My Life for Ireland (German: Mein Leben für Irland) is a NS propaganda movie from 1941 directed by Max W. Kimmich, covering a story of Irish heroism and martyrdom over two generations under the occupation of the evil British.
The film covers the story of two generations of an Irish nationalist family starting with Michael O’Brien (Werner Hinz) and following with his son, also Michael (Will Quadflieg), eighteen years later in 1921.
The film commences in Dublin in 1903. A squad of police officers break into a thatched hovel and evict the family, throwing a young child to the floor. However they are ambushed by a group of Irish Nationalists and a long fire fight ensues. Michael O’Brien is captured and is sentenced to death. While he is in jail, his pregnant fiancée Maeve visits him and they are secretly married. Afterwards, Michael hands his wife a silver cross that would always be worn by the best Irish freedom fighter. On the cross, the words My life for Ireland are engraved.
Eighteen years later, in 1921, his son Michael Jr. is expecting to pass his school leaving exams. As the son of an infamous Irish nationalist, he has been educated at St Edwards College, a school run by British teachers. This way the British government wanted to re-educate Irish pupils into „worthful“ British civilians.
