Buried under concrete and controversy on the outskirts of Dublin lie the remains of Ireland’s ‘pop star priest’ - Father Michael Cleary.
In 1991 as a student Alison Millar moved into his house and started filming him. Fifteen years on using her unseen archive this film is the story of the secret life a man who fooled her, his family and an entire nation.
This film is a ‘paradox’ of the life and death of Father Michael Cleary - who at one time was the most powerful and charismatic figure in Catholic Ireland. Cleary was also known as the ‘Singing Priest’. He had two best selling albums and topped the bill at the Sydney Opera House and the Stardust Club in Las Vegas.
Well-known for his staunch Catholic views on sex, divorce and abortion it became clear after his death that he had lived a contradictory ‘secret life’ where his own housekeeper was his lover and mother of his children.
This film is an intimate examination of the human debris that the two sides of Cleary left behind including a son Ross. A moving and shocking portrait of a man trapped by the vows of celibacy as well as his own ego.
The Director Alison Millar and Ross Cleary will attend a Q&A after this film.
WINNER IFTA 2008 BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Dir. Alison Millar – 2007 - Ireland - 86 mins - Cert 15 - Alison Millar
