Paul Keenan
Tom Holland as Bro. Diarmuid 
An Irish film which follows the adventures of a young 13th-Century monk as he attempts to transport a holy relic from Ireland to Rome has been sold to a US distributor for €1.2million.
The deal means that Pilgrimage, directed by Brendan Muldowney, will reach cinema screens later this year.
Pilgrimage tells to the story of Bro. Diarmuid, a monk in the West of Ireland in 1290 who undertakes to lead a Rome-bound party of pilgrims escorting a sacred stone reputed to have been used in the killing of the Apostle Matthias. Not only does the journey involve travelling across an Ireland made hostile by the spread of Norman invaders, but a secret involving the stone itself divides loyalties among the travelling band, bringing danger to all.
The role of Bro. Diarmuid is played by English actor Tom Holland, who just this week won the British Academy of Film And Television Arts (BAFTA) Rising Star Award.
The actor is currently the latest incarnation of Spiderman in the Marvel movie franchise. Pilgrimage also stars Richard Armitage (The Hobbit) and John Lynch (The Fall).
Backed by funding from the Irish Film Board and the Broadcasting Authority Of Ireland, Pilgrimage was filmed in Mayo and Galway in 2015.
