Peter McNamaras new project Narcan creates tie between Limerick and US

Pictured: Richard Lynch with Peter McNamara, creator of Narcan, Harris McNamara, Peter’s son and rising young actor and Peter Halpin, lead actor of the film. Picture: Jonathan Baynes.

Harris and Peter McNamara, chatting with I Love Limerick before travelling to New York to begin filming for Narcan.

New York will have a taste of Limerick this summer, with Peter McNamaras new project Narcan, being filmed in different locations throughout the city. The film tells the story of Sean, an Irish paramedic from Limerick living in New York, struggle throughout the film, which is set in just one day, with holding his family together and with the bleakness of his job.

The film will feature notable Limerick actors Peter Halpin and Malachy McCourt, with Laura O’ Shea, who has starred in Peter’s second film ‘Loss’, and Peter’s son Harris McNamara. O’Shea and Harris will take on the wife and son roles of the story’s protagonist, Sean.

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Patrick Cassidy, a world-renowned composer and Academy Award nominee who is from Limerick, has worked on huge projects such as; Hannibal, Kingdom of Heaven and Man on Fire, to name a few, will work on the film’s music.

Peter is grateful for this opportunity to showcase his talent and share this story that has been in the works since 1999. The premise of the story was shaped when, working in a New York bar, Peter met a paramedic from Westmeath, named Sean who inspired him to write this film.

Narcan filmmaker Peter McNamara, actor and writer Malachy McCourt and actor Peter Halpin.

Asked why filming isn’t happening here in Ireland, Peter said: “I think there’s a base in New York for Irish people. Especially in terms of making films there, it’s huge. Something I’ve only learned recently.”

Peter’s pride in his hometown is evident, clearly appreciative of his ability to create a tie between Limerick and New York, and both respective cultures. In the film, Seán and his wife are both Limerick-born, with their son having been born in America.

Peter offered fragments of his play, saying: “When Sean’s son starts using more Americanized words, like pavement or soda, his grandfather (Malachy McCourt) berates him. He wants him to keep his ties to home.”

This short, seemingly innocuous segment, plainly expresses how important it is to Peter to hold onto Irish, and Limerick, culture, even on film, thousands of miles away.

With achieving such a huge feat, it is surprising to hear McNamara speak about the lack of education he received as a child, forced to work menial jobs before becoming a tiler.

Not content with his situation at the time, he recalled the event that pushed him to seek more from his life: “I was talking to a woman once, about two years ago, and she told me that her son was doing his Masters in Chicago.

“I told her that my son is an actor and she put her hand on my shoulder and she said, ‘for myself and you now, we just have to live vicariously through our kids, it’s too late for us’. I was only 32.”                                                       

Doing what so many us want to do, but what so few of us have the nerve to do, Peter decided to take a risk that he hoped would pay out in the end: “I went home and I told my wife that we were going to put the mortgage on hold, I was going to quit my job and try to get into LIT and learn how to make films.”

Peter and his film need your support. They need funding for the post-production of the film.

An Indiegogo campaign has been created, to help fund the travel of the film and to cover the costs of post-production. Any donation is appreciated for the worthy project.

Visit the Narcan Indiegogo campaign site and donate here

Check out the film’s official Facebook page here

Check out the film’s official Twitter here

Read more about Limerick film here