The true story of a convicted bank robber who claimed he was a British spy is to be made into a feature film.
The Littlejohn Affair is being produced by Element Pictures, the Irish film company behind Room and The Lobster.
Kenneth Littlejohn, an Englishman who moved to Kerry, was jailed in 1972 for robbing a bank on Grafton Street in Dublin.
Littlejohn and his younger brother Keith claimed they were working for the British government by attempting to discredit the IRA, but Westminster denied any association.
The brothers were arrested after fleeing to London, and extradited back to Dublin. Kenneth was jailed for 20 years and Keith for 15.
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In 1974, the brothers escaped from Mountjoy prison. Kenneth remained free until that December. They were imprisoned until 1981. Toothpaste had been used to cover up saw marks in the cream-coloured bars of the cell window.
The Littlejohn Affair is being written by Marcus Fleming, who wrote scripts for Irish TV shows such as An Klondike, Red Rock and The Running Mate. The project has received €27,000 from the Irish Film Board. The brothers’ story has already been the subject of a TV documentary. Kenneth Littlejohn is believed to still be alive.
Other film projects to receive support in the latest round of film board funding include an adaptation of the play Dublin Oldschool, which is being directed by David Tynan and co-written with Emmet Kirwan, and an adaptation of Kevin Barry’s short story collection Dark Lies the Island. They received funding commitments worth €600,000 and €700,000 respectively.
Autumn 2017 will be a busy time for the Irish film sector, with a large number of projects preparing to go into production.
Other films to receive funding are Damo & Ivor: The Movie, and Staring Through the Glass, Seamus Murphy’s documentary about musician PJ Harvey.