New film explores Cork v Dublin rivalry... in roller derby

A new film explores the Cork v Dublin rivalry in roller derby, and also delves into the lives of the women who play the sport, writes Don O’Mahony.

SINCE its re-emergence in Texas in 2001, roller derby has been growing in popularity. Contested on roller-skating rinks, the female-dominated sport received a boost in 2009 thanks to the Drew Barrymore-directed Ellen Page vehicle Whip It. Around this time it began to take root in Ireland. Fast paced and intense, the contact sport is the subject of a documentary titled Revolutions: A Roller Derby Story by Laura McGann.

She documents the early years of roller derby in Ireland through the prism of the Cork-Dublin rivalry. But while she was capturing some of the flash points between the main personalities on both sides, a more personal battle was taking place off screen.