Film – Hubert Butler. Witness to the Future

Free 7pm

Described as “Ireland’s George Orwell”, Hubert Butler (1900-91) was both essayist and human rights champion. From his base in rural Ireland he travelled in Europe, working to smuggle Jews to Ireland from post-Anschluss Vienna, and exposing World War 2 atrocities in the Balkans, work that brought him into a head-on collision with the Vatican. New research brought to light by this film shows how the Irish state colluded to silence Butler just as it was covering up the harbouring of a Croatian war criminal. We might never have heard of Butler if not for Dublin publisher Antony Farrell who turned Butler into an overnight publishing success aged 85.

Director: Johnny Gogan