Two middle-aged American brothers take an unplanned trip to Ireland and find love in unexpected places.

SYNOPSIS:

Charming and handsome, but a stranger to responsibility, SHAUNIE GALLAGHER (45) is the youngest of a tight-knit Irish American family. When his sister DOLORES (47) makes him check in on their older brother JACK (55), Shaunie’s impulsive nature sets in train a series of events that transforms the lives of both brothers. Jack, who’s recently split from his wife HELEN (54) following the death of their son, is a mess but doesn’t want to talk about it. Although Shaunie struggles to understand how Jack could abandon Helen, whom he adores, he sells his beloved Mustang and books them both a trip to their father’s birthplace in Ireland.

Arriving in northwest Donegal, Shaunie gets his impractical rental car stuck in a ditch and is rescued by no-nonsense farmer AOIBHE (38). Shaunie’s attraction to Aoibhe is instant, but she’s wary of tourists – especially Yanks. The brothers rent a cottage with no mod cons from the owner of the local pub, NIALL GALLAGHER (60s) and meet barmaid EIBHLINN ROE KELLY(52), who Jack soon discovers is recently widowed. Shaunie proves to Aoibhe he can be a reliable guy by helping her rescue her sheep during a sudden storm, even getting to witness a lamb being born. Jack and Eibhlin end up spending a chaste night together while Shaunie has a less than chaste night with Aoibhe following the weekly ceilidh and promises to stay with her in Ireland. Jack opens up to Eibhlin about how Helen withheld from him that she was a carrier for muscular dystrophy - it was the lie, not the pain of losing of his beloved son, that drove them apart.

Shaunie and Jack are called back home when Dolores breaks the news that Helen has attempted suicide. Shaunie doesn’t have Aoibhe’s number so sends her a postcard from the airport but it’s intercepted and destroyed by Niall, who wrongly sees Jack as a competitor for Eibhlin’s attention. Niall lets Aoibhe believe he’s left her in the lurch after their night of passion. Shaunie and Jack return to the US and Jack makes his peace with Helen. Besotted with Aoibhe, Shaunie returns to Ireland. He pledges to stay with her for good and hands over his passport. Twelve months later, the whole clan gather together in Donegal for the christening of Shaunie and Aoibhe’s baby. They may have the Atlantic between them, but the Gallaghers are still very much a family. The Auld Sod is a story of love, loss and the importance of mixer taps.