Dark Lies the Island (2019): Cast, Plot & Streaming Guide

Every family has a messy side, but few get theirs turned into a darkly comic film. Dark Lies the Island, released in 2019, puts the Mannion clan’s dysfunction on screen over one fractious week in a small Irish town — directed by Ian Fitzgibbon and adapted by Kevin Barry from his own short stories.

Release Year: 2019 ·
Director: Ian Fitzgibbon ·
Genre: Comedy / Drama ·
Setting: Fictional Irish town of Dromord ·
Based On: Short stories by Kevin Barry ·
Age Rating: 15+ (UK) / 16+ (Ireland)

Seven details, one pattern: nearly every reliable fact about this film circles back to the same small Irish pocket — the cast, the source material, and the setting all come from one storytelling tradition.

Where Was Dark Lies the Island Filmed?

The film was shot in Ireland — the Country row above reflects how the catalogs file it — and the story unfolds in the fictional town of Dromord, a place that deliberately feels like any small Irish town and none in particular. TheTVDB’s listing anchors the production to that invented setting rather than to recognizable landmarks (TheTVDB (television database)).

The implication: the filmmakers chose a fictional town on purpose. By keeping Dromord generic, they keep the focus on the family, not on postcard scenery.

Cast of Dark Lies the Island

Rotten Tomatoes lists the core ensemble as Peter Coonan, Charlie Murphy, Moe Dunford, Pat Shortt, and Tommy Tiernan (Rotten Tomatoes (critic-aggregation site)). That’s a cast of Irish comedy and drama regulars, and the film leans on them hard to sell the shift from laughter to menace.

Lead Actors in Dark Lies the Island

• Peter Coonan
• Charlie Murphy
• Moe Dunford
• Pat Shortt
• Tommy Tiernan

Apple TV’s listing confirms the same core names and adds Jana Mohieden to the credited cast (Apple TV (streaming storefront)). That doubling of sources matters here: when a database and a storefront agree on the five leads, the cast list is the most settled part of the film’s public record.

What this means: the casting is built for range. Every one of these actors can play warm and threatening in the same scene, which is exactly the register the Mannion feud demands.

What Is the Plot of Dark Lies the Island?

The setup is compact: the Mannion family’s long-running feud reaches a breaking point over the course of a week in the small Irish town of Dromord. TheTVDB’s listing describes the story as a dysfunctional family feud with criminal activity running through it (TheTVDB (television database)). Kevin Barry adapted the screenplay from his own short-story collection, so the film carries the same offbeat voice as the book (see the Source Material row above).

The implication: the week-long compression is the film’s engine. A longer timeline would dilute the grudges; one week forces every conflict to collide.

Is Dark Lies the Island Streaming?

The short answer: yes, but on a rental-and-purchase model, not a guaranteed subscription slot. Rotten Tomatoes’ current listing points to Fandango at Home (Rotten Tomatoes (critic-aggregation site)) for rental and digital purchase, and Apple TV also carries the film with its full cast listed (Apple TV (streaming storefront)).

The trade-off: rental-first availability means you pay per watch, but it also means the title stays findable once a platform picks it up.

Dark Lies the Island Parents Guide and Age Rating

IMDb’s parental guide assigns a 16 certificate in Ireland and a 15 in the United Kingdom (IMDb (film database)). The content behind those numbers includes sexual references, violence, and the dark family drama at the heart of the Mannion feud — the usual triggers for a hard-15 or 16 rating.

• Ireland: 16 certificate
• United Kingdom: 15 certificate
• Tone: dark comedy built on family dysfunction and criminal behavior

Why this matters: the certificates do the gatekeeping for you. Treat 15 and 16 as the realistic floor for teen viewing, not a suggestion.

Confirmed Facts and What’s Still Unclear

Research on a small Irish indie is a patchwork: strong database entries, thin official record. Here’s the split, with sources cited in the snapshot and table above.

Confirmed facts

• 2019 Irish comedy-drama directed by Ian Fitzgibbon
• Core cast: Peter Coonan, Charlie Murphy, Moe Dunford, Pat Shortt, Tommy Tiernan
• Adapted from Kevin Barry’s short-story collection of the same name

What’s unclear

• Premiere date: Wikipedia says February 27 at the Dublin Film Festival; KinoMania lists March 10 as the world premiere
• Runtime: 87 minutes appears in KinoMania (Russian film catalog) but isn’t confirmed by other major databases
• Streaming placement varies by region; rental and purchase are the reliable routes

The catch: with modest database coverage, the film’s official record stays thinner than its storytelling deserves. The confirmed facts are solid; the edges — premiere timing, runtime, full locations — remain soft.

Key Quotes and Context

Three sources capture the film’s tone better than any plot summary: an academic review, a platform, and a database.

…this godless hole of a place.

Estudios Irlandeses — academic journal of Irish studies

The Mannion clan’s internal conflicts unfold over one week in the Irish town of Dromord.

Moviepilot (German film platform)

A dysfunctional family feud and criminal activity in the Mannion family.

TheTVDB (television database)

What these voices share: the town is the pressure cooker. The Mannions are just the family unlucky enough to live in it.

The takeaway: Dark Lies the Island earns its comedy-drama label the hard way — one scene can shift from farce to menace without warning, and the one-week structure keeps the Mannion feud from relaxing. Pat Shortt’s performance as the patriarch anchors the volatile ensemble, and for anyone planning a film night in Ireland or the UK, the decision is clear: confirm the title on Fandango at Home or Apple TV before you commit, or you’ll be left chasing a listing that looks available but doesn’t say where.

Frequently asked questions

One more note: Pat Shortt and Peter Coonan anchor a film where the 16 certificate and the rental-first release are the two details most likely to change your viewing plans.