The Outsider (1979)

the outsiderThe Outsider is an independent Dutch-American film, directed by Tony Luraschi and released in 1979. It stars Craig Wasson as Michael Flaherty, Sterling Hayden as Seamus Flaherty and Patricia Quinn as Siobhan. The Outsider is based on a novel called The Heritage of Michael Flaherty, written by American journalist Colin Leinster. In the film Flaherty is a young Vietnam veteran living in Detroit. Flaherty has struggled to come to terms both with the outcomes of the Vietnam War and his involvement in it; he is in search of an honourable struggle. Flaherty is captivated by his grandfather Seamus’ stories of service with the first IRA, fighting the British to create a free republic. With a romanticised view of the IRA, and without fully understanding the situation in Northern Ireland, Flaherty travels to Belfast to volunteer with the Republican movement.

Flaherty arrives in the city in 1973. He connects with Provisional IRA commanders, who send him to a ‘safe house’ and tell him to await orders. Those in the IRA are divided over how best to use Flaherty. Some want to use his military experience in operations. Scheming IRA commanders in Dublin would prefer to see Flaherty killed by the British; this would create an American martyr and boost the IRA’s fundraising in the United States. In a similar vein, the British Army circulates false information that Flaherty is a spy, hoping the IRA will execute him themselves. While these other men discuss his fate, Flaherty decides to act after a young boy is shot and killed by British soldiers. Now stripped of his naivety about the IRA and their struggle, Flaherty finally learns that he has become a pawn in a much larger game.

The Outsider is one of cinema’s most effective representations of the Troubles. Its depiction of early 1970s Belfast is particularly strong. The city is painted as gloomy and foreboding, a place where war and violence have became part of the routine. The people of Belfast go about their business amid armed soldiers, checkpoints and body searches. Children gather in backstreets to discuss bomb-making instead of football. Combatants and bystanders are less shocked by death and violence than they ought to be. Neither the IRA or the British Army are portrayed with glory or favour: both organisations are more concerned with strategy and outcomes than the moral implications of killing. The film’s overarching message is that sectarian violence has become ingrained in Northern Ireland, and that the Troubles will not be ended with simple solutions.

the outsider
In this scene from The Outsider, IRA volunteers set up a bomb at a military checkpoint

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This page was written by Jennifer Llewellyn and Steve Thompson. To reference this page, use the following citation:
J. Llewellyn and S. Thompson, “The Outsider (1979)”, Alpha History, accessed [today’s date], https://alphahistory.com/northernireland/the-outsider-1979/.