narrative_location in the name of the father 
The Guildford pub bombings occurred on 5 October 1974 . The Provisional Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) detonated two 6 - pound gelignite bombs at two pubs in Guildford , Surrey , southwest of ___MASK15___ . The pubs were targeted because they were popular with British Army personnel stationed at the barracks in Pirbright . Four soldiers and one civilian were killed , whilst a further sixty - five were wounded . The Provisional Irish Republican Army ( IRA or PIRA ) was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to remove ___MASK61___ from the United Kingdom and to bring about an independent republic encompassing all of Ireland . It was the biggest and most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles . It saw itself as the successor to the original IRA and called itself simply the Irish Republican Army , or " Óglaigh na hÉireann " in Irish . It was also widely referred to as such by others . The Troubles is the common name for the ethno - nationalist conflict in ___MASK61___ during the late 20th century . Also known internationally as the ___MASK61___ conflict , it is sometimes described as a " guerrilla war " or " low - level war ". The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday " Belfast " Agreement of 1998 . Although the Troubles mainly took place in ___MASK61___ , violence spilled over at times into parts of the Republic of Ireland , England and mainland Europe . Terence " Terry " George ( born 20 December 1952 ) is an Irish screenwriter and director . Much of his film work ( e . g . " The Boxer ", " Some Mother ' s Son ", and " In the Name of the Father ") involves " The Troubles " in ___MASK61___ . Pirbright is a village in Surrey , ___MASK13___ . Pirbright is in the borough of Guildford and has a civil parish council covering the traditional boundaries of the area . Pirbright contains one buffered sub - locality , Stanford Common near the nation ' s farm animal disease research institute . Explorer Henry Morton Stanley has his imposing boulder grave at the end of the grounds of the grade II * listed medieval church . The nearby Hodge Brook is marked as Congo Stream , between Ruwenzori and Stanley Hills . The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the ___MASK75___ . The force was initially administered by the War Office from London , which in 1964 was subsumed into the Ministry of Defence . The professional head of the British Army is the Chief of the General Staff . ___MASK15___ is the capital and most populous city of ___MASK13___ and the United Kingdom , as well as the most populous city proper in the European Union . Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain , ___MASK15___ has been a major settlement for two millennia . It was founded by the Romans , who named it " Londinium ". ___MASK15___ ' s ancient core , the City of ___MASK15___ , largely retains its medieval boundaries . Since at least the 19th century , " ___MASK15___ " has also referred to the metropolis around this core , historically split between Middlesex , Essex , Surrey , ___MASK98___ , and Hertfordshire , which today largely makes up Greater ___MASK15___ , governed by the Mayor of ___MASK15___ and the ___MASK15___ Assembly . Portsmouth is a port city in the ceremonial county of ___MASK11___ on the south coast of ___MASK13___ . Located mainly on Portsea Island , south - west of London and south - east of Southampton , it is the United Kingdom ' s only island city . It has a population of 205 , 400 , and is the only city in the British Isles with a greater population density than London . The city forms part of the South ___MASK11___ built - up area , which also covers Southampton and the towns of Havant , Waterlooville , Eastleigh , Fareham , and Gosport . Some Mother ' s Son is a 1996 film written and directed by Irish filmmaker Terry George , co - written by Jim Sheridan , and based on the true story of the 1981 hunger strike in the Maze ___MASK85___ , in ___MASK61___ . Provisional Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) prisoner Bobby Sands ( played by John Lynch ) led a protest against the treatment of IRA prisoners , claiming that they should be treated as prisoners of war rather than criminals . The mothers of two of the strikers , played by Helen Mirren and Fionnula Flanagan , fight to save their sons ' lives . When the prisoners go on hunger strike and become incapacitated , the mothers must decide whether to abide by their sons ' wishes , or to go against them and have them forcibly fed . ___MASK13___ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom . It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and ___MASK10___ to the west . The Irish Sea lies northwest of ___MASK13___ and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest . ___MASK13___ is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south . The country covers five - eighths of the island of Great Britain ( which lies in the North Atlantic ) in its centre and south ; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly , and the Isle of Wight . Surrey is a county in the south east of ___MASK13___ and also one of the home counties bordering Greater London . Surrey shares borders with ___MASK98___ to the east , East ___MASK8___ to the south - east , West ___MASK8___ to the south , Hampshire to the west and south - west and Berkshire to the north - west . The county town is Guildford . Surrey County Council sits extraterritorially at Kingston upon Thames , administered as part of Greater London since 1965 . With a resident population of 1 . 1 million , Surrey is the most densely populated and third most populated county in the South East region , after ___MASK98___ and Hampshire . In the Name of the Father is a 1993 Irish - British - American biographical courtroom drama film co - written and directed by Jim Sheridan . It is based on the true life story of the Guildford Four , four people falsely convicted of the 1974 IRA ' s Guildford pub bombings , which killed four off - duty British soldiers and a civilian . The screenplay was adapted by Terry George and Jim Sheridan from the autobiography Proved Innocent : The Story of Gerry Conlon of the Guildford Four by Gerry Conlon . The film was positively received by critics , and received seven Academy Award nominations , including Best Actor in a Leading Role ( Daniel Day - Lewis ) , Best Actor in a Supporting Role ( Pete Postlethwaite ) , Best Actress in a Supporting Role ( Emma Thompson ) , Best Director , and Best Picture . Jim Sheridan ( born 6 February 1949 ) is an Irish playwright , screenwriter , film director , and film producer . In the few years from 1989 to 1993 , Sheridan made three acclaimed films set in ___MASK82___ (" My Left Foot ", " The Field ", and " In the Name of the Father ") that between them received a remarkable 13 Academy Award nominations . Sheridan has personally received six Academy Award nominations . In addition to the above - mentioned films , he is also known for the films " The Boxer " and " In America ". Gerard " Gerry " Conlon ( 1 March 1954  21 June ___MASK29___ ) was an innocent member a member of the Guildford Four who spent 14 years in ___MASK85___ after being wrongly convicted of being a Provisional IRA bomber . Guildford is a large town in Surrey , ___MASK13___ , located southwest of central London on the A3 trunk road midway between the capital and Portsmouth . It is the seat of the borough of Guildford . ___MASK61___ (; Ulster Scots : "") is a top - level constituent unit of the United Kingdom in the northeast of Ireland . It is variously described as a country , province , region , or " part " of the United Kingdom , amongst other terms . ___MASK61___ shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland . In 2011 , its population was 1 , 810 , 863 , constituting about 30 % of the island ' s total population and about 3 % of the UK ' s population . Established by the ___MASK61___ Act 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement , the ___MASK61___ Assembly holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters , while other areas are reserved for the British government . ___MASK61___ co - operates with the Republic of Ireland in some areas , and the Agreement granted the Republic the ability to " put forward views and proposals " with " determined efforts to resolve disagreements between the two governments ".