Ronan O'Leary

Writing

Ronan O'Leary

Known for

Writing

Credits

8 titles

Ronan O'Leary (born 1959) is an Irish film and TV director, writer and producer. He is best known for his contributions to independent cinema and his literary adaptations. He has directed adaptations of Riders to the Sea and Fragments of Isabella, and wrote Frankie Starlight (1995) starring Matt Dillion. He directed Driftwood (1997), which stars James Spader, and didn't direct another feature film until over two decades later with A Sunken Place (2023) which has not found a wide release as of yet.

Known for

Behind the camera

Driftwood poster
5.7

When Sarah walks alone along the desolate beach one day she find an unconscious man, who has been brought to land by the waves. When he awakens he doesn't remember anything. He has no name and no past. His dependence lies on Sarah. A role that makes her forget her loneliness and she decides to therefore lie about their situation... She says that they are situated on an island, where no one can reach them. From now, his life lies in her hands.

Driftwood

1997

Frankie Starlight poster
5.3

An Irish-American dwarf chronicles his post-World War II immigration with his mother and her affair with a married official.

Frankie Starlight

1995

No artwork available
9.0

Over lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel, an acquaintance tells the protagonist about his troubles.

Hello, Stranger

1992

No artwork available
NR

Maurya, who lives in a village on the coast of Ireland, has lost her husband, father-in-law, and five sons to the sea. With a sense of foreboding, she predicts that by nightfall she will have no living sons remaining.

Riders to the Sea

1987

No artwork available
NR

Maurya, who lives in a village on the coast of Ireland, has lost her husband, father-in-law, and five sons to the sea. With a sense of foreboding, she predicts that by nightfall she will have no living sons remaining.

Riders to the Sea

1987

Fragments of Isabella poster
NR

Told in a series of recollections, the film takes the form of a one woman narrative that tells the story of Isabella and her family suffering in Auschwitz, her survival, marriage and life in America after World War 2.

Fragments of Isabella

1985

Fragments of Isabella poster
NR

Told in a series of recollections, the film takes the form of a one woman narrative that tells the story of Isabella and her family suffering in Auschwitz, her survival, marriage and life in America after World War 2.

Fragments of Isabella

1985

No artwork available
NR

A young neurologist discovers a cure for depression, only to be opposed by a giant pharmaceutical corporation determined to destroy her.

A Sunken Place

2026