Bolger will play the ruthlessly protective mother in the true story from the 1880s about the gruesome murder of a feared Canadian-Irish family.
Sarah Bolger is set to star in the historical true-crime drama Black Donnelly’s, based on the infamous Irish-Canadian Donnelly family and their local feud and grisly massacre in 1880.
Playing the lead as Johannah Donnelly, Bolger will portray the brave young mother who ruthlessly protects her children and property while her husband Jim Donnelly was imprisoned.
Filming is set to commence in 2021 with Canadian film director Adam MacDonald at the helm. MacDonald will write and direct Black Donnelly's, which will be produced as a co-production between Ireland and Canada. Irish producer Morgan Bushe of Fastnet Films will co-produce with Canadian producers Owen Kelly of Antigravity Entertainment and Jonathan Bronfman of Jobro Productions.
Director MacDonald said:
“I’m beyond excited to be working with Sarah, who is an exceptional performer and I feel is destined to play Johannah Donnelly. When producer Owen Kelly approached me about helming this story, I knew immediately that I had to do it. Being of Irish descent, I feel a deep responsibility to do justice to this harrowing story of Irish immigrants that is full of passion, love, ferocity, and history".
Bolger has consistently delivered great performances and is best known for starring as Mary in Showtime's The Tudors. Recent credits include the Northern Ireland based crime-thriller A Good Woman is Hard to Find, Once Upon a Time, Into the Bandlands, the Sons of Anarchy spin-off series Mayans M.C., and the upcoming indie comedy We Broke Up.
Black Donnelly’s tells the story of a major blood feud involving an Irish family who settled in rural Canada who were brutally murdered by masked neighbors using shotguns and axes. The indie is financed in part by the Harold Greenberg Fund, Telefilm Canada, and Ontario Creates. Mongrel Media will release Black Donnelly's in Canada.