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film · Thursday 30 July 2026 · 8:00pm 
Gerry Adams: A Ballymurphy Man
At Mermaid Arts Centre · Main Street, Bray, Co. Wicklow
At Mermaid Arts Centre · Main Street, Bray, Co. Wicklow
Gerry Adams: A Ballymurphy Man screens at Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray on Thursday, 30 July 2026 at 8pm. Director Trisha Ziff spent five years interviewing the former Sinn Féin president for the documentary, tracing his path from early activism in west Belfast through his contested role in the Troubles to his part in shaping the Good Friday Agreement. It won Best International Documentary at the 2025 Galway Film Fleadh and runs 117 minutes, certified 12A.
Built from long-form interviews conducted over five years, the film lets Adams speak at length about his life rather than relying on archive footage and outside narration to tell the story. Reviewers have responded to that approach: The Irish Times gave it four stars, describing it as rooted in long-form interviews, and the Bray-based Echo newspaper also awarded four stars, calling it a fascinating look into a crucial Irish figure. The documentary does not shy away from the controversy that has followed Adams throughout his career, including his consistent denials of IRA membership, but sets it alongside his role in the peace process that led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. At 117 minutes it is a substantial sitting, screened in English and Irish, and works best for audiences with some existing interest in Northern Ireland’s recent political history.
Mermaid Arts Centre is on Main Street in Bray, a short walk from Bray Daly DART station and close to Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann stops in the town centre. Car parks are a few minutes’ walk from the venue for anyone driving from elsewhere in Wicklow.
A weeknight screening at the Mermaid is easy to combine with dinner on Main Street beforehand, and the DART puts Bray within easy reach of Dublin for the evening for anyone travelling down. There is more to see in Bray and across Co. Wicklow.
Heading to Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray? Wicklow has plenty more to see. Read the Bray area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.
In town for Mermaid Arts Centre? These Wicklow tours book out in summer.