Film shot in Monaghan by local director on TV tonight

Shot in Monaghan by Táine King from Oram, The Wilde Sisters also features two local actors, Tessa Fleming and Declan Reynolds.

SHORT film, The Wilde Sisters, which was directed by Monaghan filmmaker Táine King, is being shown on TV tonight.

Based on the true story of how Oscar Wilde’s lesser-known half-sisters Emily and Mary, died at a house party in Monaghan on Hallowe’en night 1871, the film’s TV debut comes almost exactly 155 years after the tragic event.

The sisters were the illegitimate children of William Wilde born before his marriage to Oscar Wilde’s mother, Jane. Oscar was only 17 years old at the time of his older sisters’ deaths and because of the family's prominence and a desire to avoid public scandal, the tragedy was largely hushed up in the mainstream Dublin press.

While dancing with the host of a Halloween party at Drummaconor House near Smithborough, Emily's crinoline dress accidentally brushed against an open fireplace or candle and burst into flames.

Mary rushed to save her sister, but her own dress caught fire as well. Both sisters suffered severe burns and passed away after days of agonising suffering. Emily was 24 and Mary, just 22.

The young women are buried in Drumsnat Graveyard, near Threemilehouse and Smithborough where their headstone reads: “They were lovely and pleasant in their lives and in death they were not divided.”

Made locally in 2024 in locations such as Bessmount House near Monaghan Town, the film is directed by Táine King from Oram and features two Monaghan actors, Tessa Fleming (Mary) and Declan Reynolds.

The Wilde Sisters does not just focus on the sisters’ tragic deaths but rather on their afterlife in purgatory combining historical fact with dark humour and fantasy.

The film won Best Irish Short Film (2025) at the Roscommon International Film Festival and also received Special Mention for Outstanding Filmmaking (also cited as Honourable Mention) at the NY Shorts International Film Festival.

You can catch The Wilde Sisters on RTÉ 2 tonight, Monday October 26, at 11:35pm.