Monaghan-Made Short Film The Wilde Sisters, About Oscar Wilde's Half-Sisters, Gets Its TV Debut on RTÉ2
Táine King's award-winning short film, about Oscar Wilde's half-sisters Emily and Mary, was shot at Bessmount House near Monaghan town. RTÉ2 showed it on Monday night, close to the 155th anniversary of their deaths after a Halloween party near Smithborough.
By the Monaghan Brief staff·Edited by Seamus McKenna·Published · 2 min read
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Monaghan County Museum. Archive location photograph; not a photo of the events in this story. Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and colour-graded; cropped in layout.
The Wilde Sisters, a short film made in Co Monaghan by Oram director Táine King, was broadcast on RTÉ2 at 11.35pm on Monday, 26 October, the Anglo-Celt and Northern Sound reported.
The film is based on the true story of Emily and Mary Wilde, half-sisters of Oscar Wilde. In 1871 their dresses caught fire at a Halloween party at Drummaconor House, near Smithborough. Both died from their injuries. Emily was 24 and Mary was 22. They are buried at Drumsnat graveyard, near Threemilehouse and Smithborough.
The Anglo-Celt said the tragedy was largely hushed up in the Dublin press at the time. The broadcast came almost exactly 155 years later.
About the film
The film was shot locally in 2024, including at Bessmount House near Monaghan town. Monaghan actors Tessa Fleming (as Mary) and Declan Reynolds appear in it. It follows the sisters into a darkly comic purgatory rather than dwelling only on their deaths.
It won Best Irish Short Film (2025) at the Roscommon International Film Festival. It also received a special mention at the NY Shorts International Film Festival.
Sources
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