THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN

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NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

1923 – On the island of Inisherin, off the coast of Ireland, the Irish Civil War is going on. Padraic Suilleabhain (Colin Farrell) walks over to the home of his longtime friend Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson), knocking on the door but finding Colm simply sitting inside, smoking a cigar and ignoring Padraic. He returns home to his sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon), who asks if the two are in the middle of an argument, but Padraic denies it.

Padraic goes to the pub where he normally drinks with Colm, and the bartender Jonjo (Pat Shortt) also asks if he and Colm are at odds, but Padraic truly doesn’t know. He walks back to Colm’s house and finds it empty except for Colm’s dog, and Padraic sees Colm walking away from the house. Padraic returns to the pub to find Colm there, but he doesn’t want to sit near Padraic. Colm goes outside to sit, but Padraic confronts him and asks if it was something he did or said to make Colm angry at him. Colm says that Padraic neither said or did anything, but he simply doesn’t like him anymore. As Padraic starts walking away, he is followed by a young man named Dominic Kearney (Barry Keoghan).

At night, Siobhan invites an odd local elder woman, Mrs. McCormick (Sheila Flitton) to the house for supper. She mentions something regarding Colm’s “sonny Larry”, which may be the source of Colm’s dismay. Colm returns to the pub at night where he plays the fiddle, while Padraic and Dominic are there on their own. Dominic drunkenly yells at Colm while he is playing a song, but the crowd ignores him and resumes the song. Dominic then brings Padraic back around to his place to sneak a bottle of liquor from Dominic’s father, local policeman Peadar (Gary Lydon), who fell asleep nude. They sit outside and drink until Dominic gets tired of Padraic talking about Colm.

The next morning, Padraic looks at the calendar and realizes the day before was April 1st, so he believes that Colm was playing an April Fools prank on him. When he tries to meet Colm at the pub again, Colm outright tells Padraic that he wants to stop being his friend because he is dull. Padraic talks about this with Siobhan, who assures him that he is simply a nice guy on an island with few nice people. Siobhan attempts to intervene and speak to Colm, but he simply wishes for Padraic to leave him alone, as he feels he is at an age where he only has time for stimulating conversations.

Padraic and Siobhan are on their way to church when they see Dominic looking bruised and bloodied. He tells them that his father found out about the liquor bottle and beat him. Since he doesn’t want to return home, the siblings invite him to stay for the evening. When Dominic comes over for dinner, he bothers Siobhan with questions over why she never married.

Padraic approaches Colm again after hearing that he is working on a new tune, but Colm gets fed up and delivers an ultimatum to Padraic. If Padraic continues to pester him, Colm will take his sheep shears and cut off his own fingers from his fiddling hand and bring them to Padraic.

Padraic goes to the shop and talks to Mrs. O’Riordan (Brid Ni Neachtain), who complains that there is never any news going on. Peadar comes in, and Padraic openly mentions Peadar’s abuse of Dominic, and also mentions that the boy is with him and Siobhan. Peadar goes outside and punches Padraic in the face, then threatens him and Dominic before giving him another punch. Colm witnesses and has enough sympathy to help Padraic steer his carriage back. Padraic begins crying, at which point Colm excuses himself off the carriage to walk back home.

At night, Padraic goes to the pub where he gets very drunk and confronts Colm since he is sitting with Peadar. Padraic begins hurling insults until Dominic runs to get Siobhan to diffuse the situation. After she takes Padraic away, Colm admits that that was the most interesting Padraic has been in a long time.

The following day, Padraic finds Colm and his dog by the beach, where he tries to apologize for the drunken tirade, but Colm simply tells him to go away and is angry that he continues to disobey his request for distance. Later at home, Padraic and Siobhan overhear a loud thump at the door. Padraic sees Colm walking away. He looks outside and sees Colm’s severed index finger lying on the ground. Padraic brings it in to a horrified Siobhan, and he leaves it in a box. Siobhan takes the box and goes looking for Colm, asking what it will take for this whole feud to end, and Colm simply says he wants Padraic’s silence.

