| Director | John Boorman |
|---|---|
| Genre | biographical film, crime film, drama film, film based on book, heist film |
| Runtime | 124 min |
| Country | Ireland, United Kingdom |
| Box office | $3.8 million |
On August 18, 1994, Martin Cahill leaves his home in Cowper Downs, Rathmines. He is ambushed by an assassin, who escapes on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice. As his family grieve, his Garda nemesis, Inspector Ned Kenny, arrives to see his corpse removed from the scene.
In the 1950s, a young Cahill and his siblings engage in theft to supplement their family's meagre income. He is caught by a Garda as he attempts a theft from a butcher's shop, and is incarcerated in an industrial school.
By the early 1980s, Cahill is released from prison and returns to his home at the run-down Hollyfield Buildings in Rathmines. Dublin Corporation is in the process of demolishing the buildings, something which Cahill opposes in the courts. Garda Sergeant Ned Kenny assists the Corporation in evicting current residents, and attempts to get Cahill to leave peacefully.
After the demolition of the buildings, Cahill moves a caravan onto the site. The caravan is subsequently burned out. Cahill then erects a tent and continues to prevent construction of new houses. He backs down when Dublin Corporation provide him with a new home in Rathmines.
Cahill purchases a new home in an upscale area for £80,000, turning his cash into a bank draft at a local bank. He then instructs his gang to rob the bank, while he is inside the police station acorss the street, humiliating the newly promoted Inspector Ned Kenny.
Cahill and his associate Noel Curley commit an armed robbery of a video arcade. They are arrested and face trial. During the trial, Cahill attempts numerous tactics to get acquitted, including attempting to kill the State's chief forensic scientist with a car bomb. After the State fails to prove that Cahill and Curley put the victim of the armed robbery in fear of her life, they are acquitted.
Cahill and his gang plan and commit a robbery of O'Connor's jewellery factory in Harold's Cross. It is the largest robbery in the history of the State, with the haul valued at over £2,000,000. The gang sells the haul to a fence from London. When a gold bar from the haul goes missing in transport, Cahill blames the driver of the truck. Cahill tortures the driver in the back room of a pool hall, eventually nailing the driver's hands to a pool table. Cahill later takes the driver to hospital for treatment, convinced of his innocence.
The IRA, who had previously attempted to rob O'Connor's, demand half of the proceeds from Cahill's successful robbery. Cahill refuses. The IRA then form a group calling itself "Concerned Parents Against Drugs" (CPAD) who attempt to intimidate Cahill and his gang. Cahill and his gang then form "Concerned Criminals Against Drugs" and repel CPAD.
Cahill and his gang then case Russborough House in County Wicklow. They then steal the Beit collection of paintings housed there. The gang successfully steal eighteen paintings, avoiding detection by an elaborate alarm system and armed members of the Gardaí.
Humiliated, the Gardaí form the "Tango Squad". Detectives and uniformed Gardaí engage in 24-hour surveillance of Cahill and his gang. He evades them temporarily, and engages with the UVF in order to sell the stolen paintings.
Investigators from Revenue attempt to interrogate Cahill at his home. He arranges to have their car burned out. Cahill later suffers a diabetic hypo.
His gang member Gary is later accused of raping his own daughter. Cahill attempts to bribe the young woman into silence. When this fails, he shoots Gary in the kneecap in an attempt to prevent the case going to court
News breaks of Cahill's involvement with the UVF and the selling of the stolen Beit paintings. The Gardaí surveilling him are disgusted and launch rocks at him
The film ends with the assassination of Cahill outside his home, with the IRA claiming responsibility.