Madere - The Devil's Own

With its opening scene, The Devil's Own shows how family is a central theme of the plot. This scene opens with the Irish countryside, showing the possible and natural peacefulness and beauty of the country. Frankie Maquire is fishing with his father and returns home to have a family meal with his mother and little sister. The peacefulness of the scene does not last long, however, as Frankie's father is brutally murdered at point-blank range right in front of his eyes. In some ways, this scene shows how family ties can be someone's downfall. Not only does Frankie's father's supposed family ties to republican sympathizers prove to be the reason for his death, but as seen in Frankie's young, horrified eyes after his father's murder, his love and ties to his father has caused him to feel as if he's lost everything. On the other hand, however, this scene and its implications about family also end up being the way in which Frankie comes to believe he can regain all he lost with his father's murder. Frankie forms ties to the IRA and finds a family. Not only do these people fight with him in the cause, but they offer him protection and refuge, even leading him to America where he encounters the O'Meara family and once again finds refuge and forms family ties. His family with the IRA also gives him a cause to achieve--to exact revenge on the people who killed his father, which in turn gives him a purpose and reason for living.

Ruffino-The Devil's Own

Frankie McGuire (or Rory) came to America to aid his organizational family, the IRA and was thrown into an entirely different kind family. The O'Meara's a family of Irish American's welcome Rory in with open arms. They include Rory in all family events he attends the conformation of Tom's daughter, parties, and even goes to the bar with Tom. Where they play pool together Irish vs. Italians. Tom becomes like a father figure to Rory. Their relationship strengthens progressively during the movie and by the end of the movie we realize how deep their bond runs. In the scene where Tom is trying to get Rory of off the boat to take him into police custody, he loses his gun. And even though Rory has the experience and opportunity to kill Tom, he doesn't because Tom has become a part of his family, this shows how the bonds of family aid the survival of O'Mear At the end of the movie Tom's driving of the boat serves as a final symbol of how he has become a father to Rory.

Butcher - The Devil's Own

When Frankie McGuire arrives in the U.S. he is sent to the O’Meara household. The Irish-American family immediately welcome Frankie in, and he soon becomes just like a member of their own. Tom especially takes to him, jovial at the thought of another male companion in the house of four women. Frankie, known to the O’Mearas as ‘Rory,’ is the son that Tom always wished to have. At his arrival, he meant to simply use the O’Mearas as a safe house, but by the end of The Devil’s Own, Rory develops a strong bond with his host family. As his situation with Burke complicates, he comes to the defense of the O’Mearas.

One afternoon, Tom and Sheila discover intruders in their home, all masked men looking for Rory’s stash of money. While they struggle to fight off the intruders, Rory intervenes to help the O’Mearas. Knowing that Burke was responsible, Rory takes action to make Burke pay for harming his surrogate family. Armed with a gun, Rory pays a visit to Burke to send a warning. Rory exhibits his love for his new American family in his persistence to protect them from further harm. It is pertinent for him to confront the party responsible in the only way he knows how: through violence. From the beginning of his life, violence was prevalent in Ireland. Fatherless at a young age, gunfights and struggle against those stifling the IRA became the norm.

“It’s not an American story; It’s an Irish one,” reiterates Rory to Tom. Rory’s initial plans to acquire weapons in the U.S. bring together these two Irishmen. One is a proud Irish-American cop, and the other, a true Irishman fighting with the IRA. Connected by heritage these men form a bond with each other like that of a father and son.

Kuebler-The Devil's Own

In this film we see once again many different types of families. These range from those of the IRA, to friendships and brotherhood, to the family of Tom O'Meara. It is hard to say that a man or woman are anything without the support from those around them and people that care for them. People rely on one another and hope to count on those that they trust. Yet, when something attempts to take away that bond from a person it is likely to start a war that only has one outcome.




In the case of Tom O'Meara and his family we see a close-knit family that represents an average family that has a large level of love, trust, and respect. Tom is a good cop who knows what is best for his family and what is best is for him to stay alive. There are a few instances in this film that show Tom reconsidering his position because of the danger that it causes and the possibility of losing his family. Similarly, he is frozen in terror when the masked men hold his wife as a hostage for a moment. He would rather lose his own life than risk that of his wife and daughters. As a family man he cannot allow anything to step between him and those he protects and this is shown when he is forced to take down Frankie. He does not want to hurt him but is left with no choice because he put Tom's family in danger, killed his partner, and destroyed the man that Tom thought Frankie was even though it was just an act. Family is the reason why Tom lived and Frankie died, he had something higher to live for in the end.