Chris O’Dowd is set to play Niall O’Dowd, the Tipperary-born founder of the Irish Voice newspaper and IrishCentral, in Terry George’s new political thriller "Ceasefire". The film is being lined up for Cannes sales and is due to shoot in Ireland later this year, bringing one of the best-known Irish American media figures into a major dramatization of the road to peace in Northern Ireland.
Niall O’Dowd, after moving to the United States, founded the Irish Voice and Irish America magazine before launching IrishCentral in 2009. In the film, Niall O’Dowd is central to the story of a secret back channel with the IRA and the Clinton administration, a high stakes effort that helped shape the peace process.
The cast is stacked with major names. Jane Fonda will play Jean Kennedy Smith, Ciarán Hinds will portray businessman Bill Flynn, John C Reilly is set as Bruce Morrison, and Tom Hollander has also joined the ensemble in a role that has not yet been confirmed.
The movie will dramatize events leading up to the Good Friday Agreement and described O’Dowd’s mission as one in which he “risks his life” to secure peace.
Terry George, whose credits include "In the Name of the Father" and "Hotel Rwanda", wrote the screenplay and will direct the film.
Founder of IrishCentral, Niall O'Dowd.
In a statement he said: “'Ceasefire' is about the fragile, dangerous, often invisible work required to end conflict. It’s about the belief that dialogue can triumph over violence. It’s a message and a story that is dramatic, moving and vital. I am honoured to tell it.”
Producers, Trevor Birney and Patrick O’Neill said: “The war in Northern Ireland was an intractable conflict. After 25-years, any hope for an end to the violence had all but gone. The story behind the process that led to peace is thrilling and emotional and a critical contemporary reminder that individuals - not governments - can bring about change that can save the lives of innocents caught up in a war they didn’t want. Terry is one of Ireland’s greatest filmmakers and he has assembled an amazing cast for the film. We are beyond excited to be going into production on 'Ceasefire' later this year.”
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