The Queen of Ireland - It was a challenge to be entertaining and emotional

The Queen of Ireland is a new documentary about Panti and the struggle for marriage equality but its also a great laugh

New Irish documentary The Queen of Ireland is an account of the life and times of Rory O'Neill, aka Panti Bliss, told alongside the drama of the recent marriage referendum which saw the country voting on whether gay people have the right to marry.

It sounds like it could get pretty heavy at times but it's also wildly entertaining and funny, thanks to Panti herself and the excellent work of the filmmakers. There's a tension there between the entertaining and emotional elements of the film which must have been a difficult balance to strike, epecially with content that's this politically and socially charged.

We got the chance to chat to the filmmakers and O'Neill recently and asked them about working with that balance, of keeping the film entertaining while also getting across the reality of things like homophobia and equality in Ireland.

"That is something that was everpresent in our minds during the edit," says director Conor Horgan. "And I was very, very lucky that I got to work with Mick Mahaon who is just a really great film editor. He's known in the business as the Mahon Tribunal - your material has to be good to get past him! So working with Mick was absolutely key in keeping that balance between being entertaining and having the deeper elements to it."

Watch the full interview here.

The Queen of Ireland is in cinemas across the country now.