Music
27 Aug 15

Colm Meaney set to play Martin McGuinness in The Journey

Colm Meaney set to play Martin McGuinness in <i>The Journey</i>

The upcoming film will focus on the unlikely friendship forged between McGuinness and Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley.

In what is sure to be one of the most improbable buddy-movies of recent years, Colm Meaney and Timothy Spall will appear as the formerly fiercely opposed politicians turned political partners.
The new project, written by County Down novelist and screenwriter Colin Bateman and directed by Killing Bono helmer Nick Hamm, tells the story of a fictional road trip undertaken by McGuinness and Paisley that sews the seed of friendship between Ireland's original Odd Couple.
In May it had been reported that the film was to star the implausibly handsome duo of Kenneth Branagh and Liam Neeson, as Paisley and McGuinness respectively. It must be said that the casting of Meaney and Spall is entirely more believable – unless there is some unexpected plot twist involving some action set-pieces we have yet to hear about.
Production on The Journey is expected to begin in Northern Ireland and Scotland in September.

In the mean time here are some links from the archive including a recent interview with Colm Meaney

and a 2011 interview with Martin McGuinness and Olaf Tyaransen.