Film Night: The Promise of Love

Film Screening: Join us for a special Irish showcase concert experience from Dublin. TICKETS The United Irish Cultural Center of San Francisco is delighted to present a special livestream and playback screening of The Promise Love Story, an original Irish musical by Dublin writer and composer Paul Redmond. Originally staged at The Helix in Dublin in 2012, the musical returns in a special showcase concert at The Lark Concert Hall, Balbriggan, Dublin, on Saturday, 24 October 2026. With five interconnected love stories across generations, the production explores love, family, emigration, sacrifice, secrets and forgiveness — themes that resonate with Irish families and communities on both sides of the Atlantic. Featuring original Irish music, songs, dance and a guest narrator, the showcase will be streamed from Dublin for audiences around the world. For audiences in the United States, playback access allows centres and community groups to present the production at a suitable local time, making it possible to experience the showcase without being restricted by the time difference between Ireland and the U.S. ABOUT THE STORY One Promise. Five Love Stories. At the centre of The Promise Love Story are five interconnected love stories, each exploring a different dimension of love and relationships. Some are shaped by separation. Others by loyalty, betrayal, loss or forgiveness. Together, they reveal how the choices made by one generation can echo through the lives of those who follow. At the heart of the story is a promise made to a dying man. From that promise comes a chain of events reaching across generations, exploring how love can endure, how secrets can shape families and how forgiveness can become an expression of love. The story is rooted in Fingal, Dublin and Ireland’s history, but its themes reach far beyond Ireland. For the Irish diaspora, the musical explores something deeply familiar: the ways Ireland can continue to travel across oceans through ancestry, music, memory, family stories and traditions passed from one generation to the next. One Promise. Five love stories. One Story carried across the Atlantic. MUSIC & CREATIVE BACKGROUND Original Irish Music Music is central to Paul Redmond’s vision for The Promise Love Story. Rather than building the story around existing songs, Paul created the story and music together. Every song in the musical is original, giving the production its own distinctive musical identity. One of the original songs, Across Blue Waters, was inspired by Paul’s visit to the Jeanie Johnston, the replica emigrant ship on Dublin’s River Liffey. The song captures the uncertainty of leaving home, the pain of saying goodbye and the hope of a new life across the Atlantic. The creative team has also benefited from the involvement of David Hayes, known for his work as Musical Director of Riverdance, along with co-musical director Terri Merrick and award-winning director Niamh McGowan.