the bog cafe
the bog cafe was a three day arts and eco festival come social space produced collaboratively with Friends of Ardee Bog, a community led group based in Ardee County Louth. The Bog Cafe was supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.
our journey: the holy well at ballinacoola
Our Journey: The Holy Well at Ballinacoola, a book produced in collaboration with a group of women from the traveller community based in Bunclody Co. Wexford, was the outcome of a six month community education project focused around the Holy Well at Ballinacoola. I worked with the group to document through words and images their restoration of the holy well, a place important in local folklore and memory and to the women themselves. My participation was supported by an ArtLinks Bursary.
between the heavens and the deep blue sea at IMMA
Between the Heavens and the Deep Blue Sea was an eco panto written, produced and performed by Spooky Beore for the IMMA eco festival. We invited two local schools and a youth group to participate in a series of workshops to create the props and costumes for the panto, using recycled materials from ReCreate, and share their thoughts on pollution, climate change and what we humans can do better.
things from home
things from home was a participatory storytelling project involving three classes of pupils in St. Conleth’s and St. Mary’s in Newbridge Co.Kildare. I worked with the pupils between March and December 2020 getting to know the pupils and exploring how we could use storytelling as a tool for collaborating and deepening our understanding of each other.
newtown news
newtown news was a pupil led documentary project with newtown national school in County Laois. I worked with pupils over a period of seven months between November 2021 and May 2022 to facilitate them in exploring their school environment through the lens of documentary and broadcast media production. The outcome of the process was a pupil led satirical news style programme.
I worked with the 3rd and 5th class pupils in Our Lady of Lourdes in Drimnagh, as part of a residency supported by BLAST and DWEC. The aim of the project was to teach documentary filmmaking skills to the pupils in way that allowed them to share their new skills with the rest of the school. The wider aim being to kick start a pupil led culture of filmmaking in the school and to introduce documentary production as a tool for learning about and deepening our understanding of our community and wider world.
sustainable bcs is a documentary film produced by a group of third year students in Blakestown Community School in County Dublin. I worked with the students on a residency supported by BLAST and the Dublin West Education Centre. I facilitated the students in learning how to use cameras, sound recording equipment and documentary film techniques to learn about, capture their perspectives on sustainability in their school environment.
sustainable bcs
our lady of lourdes film skills
kind hearts
kind hearts was the name of the outcome of a participatory art project co- facilitated by artist Sarah Fuller and myself in collaboration with young people from the Syrian community in Co. Wexford. We worked with puppetry and shadow puppetry to explore the young peoples stories and lives. The outcome of the project was a book called Kind Hearts which was published by KidOwn Publishing partnership.
i have a lot of feelings
i have a lot of feelings was a participatory art project involving a group of young people engaging with crosscare youth service. In this project we used magic, folklore to explore the young people’s perspectives on mental health and mental health issues. Following the lead of the young people the project quickly became about the importance of positive friendships in their lives.
when life gives you lemons
When life gives you lemons was a participatory art project involving a number of young people engaging with crosscare youth service’s nutgrove project. We explored object based magic and magical practices to explore what it means to be a young woman, growing up today. The process raised many questions about the present, the future and our power as individuals.
st. mary’s college dundalk, ty filmmaking programme
I worked with the four transition year groups from September 2021 to May 2022 on a comprehensive film programme that saw each class develop, write and make a short film. Across the process the students explored genre storytelling, visual thinking and collaborative process. The films riffed on genre conventions to explore aspects of life in school and their perspectives on it.
colaiste chiarain, art documentaries
I worked with ty students in cholaiste chiarain in Leixlip to document two art projects that were happening in the school as part of the creative schools programme. The documentary process acted as a way for the students to actively reflect on the creative schools process and to share and celebrate their work.
st. laurences ns, narrative film
I worked with the senior pupils in st. laurence’s ns in chapelizod to devise and make a short narrative film project. The pupils explored different types of creative writing process to devise and write their film which was inspired by the knockmaree dolmen, Ireland’s smallest dolmen, located right beside their school.
screen8, digital hub filmmaker in residence
in 2020 I was the filmmaker in residence on screen8, a youth filmmaking initiative in dublin 8 supported by the digital hub and dublin international film festival. On the project I worked with a group of young people from the area and supported them in writing and making a short film. The work emphasised their voice and their way of seeing with and meeting the world - which was to say inclusive, supportive, warm and funny.
st. olivers ns documentary filmmaking
I facilitated the fourth class pupils in St. Oliver’s National School in Carlingford in making a documentary film that explored all the creative activities that happen in their school. I worked with the pupils to workshop and devise the content for the film, and facilitated the pupils in filming. The pupils filmed the entire film themselves and recorded their own narration. The film has won a number of awards and was screened in full as part of the Creative Schools week “Creativity Lives Here” celebration programme.
narrative film work
I originally trained as a narrative filmmaker and director, graduating from NSF with a BA in film production and an MA in screenwriting. I worked in this area for several years and produced work as a screenwriter and director for Filmbase, TG4, Film Offaly, Dun Laoghaire Emerging Filmmaker Award, Screen Ireland Focus shorts amongst others.