Many of us have fond memories of when we decided to forgo the shackles of formal education and commit the ultimate act of adolescent rebellion – going to school.

Most of us spent the days we dropped out of math class because we didn’t do our homework hiding in the back of a SuperValu, or maybe outstaying our welcome at a table in the nearest Supermacs.

However, once upon a time there were a pair of young Irish boys who took the experience to a whole new level by dropping out of school and sneaking onto a ferry at Holyhead – only to end up in New York.

A new documentary directed by Garrett Daly brings this legendary story to the screen for the first time. In a recent interview with the Sunday Irish MirrorDaly explained, “We worked with the guys to make a feature film, but that got pushed aside with Covid, so that’s why we did the short documentary.”

The stars of the documentary are Keith Byrne and Noel Murray, who were only 10 and 13 respectively when they embarked on Mother of All Big Days Off. After managing to board the ferry, the couple decided to ride their luck and try to find their way onto an Air India flight.

It turned out to be surprisingly easy – the boys just told the airport staff that their “mom” was behind them with tickets and ran on the plane.

“The plane was only half full, so no one came near us,” Keith explained. The boys were so relaxed they even managed to enjoy a James Bond movie on board. Once at the other end, the boys’ lucky streak continued as they managed to hide under a barrier at JFK immigration and slip through the gate when asked for visas and passports.

The couple even managed to dodge immigration at JFK airport, hiding under a barrier and ‘stepping through’ it when asked for visas and passports.

Eventually, their adventure came to an end when NYPD officer Kenneth White noticed they were alone and stopped them in their tracks to investigate. This one-of-a-kind documentary is called Nothing to report and is set to screen at the Dublin Film Festival next month.

“Noel and Keith had a sort of meeting with the cops in New York and chatted with them on zoom. I don’t even think Noel has a passport at this point,” the director continued.

“It’s a hilarious story and you’re almost taken on this journey with them.

“It was a joy to be there at festivals to show it, because the audience responds so warmly when they tell their story.

Ferris Bueller has notes on these guys, huh?