RTÉ Documentaries

A major documentary by John Lynch on our national theatre as it celebrates its centenary, from the days of William Butler Yeats and Lady Gregory to the current dilemma surrounding its rebuilding. Plus the feuds, friendships, betrayals and political interference.

This Mermaid Films tribute documentary directed by Sé Merry Doyle explores the life and work of renowned Irish painter and architect Patrick Scott. Taking Scott’s major retrospective at the Hugh Lane Gallery in 2002 as a starting point, this lively account traces the artist’s childhood, his background in architecture and his many artistic achievements. Scott’s zest for life and humble reflections on the creative process accompany moving moments at home with his cat whilst working on his signature gold leaf paintings. A fascinating account of the 1950s bohemian art group the White Stag and contributions from Seamus Heaney, Stephen Pearce and Dorothy Walker enrich this celebration of the life and work of the ‘Golden Boy’ of Irish art. Patrick Scott: Golden Boy was produced by Maria Doyle Kennedy and Andrea Pitt, of Mermaid Films, and was commissioned by RTÉ Arts Lives. Patrick Scott was born in 1921 in Kilbrittain, Co Cork. He began his career as an architect where he worked with Michael Scott on CIE’s Busáras before committing to life as a full-time painter in the 1960s. He won a National Prize at the Guggenheim International Award in 1960 and represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale in the same year. His paintings have been exhibited worldwide and his work features in public and private collections.

Divided into chapters matching the structure of James Joyce’s Ulysses, this documentary takes a theme from each chapter of the book as a starting point for short audio-visual essays. Co-produced and directed by Hilary Fennell and David Blake Knox, Blueprint Pictures for RTE television. Winner, Best Documentary Feature Celtic Film Festival; the Gold Hugo Award Chicago Intercom Film Festival and Best Foreign Documentary Santa Monica Film Festival. Shortlisted for The Prix Italia; the Canadian Film Board Best Feature Documentary and Best Documentary at The Irish Film and Television Awards.

Sé Merry Doyle’s award-winning Patrick Kavanagh – No Man’s Fool is a rich visual journey, exposing the contradiction that existed between Kavanagh’s public persona and his poetry. The film maps out Kavanagh’s life from his native Inniskeen in County Monaghan, to Dublin where he spent most of his life. Against the odds he survived great poverty and ill health to deliver a canon of powerful and evocative poetry. We are offered a rich and diverse portrait of the poet with contributions from TP McKenna, John Montague, Leland Bardwell, Macdara Woods, Dermot Healy and Kavanagh’s one time girlfriend Deirdre Manifold.