The Banshees of Inisherin · written by Martin McDonagh · 2022

Padraic feeds his animals as Siobhan’s letter describes life on the mainland.

Scene 146 of 174 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act three

Siobhan

Act oneAct two

Begins 1:26 into a 1:35 film

The story so farBefore scene 146

In 1923 on Inisherin, Padraic tries to restore his friendship with Colm after Colm suddenly cuts him off, but Colm’s escalating demand for solitude draws their neighbors into a costly feud.

Scenes 1–14
Padraic inhabits an easy routine of animals, home, pub, and daily companionship with Colm.
Scenes 15–40
Colm’s rejection exposes Padraic’s dependence on the friendship and raises the possibility that his easy manner is part of the problem.
Scenes 41–50
Padraic asks the priest to put in a word; Colm then gives Padraic a concrete threat against further contact.
Scenes 51–79
Padraic navigates gossip, violence, loneliness, and attempted apologies while trying to understand Colm’s terms.
Scenes 80–91
Colm’s first missing finger makes his demand for silence undeniable; Siobhan returns the finger and asks what would end the feud.
Scenes 92–128
The cost accumulates through more self-mutilation, Padraic’s cruelty, Siobhan’s departure, and the feud’s growing consequences.
Scene 129
Padraic finds Jenny dead after Colm’s thrown fingers reach the house, making the feud’s cost intimate and irreversible.
Scene 137
After Jenny’s death, Padraic rejects Colm’s offered truce and promises to burn his house, choosing retaliation.
Just before
Scene 143
Colm notices Padraic’s silence during the hymn.
Scene 144
Padraic leaves church without greeting the priest.
Scene 145
Colm confesses to pride, self-mutilation, and accidental killing of Jenny.
Scene 146
This scene

146EXT. PADRAIC’S HOUSE - DAY

The donkey’s grave in the background, PADRAIC feeds and waters the pony, the cows & the calf. He gives them loads, and he gives the cows & calf a pat and a kiss goodbye & they seem to know something is up.

Over all this, and over the following sections of montage, we hear a letter that SIOBHAN has written, or is writing to him.

SIOBHAN (V.O.)

Dear Padraic, I am safely ensconced on

the mainland, and Padraic it’s lovely

here. There’s a river running past my

window as I write, and the people

already seem less bitter and mental.

I’m not sure why, but I think it’s

because a lot of them are from Spain. *