With an inescapable influx of incredible Irish language films in the last number of years, not least Arracht and An Cailín Ciúin, there’s a new dog in town (sorry, we had to). Róise & Frank is a heartwarming, poignant tale of a woman shattered by the loss of her husband. Stuck in a rut of grief in her hometown of Ring, Co. Waterford, Róise’s monotonous daily routine is interrupted by the appearance of a mysterious dog, whose habits and interests greatly resemble those of her deceased spouse.

Written and directed by Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy, and produced by Macalla, Róise & Frank will be hitting Irish cinemas on September 16. The heartwarming flick premiered at the Virgin Dublin Film Festival 2022, where it won the audience award, before scooping more accolades at various international film festivals.

Hot Press sat down with Róise herself, portrayed by brilliant Connemara native Bríd Ní Neachtáin.

Having spent years working in the Irish theatre world, the Abbey included, Bríd landed a role in Brian Friel’s original, widely acclaimed 1990 play Dancing At Lughnasa as Rose Mundy. She remained a member of the Abbey Actors until the late ‘90s, when she left to work on TG4 soap Ros na Rún. Ní Neachtáin also starred in an adaptation of Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s 1948 novel, Cré na Cille. However, Róise & Frank was a new challenge entirely.

'Róise & Frank' still.

“I spoke to the writer and co-director, Rachael Maguire, about a year before I saw the script,” she explains. “When she told me her idea about the dog, I was curious to see where it went. The end result explores how the protagonist Róise deals, or doesn’t deal, with grief. We all go through this at one point or another, so I tried to make it as truthful as possible.

“I think it was the suddenness of Frank’s death for Róise that was so difficult to bear. In the back story, he got sepsis. The story begins after his death, when her life has stopped. It’s the loneliness, the emptiness, the silence. The couple were quite a strong presence in the community. It’s a small place, everybody knows everybody. Frank was the personality, as such.

“When he died, part of Róise just locked herself away. The relationship with her son Alan is rekindled throughout the film. She realises there’s a lot of positivity in her life.”

What about Frank’s family?

“They’ve all closed themselves off entirely,” Bríd replies. “Her son is concentrating on his work as a GP and his baby daughter, but Róise is just hibernating in her house, except for going to the shop. In a small area, you can’t really hide from anything.”

A Galway native, Ní Neachtáin was raised bilingual before she relocated to Dublin.

“I’ve been based here for years at this stage,” she explains. “My first love was theatre, I’m really just dipping my toes into film in the last while. That being said, I’m from Connemara, so I’d know about close-knit communities. I grew up in an Irish-speaking home, but my mother was very adamant that we spoke English in case we needed to travel. It was more of a bilingual house because my father and grandfather spoke Irish. The language was all around us.”

How did the Gaeilge of Ring compare to that of Connemara?

“There are different canúintí (dialects) but you listen to the locals,” says Brid. “I didn’t want to hone in too much on that, because I wanted it to be universal. The work had been done for us in terms of translation and the script, so we didn’t have to do much correction. Rachael and Peter speak Irish and they were very careful about getting the language right.

“Irish film is definitely growing. We’re only starting. People will look at the language in a different way from cinema, where you can see the community and hear Irish being spoken. It’s very lyrical, Irish has beautiful musicality. It’s better than watching your grammatical mistakes or having it drilled into you in a classroom. Róise & Frank also brings a fun, family-friendly element into it with the hurling lessons.”

The endearing young boy Frank mentors at hurling, Maidhchí, is portrayed perfectly by newcomer Ruadhán de Faoite.

“Wasn’t he wonderful?” Bríd beams, proudly. “He was 14 and had never acted before. He was so professional. When it was shown at the Virgin Media Dublin Film Festival, Ruadhán was practically taller than me. We see how his character comes out of his shell after he was bullied a bit. There’s a flowering in all of the characters in different ways.

“For example, I don’t think Róise had connected with her grandchild before the end. Her life was wrapped up in Frank. As she moves on, she’ll be stronger because she found her own voice. It’s the start of something great and the beginning of a different relationship with her son.”

It took time for the co-writers/directors to discover Barley, the professional dog that took on the role of Frank with charming ease. Had Bríd ever worked with animals before?

“I did a short film with a dog years and years ago, but nothing like this!” she laughs. “You wouldn’t want to be afraid of dogs for this gig. I have a dog now, a little puppy. We shot the movie in four weeks, it was tight. You didn’t have the time to get to know Barley, but he was just amazing. He was a working dog with a minder and he’d be on his mark.

“He had done a couple of movies before, but Barley was a rescue dog from Battersea Dogs Home. He was quite a clever dog and an agency spotted it. He goes home to a family after. They saw a lot of dogs for that role, but Rachael and Peter knew right away when they saw Barley.”

'Róise & Frank' still.

Arguably, Róise & Frank may resonate on a deeper level following a period of collective and individual grief brought on by the pandemic. To portray Róise, the actress had to delve deep into issues of reincarnation, faith and spirituality.

“The coincidences - the dog immediately sitting on Frank’s chair, going to his grave, the picnic spot; Róise found them strange but comforting,” Ní Neachtáin notes.

“Whether one believes that he’s actually come back or not, it’s allowed her to move on. I’m quite a spiritual person. Sometimes we see signs. For Róise, life changed in an instant. In spite of herself, the dog rekindled something in her, and with her son and grandchild. We lose ourselves sometimes, but a spark can bring us back. Róise is made of tough stuff.”

Bríd has a packed out schedule for the coming months, on stage and screen.

“I have a few scenes in the new Martin McDonagh film, Banshees Of Inisheer. I’m also about to start a theatre project in the Abbey for the Dublin Theatre Festival in two weeks’ time.  The stage keeps you oiled. You’re on your own, you have more control but it’s scarier. You’ve got another take in a movie. I was lucky to work on the Brian Friel play Dancing On Lughnasa on Broadway for five months.

“That was very special having him in the room. Working with Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Kerry Condon was amazing. That being said, working on Róise & Frank is an absolute highlight for me, career-wise.”

• Róise & Frank arrives in Irish cinemas on September 16.