A new documentary The Healy-Raes: Blood, Sweat & Tears airs on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 9:35pm tomorrow night and follows the Healy-Rae dynasty's 50-year political dominance in Kerry. With rare behind-the scenes access to Michael and Danny Healy-Rae from their 2024 general election win to Michael’s 2026 resignation as Minister of State, the film explores their political manoeuvres, family succession, their army of supporters, and unique solutions to local issues.
Filmmaker Jerry Kennelly of Local Story Films had unprecedented access to the Healy-Rae brothers, Michael and Danny, from their general election victory in 2024 through their voting pact with the current Government to Michael’s first achievement of a junior Ministerial position in 2025 – and his resignation and the bitter fallout that followed in 2026. The Healy-Raes are seen in their natural habitat of farming and business ventures – and viewers will meet the lesser-known Healy-Raes who will be jockeying for position in the future. Members of the hundreds-strong ‘Healy-Rae Army’, the volunteers who power the Healy-Rae machine, explain their mission, and we see how local issues are solved, “Kerry style.”
