FILM
Feature
The Drummer And The Keeper
My first feature The Drummer and The Keeper was funded by the Irish Film Board’s Catalyst Scheme and produced by Kate McColgan for Calico Pictures.
In 2017 it premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh, where it won Best Irish First Feature, and at the BFI London Film Festival, and went on to screen at festivals all over the world. It won 18 festival prizes in seven different countries, including Best Film at the Cleveland International Film Festival, Best Foreign Film at the Newport Beach International Film Festival and Silver Prize at the Emden-Norderney International Film Fest.
My script was nominated for Best Screenplay at both the Irish Film and Television Awards and the Irish Writers Guild’s Zebbie Awards in 2018.
The Song Cycle
In 2022, I decided to cycle from Ireland to Glastonbury, playing shows en route, in order to start a conversation about more sustainable ways to tour live music.
On the 19th June, I set off cycling from Pembroke and arrived at The Glastonbury Festival on June 24th. I was joined on trip by my fellow Dogs-body Sean Millar, who shadowed me via public transport, joining me onstage each evening.
I was also joined for this odyssey by intrepid cameraman Céin O’Brien who filmed the agony and ecstasy of the cycle itself as well as our shows each night. This footage was used as the basis for the documentary film, along with interviews and personal & archive footage.
The Song Cycle screened as a rough cut at the Galway Film Fleadh 2024, where it won BEST INDEPENDENT FILM, and at the IFI Documentary Festival where it won the AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD. Having subsequently received Completion Funding from Screen Ireland enabling final post-production work, the finished film had its world
premiere at the SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL in February 2025. The same month it was nominated for both an IFTA (for BEST SOUNDTRACK) and for the EISVOGEL SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AWARDS presented by the German Federal Government on the first day of the BERLINALE.
Short
My first short Delphine was funded by the Irish Film Board’s Short Shorts scheme in 2003. Described by the Evening Herald as “one of the best Irish films of the past decade”, it screened at many festivals around the world and was broadcast on TV in several countries.
My second short Why The Irish Dance That Way was jointly funded by RTÉ and the Arts Council under their Dance On The Box scheme. It was one of nine films selected by New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for Shortfest: Outstanding Shorts from the International Festivals in 2007.
The screenplay for my third short Shoe won first prize in Vail Film Festival (Colorado) and second prize in the Champion Screenwriting Competition (Los Angeles). Having received production funding under the Irish Film Board’s Signatures scheme, the finished film was one the 10 shortlisted in the Live Action Shorts category of the 2011 Academy Awards.
The Story Works
The Story Works is a company I established in 2019 initially as a vehicle to run the independent writers room of the same name and which I now use to develop and produce my own new projects through. A member of Screen Producers Ireland, The Story Works’ first official production was The Song Cycle.
You can find out more about The Story Works and the variety of projects we are developing on its own dedicated page.
SEE:HEAR
In recent years I’ve developed and staged this multi-disciplinary live show, which intertwines live performances of some of my songs, short clips from some of my films, and a “witty and compelling” talk (as one reviewer has described it) to explain how and why I believe that my background in rock’n’roll has taught me to make movies.
SEE:HEAR has been programmed at various prestigious film, music and arts events, including Electric Picnic, the Galway Film Fleadh and FilmFest Bremen.
Fancy bringing SEE:HEAR to your event or organization? Drop me a line.
