Nuala: A Life and Death

Directed by Kate O'Callaghan

In her late 50s Nuala O'Faolain wrote a memoir that sold a million copies and shocked the Irish public with its revelations of her sexual history and the bizarre manner of upbringing. She was a woman of many, contradictory parts: the enthusiastic heterosexual whose most lasting relationship was with a radical lesbian activist; the feminist who adored a father who openly betrayed her mother and neglected his family. In 2008 she transfixed Ireland again when, ravaged by cancer, she turned to her friend and radio host Marian Finucane to talk frankly about her impending death. 'Nuala' is Finucane's journey of discovery into her friend's life as well as a raw and vivid testimony to the enduring power of friendship.