The Banshees of Inisherin · written by Martin McDonagh · 2022

At Mass, islanders gossip about Padraic and his donkey until Colm tells them to stop.

Scene 46 of 174 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act one

Male Islander 1
Female Islander 1 *
Female Islander 2 *
Padraic
Siobhan
Colm

Act oneAct two

Begins 25 min into a 1:35 film

The story so farBefore scene 46

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.
Just before
Scene 43
Islanders walk toward church in the dawn.
Scene 44
Peadar welcomes the priest off the boat and escorts him toward church.
Scene 45
Padraic and Siobhan find bruised Dominic; he asks to stay after Peadar beat him.
Scene 46
This scene

46INT. CHURCH - DAY

Church full of ISLANDERS, as the PRIEST says Mass in Latin. SIOBHAN bored, PADRAIC keeping a surreptitious eye on COLM, a few pews ahead, who never looks back at him.

But now PADRAIC has started noticing people glancing at him & looking sheepishly away, as well as hearing snippets of conversation, such as...

MALE ISLANDER 1

Aye, stopped speaking to him.

Overnight, like.

FEMALE ISLANDER 1 *

Aye, but wouldn’t you, like?

Muffled laughter, coming from different places. Then...

FEMALE ISLANDER 2 *

Well he was always a bit that way

though, wasn’t he?

FEMALE ISLANDER 1 *

He was, he was.

PADRAIC

A bit what way?!

SIOBHAN

Hah?

The PRIEST continues, muffling any further chat, until...

FEMALE ISLANDER 2 *

Him and his little donkey!

PADRAIC

(loudly)

What about me little donkey?! No. What

about me little donkey?!

The whole church and even the PRIEST go quiet, and in the pause after, without COLM even looking round...

COLM

Stop talking about him.

After another tense pause, the PRIEST continues with the mass.