During the evening, Padraic is walking alone along the road when he spots Mrs. McCormick and hides from her. She sees him anyway and warns him that she foretells there will be a death, “maybe two”, on the island before the month is up.

Siobhan goes to the shop where she has a run-in with Peadar, who tells her to send Dominic back to his house. After an argument, Peadar tells Siobhan that nobody likes her because of how she is. This causes her to cry in bed at night.

At the pub, Padraic sees Colm with a young aspiring musician, Declan (Aaron Monaghan). On his way back home, Padraic offers Declan a lift and tells him a lie about how his father was hit by a bread van (which is apparently the same way Declan’s mother died), in an effort to get Declan to leave the island.

Dominic goes by the water to find Siobhan. He makes an awkward attempt to ask her to be in a relationship with him, but she gently turns him down, which leaves him disappointed.

Padraic comes across Colm in his house again. He tells Padraic that he has finished his song, which he titled “The Banshees of Inisherin”, mainly because he likes the “double SH” sounds. When it seems as though Colm is ready to bury the hatchet, Padraic admits that he lied to Declan to get him to leave. After Padraic leaves, Colm eyes the shears, which his dog tries to hide, but Colm grabs them.

Padraic runs into Siobhan, who has decided to leave the island and hop on a boat. As they walk back to the house, they see Colm with his left hand now completely bloodied and fingerless, as he threw his remaining digits at the siblings house. Padraic helps Siobhan get her things and bids her farewell, but when he returns to the house, he finds that his beloved donkey Jenny has died after trying to eat one of Colm’s fingers. Padraic is devastated and buries Jenny.

Padraic goes to the pub to confront Colm one more time and tell him about Jenny, for which Colm is genuinely sorry. Padraic threatens to burn Colm’s house down the next day at 2:00. When Peadar comes in to bother Padraic, Colm punches him in the face, but Padraic is still set on going through with his threat.

The next day, Padraic gathers wood and kerosene along with his lanterns, and he rides his carriage to Colm’s house. He looks inside and doesn’t see Colm in there, but he moves the dog away from the house. Padraic spreads the wood and douses them with kerosene before lighting it on fire.

Padraic receives a letter from Siobhan, as she has already secured herself a job and invites Padraic to join her. He writes back saying that he cannot go because he needs to tend to the other animals that they had, especially since Dominic was found dead in the river. Mrs. McCormick brings Peadar to show him the body when he was on his way to beat on Padraic, and he looks distraught at the sight of his son’s body (Padraic tells Siobhan that he slipped but it is possible he committed suicide).

Colm’s house burns until little of it remains. Padraic goes by the beach with the dog and sees Colm standing there. The dog runs back to his owner, and Padraic follows, annoyed that Colm got out of the house. Colm asks if this means that they are even, but Padraic says that they would have been even if Colm was dead. When Padraic starts walking away, Colm thanks him for looking after the dog, to which Padraic says “Any time”. He continues walking away, with Mrs. McCormick watching everything from a distance.


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On the island of Inisherin in 1923 during the Irish Civil War, longtime best friends Padraic Suilleabhain and Colm Doherty have a falling out when Colm decides he doesn't want to be friends anymore because he finds Padraic to be too dull. Despite Padraic's efforts to mend fences, along with help from his sister Siobhan and local boy Dominic, Colm insists he is done with Padraic. When Padraic becomes too persistent, Colm issues an ultimatum - if Padraic doesn't stop bothering him, Colm will sever his own fingers and deliver them to Padraic.

Colm follows through on his threats when Padraic continues to pester him. Padraic also gets into it with local policeman Peadar, who is Dominic's father that abuses him. Siobhan leaves Inisherin after feeling stuck there, and Padraic is left alone when his beloved donkey Jenny chokes and dies after trying to eat one of Colm's fingers. In retaliation, Padraic sets fire to Colm's house but rescues his dog, and Colm also leaves the house before he perishes. Dominic's body is also found in the water, though it is unclear if he slipped or committed suicide.

Padraic and Colm continue to hold animosity for one another and remain with their grudge, but Colm thanks Padraic for taking care of his dog.