The movie "In the Name of the Father- by Jim Sheridan tells the story of the Guildford four from the point of view of Gerry Conlon. The movie takes place in 1974 during an I.R.A. terrorist campaign. At his father's request, Gerry leaves Ireland for London. There, Gerry and his friend Paul Hill, and two other friends, are falsely accused for a bombing that occurred in a pub in Guildford, England. Due to the pressure to bring the perpetrators behind the bombings to justice, Inspector Pavis is forced to push the blame on the most likely suspects without regard to their innocence or guilt. The four friends are arrested, tortured and forced to confess to the Guildford bombing. .
Much was going on in England and Northern Ireland in 1974. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was at the peak of a terrorist campaign. Religious wars were occurring in Ireland at the time. Catholics and Protestants were battling with one another. Both religious communities were like hostile armed camps. The British attempted to step in to separate the two; however, found themselves as targets of the Catholics.
The IRA launched this terrorist campaign because they felt that it was a necessary catalyst for unification. The IRA's goal was to unify Northern Ireland with the Irish Republics of the south and to eject the British Army. With the British Army interfering, the IRA had extended their terrorism to England. They then became victims of the IRA's terrorists' acts. This lead the British parliament to pass the Prevention of Terrorism Act which prohibited the IRA in Britain. .
There was much political unrest transpiring during this period. Not only were there religious wars occurring in Ireland, but Ireland also found themselves in other conflicts with England. They both had different political views. England wanted direct rule over Northern Ireland, however, Northern Ireland refused to be a part of Western Europe.