Script File

The Fighting Irish

The hardest fights are the ones closest to home.

The Fighting Irish is a compelling coming-of-age drama that follows Sean O’Malley, a young Irish-American film student living in Ireland, who stumbles upon a nearly forgotten tradition where sons fight their fathers as a rite of passage. As Sean documents this obscure practice for his thesis film, he embarks on a deeply personal journey to find his estranged father and confront the complexities of identity, legacy, and family. Blending dark comedy with heartfelt drama, The Fighting Irish explores the lengths we go to reconcile with our past and the battles that shape who we are.

  • David West
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay, Treatment
  • Genres:
    meta-comedy, comedy, drama, coming of age, road-trip movie, satire, film-within-a-film
  • Number of Pages:
    112
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • The Red Brick Film Road Film Festival
    October 13, 2024
    Best Feature Script
Writer Biography - David West

David West is a passionate screenwriter and director with a deep love for storytelling that captures the essence of the human experience. He graduated from Prague Film School, where he honed his craft in creating compelling narratives that resonate with audiences.

West’s work blends drama, humor, and cultural insights, producing stories that are both entertaining and thought-provoking. His latest project, The Fighting Irish, is a feature film script exploring themes of family, tradition, and identity against the backdrop of a unique Irish rite of passage.

From 2006 to 2019, West lived across three continents, drawing inspiration from his diverse experiences to enrich his writing. His global perspective allows him to create stories that appeal to a broad audience while staying true to the core of human experience.

When he’s not writing, West is actively involved in the filmmaking community, always seeking opportunities to bring meaningful stories to life on screen.

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Writer Statement

The Fighting Irish is a deeply personal project that stems from a unique intersection of cultural curiosity, personal experience, and the love of storytelling. As someone who has spent years living across different continents—each with its own rich tapestry of traditions, histories, and myths—I’ve always been fascinated by the stories that define a people, especially those that blur the lines between reality and fiction. This fascination took root in the most unexpected way during my time as a film student in Prague when I was introduced to the fictional Irish tradition of Troid Athar—a ritualistic fight between father and son on the latter’s 21st birthday.

At the time, I was a struggling film student, overwhelmed by the pressures of creating meaningful work without the financial backing or social ease that seemed to come so naturally to others. This made me deeply identify with Sean, the protagonist of The Fighting Irish. Like Sean, I too felt like an outsider navigating the complexities of identity and ambition. The story of Troid Athar, which I initially believed to be true, became a symbol of my own internal struggles—a fight to define myself in a world that often felt alien and unwelcoming. The Fighting Irish is a coming of age story and a film within a film, captured through the lens of a student film crew.

The Fighting Irish serves as both a love letter to Ireland’s rich cultural heritage and a satire of the lengths to which we go to define our identities, often through the most absurd and improbable of traditions. Inspired by the likes of Borat, What We Do in the Shadows, and This Is Spinal Tap, the aim is to create a film that is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. It challenges viewers to question the authenticity of cultural narratives and to reflect on the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. Every location featured in this film holds personal significance for me. During my years in Ireland, I hitchhiked across the island, absorbing the landscape and its stories, both real and imagined. These experiences are woven into the fabric of the film, making it as much about the journey through Ireland’s geography as it is about the exploration of its cultural psyche.

This story also represents a full-circle moment for me. It began as a 48-hour film project in 2013, a small idea born out of a playful myth, and has grown into something far more significant—a reflection on fatherhood, identity, and the often humorous, sometimes painful process of coming of age. In Sean’s journey, I see my own, and through his eyes, I hope the audience will see a bit of themselves.

Ultimately, The Fighting Irish is about the stories we inherit, the ones we create, and the ones that shape us, even if they’re not entirely true. My hope is that audiences will be entertained, moved, and maybe even inspired to question the narratives that define their own lives.

— David West