.

The documentary, written and directed by Ruán Magan and narrated by Domhnall Gleeson, features insights from leading historians and scholars, including Mary McAleese, Declan Kiberd, Jay Rosman, Patrick Geoghegan, Niamh Gallagher and Chanté Mouton-Kinyon, newly uncovered archival material and an original score by Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Daniel O’Connell: The Emancipator reveals how O’Connell’s campaigns reshaped Ireland’s political and cultural landscape and positioned him as a model for later figures, including Frederick Douglass, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr.

“Daniel O’Connell was not only a transformative leader for Ireland,” said director, Ruán Magan. “His ideas and methods reverberated far beyond his time, influencing struggles for liberty, inclusion, and equality that continue today. This film seeks to reintroduce him to a new generation.”

Special Gala Screenings will take place at the Cork International Film Festival, Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, RIAM in Dublin, Tralee’s Siamsa Tíre and the Irish Cultural Centre London. The documentary will air on RTÉ 1 on 28 December.

This is a Create One production, in association with RTÉ, University of Notre Dame and University College Cork, with the support of the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.