Black Day at Black Rock

The community of Black Rock is divided by the news that the town is soon to become home to 30 asylum seekers. A town meeting hears the concerns of those with complaints of ‘lack of consultation’ and fear of ‘murdering rapists’ and from others who are looking forward to ‘something different – a bit of craic’.

Gerard Stembridge’s 2001 film perfectly echoes ongoing events in a small midlands town when inhabitants insisted that their objection to the arrival of 80 asylum seekers at a local hotel (twice targeted by arsonists) was motivated not by racism but by concern about inadequate infrastructure. Stembridge’s wry social satire is well-served by an assured comedic cast including Pauline McLynn, Don Wycherly and Des Keogh.