The Dead

IFI is delighted to present this newly restored classic to mark what would have been James Joyce’s 144th birthday on February 2nd, 2026.

As the New Year dawns in 1904, the elderly Misses Morkan and their niece Mary Jane, a music teacher, prepare for their annual dinner and musical soirée. Among their guests are friends old and new and young Miss O’Callaghan, one of Mary Jane’s students. John Huston’s subtle direction, a wholly distinguished ensemble of Irish actors, and Angelica Huston and Donal McCann’s delicately wrought performances perfectly capture the social atmosphere and emotional nuance of Joyce’s original text. For Huston, the film served as an elegant and melancholic farewell to Ireland and to life itself.

The Dead has been restored by the IFI Irish Film Archive, supported by the Screen Ireland Digital Restoration Project.