Halloween Costume Guide
Seven pieces of layered rural Irish clothing from a 1923 island. The cap does most of the talking. The sweater does the rest.
Dominic Kearney spends most of the film trying to make friends with anyone who will have him, which is harder than it sounds when you live on a small island where everyone already knows you. He is the village oddball, earnest to a fault, dressed in the same layered knitwear and flat cap as everyone else on Inisherin. The film, directed by Martin McDonagh and set during the Irish Civil War in 1923, earned multiple Academy Award nominations including a Best Supporting Actor nod for Barry Keoghan (Wikipedia). The costume has no single hero piece. It is the combination that reads.
Affiliate links. We may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The flat cap is what people clock first, and if it is sitting at the wrong angle the whole costume reads as a generic costume-shop Irishman rather than a specific character. Wear it forward and low. The sweater needs to be chunky enough that it shows bulk under the open jacket; a thin knit under a corduroy jacket looks like a casual outfit, not a layered 1920s one. If everything is too clean, the costume reads as costume. Dominic’s clothes look like he has been wearing them for years because he has been wearing them for years.
There is a scene where Dominic approaches Pádraic with visible excitement because he has just thought of something funny to tell him. He delivers it, and it is not particularly funny. He is delighted anyway. That eagerness, the total absence of self-consciousness, is the character in one moment. It is also useful at a party: Dominic would talk to anyone, bring up odd topics, not notice when a conversation is going badly. Easy to play.
The cap fit matters more than the cap style
A flat cap that is too large slides around and looks like a prop. One that sits correctly on your head looks like something you wear. Order true to size and try it on before the night. If it is slightly loose, a thin strip of foam tape inside the band fixes it without being visible. A wobbling cap at a party is a distraction from the costume, not part of it.
The sweater choice changes the silhouette
The Irish wool sweater and the cable knit are listed as alternatives, but they give slightly different results. The wool sweater has more drape and looks more lived-in. The cable knit has more structure and photographs with clearer texture. If you are going to a low-light venue where close-up photos are unlikely, the wool sweater is the better call. If you expect a lot of photos, the cable knit holds its shape better under a flash.
Group Idea: The Inisherin Islanders
Excellent group for anyone who has seen the film, but the visual problem is that all four costumes look almost identical. Four people in flat caps and knitwear will need name tags or a lot of in-character behaviour to be readable without explanation. Commit to the characters, not just the clothes.
Group Idea: Tragic Village Misfits
Strong concept if your group likes the theme, because the connection is character-level rather than franchise-level. Each of these is a character who does not quite fit the world around them and pays for it. Edward Scissorhands and Hodor are visually strong anchors. Lennie and Dominic both require their costumes to do more work, so those two need to be well-executed to hold up their end.
Group Idea: The Barry Keoghan Collection
Might work, but the same-actor concept only lands if at least two of the costumes are immediately recognisable. Joker and Oliver Quick from Saltburn are both strong enough to anchor it. Druig is niche even among Marvel fans. Dominic is the least visually distinctive of the four. The group works at a film-savvy event; at a general party, the logic needs to be explained and the explanation is longer than people want to give it.
Group Idea: The Driven Dominics
Might work, but shared first name is a thin thread. Toretto and Cobb are widely recognised. Greene from Quantum of Solace is not. Dominic Kearney is even less so. The concept needs a strong visual contrast between the four costumes to give it any comic payoff, and it has that: a 1920s Irish villager next to a Fast and Furious racer next to a dream heist specialist is a specific kind of absurd that can work if everyone commits.
Group Idea: Melancholic Irish Souls
Might work, but this is a niche group and Thomas Shelby is not Irish, he is from Birmingham. The Irish theme holds for Dominic, Connell, and Dougal, but Shelby is a stretch that needs explaining. If the group wants a strong visual and thematic anchor, Connell and Dougal both have that. Shelby is probably there because he fits the general melancholy-man aesthetic, which is not quite the same as the theme.
Every The Banshees of Inisherin costume guide on CostumeRealm.
This is one of the more wardrobe-friendly costumes on this site. Most of the pieces are ordinary clothes. Here is what to check before ordering anything.
Dominic is not a difficult character to play, but he is easy to play wrong. The mistake is playing him as sad. He is not primarily sad. He is earnest and a little oblivious, and the sadness comes from circumstances rather than disposition.
Layer a green corduroy jacket over an Irish wool or cable knit sweater, add olive chino trousers, a tweed flat cap, and Oxford leather shoes. The layering is the costume. No single item reads as Dominic on its own, but the combination of a flat cap, chunky knitwear, and earth-toned outerwear places you in a 1923 Irish island without much effort.
Among film fans who saw The Banshees of Inisherin, yes. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture and earned multiple Oscar nominations in 2023, which keeps it in conversation with people who follow awards cinema. At a general party with no film buffs, you will mostly look like someone dressed for a walk in Connemara.
His most quoted line is: “I just thought of something funny. Can I tell you it?” It captures the character exactly: he is genuinely delighted to have a thought to share, entirely unaware that the room may not want to hear it.
Dominic is played by Barry Keoghan, who received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the role. Keoghan is also known for playing Oliver Quick in Saltburn, Druig in Eternals, and a brief Joker cameo in The Batman.
There is no uniform. Dominic wears layered, practical rural Irish clothing from 1923: a flat cap, chunky knitwear, a corduroy or worn jacket, olive trousers, and sturdy shoes. The costume is built from the combination of pieces, not from any single distinctive item. That also means there is no one piece you can forget and still have it work.
The film, directed by Martin McDonagh, follows Pádraic Súilleabháin after his lifelong friend Colm Doherty abruptly ends their friendship for reasons he refuses to explain, set on a fictional Irish island during the Civil War of 1923. Dominic is the local oddball who attaches himself to Pádraic during the fallout. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture in the Musical or Comedy category and is available to stream on various platforms (IMDb).
Yes. Dominic and Pádraic is the natural pairing. The visual problem is that both costumes are very similar: flat caps, knitwear, olive or muted trousers. Lean into the character dynamic rather than the clothing difference. Pádraic looks sad. Dominic looks like he has not quite registered that things are going badly. That contrast reads without any costume difference at all.
A little, yes. Dominic’s clothes are worn and lived-in, not fresh from a wardrobe. If the sweater is brand new and the jacket is clean, it reads as someone dressed in Irish country style rather than someone who has been wearing the same things for years. Scuff the shoes. Do not iron the jacket. That is about all it takes.