One Night in Millstreet – Irish Film Festival London 2023

Writer: Lydia Monin

Director: Andrew Gallimore

In the UK we may have forgotten what a great boxer Chris Eubank was in the 1990s but for sure Ireland hasn’t. Perhaps here he’s more remembered for his sartorial choices than for his punches. Opening this year’s Irish Film Festival, One Night in Millstreet, about a legendary prize fight between Eubank and Steve Collins, is a documentary as dramatic as any boxing match.

In 1991 Eubank was the super-middleweight champion of the world. There was no stopping him. But outside the ring, he was just as much of a champion winning Britain’s best-dressed man a few times. He was a compelling figure when he was dressed up to the nines and exuded pantomime arrogance at his press conferences. Often sporting a monocle, Eubank was a peacock puncher, looking every inch an English gentleman from the 19^th century.

He was just as sharp in his fights, delivering well-placed blows to opponents who could never beat him. When he was offered £10 million to win eight matches in twelve months he accepted. Why not? He was untouchable and had the stamina of a marathon runner.

All was going well until a match in Ireland was postponed when opponent Ray Close found he had brain lesions after a routine MRI scan. When the boxing promoters looked around for a replacement they chose Steve Collins, another Irishman. Collins was a strange choice, viewed as more of a journeyman than a possible champion.

In another eccentric move, the match was to be held in the middle of rural Ireland in a complex which, a few years before, had hosted Eurovision. As the press and spectators descended into Millstreet, a town “20 miles from the nearest traffic lights”, the soap opera only continued. Instead of a conventional trainer, Collins was being coached by maverick guru Tony Quinn leading the media to believe that Collins would be hypnotised in some way to withstand pain, a tactic that visibly unnerved Eubank.

Unsettling the British boxer even more, Collins turned up to one of the press conferences dressed as an Irish country gentleman in an Irish tweed suit carrying an Irish walking stick (a shillelagh) with an Irish Wolfhound in tow. Soon, Collins was taunting Eubank asking him why, as a black man, he was dressed as an English gentleman. It’s a shame that Andrew Gallimore’s film glosses over this racist incident.

If you don’t know the result of the match, it’s best not to look it up on Wikipedia as the film will keep you guessing right to the end, even though the bout is edited down to only a few minutes. With lots of archive footage and interviews with both Eubank and Collins, writer Lydia Monin’s decision to approach the story chronologically pays dividends.

And even if you don’t like boxing, this film is still a thrilling watch, packing a punch that Anthony Joshua can only dream of. One Night in Millstreet is knockout!

One Night in Millstreet is screening at the Irish Film Festival 2023.