I see we watched this 7 or 8 years ago and I gave it 5/7 stars. Well today it seemed that it really merited 6 stars. It has the occasional joke and is a bit oirish, but underneath that it is an interesting story about a man forced by circumstances to take a fresh look at the community he lives in and the flaws and failings of the people therein. 

Did he know all along who he was going to meet on the beach - probably. Amazingly I didn't remember how it ended until it happened and not even then. Still hoping that the redemption wouldn't rely on his last words to his daughter.

A fine Irish film.