Audrey O'Reilly

Audrey O'Reilly  (film director, screenwriter)

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi convicted, Bernt Carlsson murdered.

Audrey O'Reilly graduated from Ireland's National Film School in 1998, and has been working as a writer and director with increasing success ever since.

In April 2014, six-time Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan was reported to be working on a film about the Lockerbie bombing, according to The Hollywood Reporter (THR). The film will cover the aftermath of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town, which killed 270 people in 1988. Sheridan told THR his screenplay would examine the role of Jim Swire, the British doctor who became a leading campaigner for truth and justice after his daughter died in the attack. Swire met Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted of the bombing. Megrahi died in Libya in 2012 protesting his innocence, and Swire is said to have believed him:

"It's a drama basically looking at the effect on a family of terrorism," said Sheridan, who is working on a screenplay with Ireland's Audrey O'Reilly. "It was this weird thing where you think you've found the person who killed your daughter, and then Jim ended up in the cell looking after him – because he's a doctor and the guy wasn't well – and it's obvious as the nose on your face that Megrahi didn't do it."

The Al-Jazeera documentary Lockerbie: What Really Happened? reported in March 2014 that Iran ordered the attack to be carried out in retaliation for the "accidental" shooting down of Iran Air Flight 655 by US navy forces in July 1988. Former Iranian intelligence official Abolghasem Mesbahi, who has defected to Germany, said the attack was carried out by the Syrian-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -General Command on Tehran's behalf:

"It's scary what they didn't reveal to us at the time," said Jim Sheridan. "It doesn't really matter, the people are dead and you can't bring them back to life. But in the future we need clear investigations of these things, or else you're going to end up with flight MH370."

The Irish film-maker is best known for the Oscar-winning drama "My Left Foot" and historical piece "In the Name of the Father", both of which starred Daniel Day-Lewis. He said his Lockerbie film would "definitely happen in the next few years".

On 21 October 2015, Audrey's sister Avril tweeted: Irish Film director Jim Sheridan will be having a reading of his new #Lockerbie play on November 14th at the Dublin Arabic Film Festival.

Award-winner

In 1998, Audrey O'Reilly's co-written script "Honor Bright" was announced as the winner of the 'Miramax Script Writing Award'. She went on to be awarded a 'Short Cuts', a shorts grant from Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE) and the Irish Film Board for emerging film-makers. The resulting film "In Loving Memory" was a hit on the festival circuit and won a number of awards including the 'Prix du Public' at the prestigious Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival. It has sold to television stations world wide.

Audrey O'Reilly then made "Clare sa Speir" one of the 2001 'Oscailt' short film series. Multi-award winning, the film has also been included on the Irish Leaving Certificate syllabus. In addition a 'Short Short' she wrote entitled "Chicken" was selected for official competition in the 2001 'Cannes Film Festival'. "Teenage Cics", a six-part television drama series which she herself co-wrote and directed for TG4, was nominated for the 2006 'Smart Telecom Best Drama Award'.

Screenwriter

Audrey O'Reilly has also worked as a writer for the RTE soap opera "Fair City" as well as the popular television series "On Home Ground". She has three feature films in development as well as a number of television projects. Audrey is also chairperson of the 'Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild'.

See also

• Lockerbie Official Narrative
• Cameron's Report on Lockerbie Forensic Evidence
• The Framing of al-Megrahi
• The How, Why and Who of Pan Am Flight 103