Logline & Synopsis
A man returns to the coastal town of his youth, where a long-buried summer romance with a mysterious sea swimmer resurfaces, forcing him to confront a past he's spent decades trying to escape.
Ireland, present day. Ryan, introspective and weary, returns to the town where he spent his childhood and the rugged beach where he used to swim as a teenager. Flashback to the summer of 1987, just after Ryan's Leaving Cert. A shy, teenage Ryan meets a confident male sea swimmer, The Teen. They begin a burgeoning secret relationship, played out over a series of early morning swims. But nightmares of the sea start to plague Ryan. Panicked by the intensity of it all, he pulls away - and the relationship ends badly. Back in the present, Ryan revisits the beach where it all began and sees two teenage boys get into trouble in the water. What follows is a reckoning with his past - and with The Teen, who has haunted his dreams since that fateful summer in 1987.
Logline & Synopsis
A man returns to the coastal town of his youth, where a long-buried summer romance with a mysterious sea swimmer resurfaces, forcing him to confront a past he's spent decades trying to escape.
Ireland, present day. Ryan, introspective and weary, returns to the town where he spent his childhood and the rugged beach where he used to swim as a teenager. Flashback to the summer of 1987, just after Ryan's Leaving Cert. A shy, teenage Ryan meets a confident male sea swimmer, The Teen. They begin a burgeoning secret relationship, played out over a series of early morning swims. But nightmares of the sea start to plague Ryan. Panicked by the intensity of it all, he pulls away - and the relationship ends badly. Back in the present, Ryan revisits the beach where it all began and sees two teenage boys get into trouble in the water. What follows is a reckoning with his past - and with The Teen, who has haunted his dreams since that fateful summer in 1987.
About the Project
Short animated drama | In development | 2026
Murúch is an LGBTQIA+ animated short film, predominantly in the Irish language, currently in development with Stephen T Lally and Michael Lomon, creator of the Caliburn Prize-winning Palace of Tears comic. Murúch is at script stage, with an animation bible in progress for this Irish folk horror short.
Stephen previously collaborated with Mike on commercial content, including an animated campaign for the haircare brand Percy & Reed. They also worked closely together on the animated sequence of TETHERED: a two-minute section of the short film inspired by Irish folklore and the cut-out silhouette animation of Lotte Reiniger.
The Creative
“Growing up on the coast in Dublin, I was captivated by the tales of merrows - solitary, enchanting creatures who lured sailors to their doom. Those stories always felt ripe for reinterpretation through a modern lens. Murúch was born from my lifelong fascination with Irish mythology and a desire to tell an LGBTQIA+ story through animation.
The idea crystallised during a visit to Killiney Beach, where I spent much of my childhood. The jagged beauty of this coastline felt like the perfect setting for a story about longing, identity, and the supernatural. I wanted to explore the duality of desire in Murúch: how it can be both liberating and dangerous, through a young man discovering his sexuality in 80s Ireland, a time when being gay was still criminalised.
What makes Murúch unique is its fusion of the Irish language, supernatural horror and LGBTQIA+ themes. Mike's hand-drawn, graphic novel aesthetic - raw, textured, with deliberate colour palettes that mirror emotional states - will bring this world to life. This story matters to me because it combines my passion for mythology, my commitment to Queer representation, and my belief in the power of animation to bring the impossible to life.”
For more information or to request a screener: stephen@stephentlally.com