Maurice Sweeney – Dublin Editors

Mick Mahon is one of Irelands leading Editors, last year he was nominated for 3 Editing IFTA’s and he has cut a whole host of award winning projects. Mick is especially noted for his documentary work and has built up a staggering back catalogue of work. He has long standing collaborations with some of Irelands premier documentary makers including Maurice Sweeney, Garry Keane and Liam McGrath.

We are delighted Mick is taking part in our second In Conversation event on Tuesday the 26th November at 8:00pm at Brookes Hotel, Drury Street, Dublin.

Here’s a quick look at some of Mick’s work, many of which can be watched in their entirety online

Rough Rider: The Paul Kimmage Story 2014
Forthcoming feature documentary on the former cyclist and journalist Paul Kimmage
http://vimeo.com/58740295

John Sheahan: A Dubliner 2013
The documentary film John Sheahan: A Dubliner is a revealing and beautifully made portrait of a man who was an integral part of the national institution that is The Dubliners. As Barney McKenna once said, John is the ‘memory chip’, the part of the band who never forgets, ‘the mortar between the bricks’ that kept the band together. Produced by the award winning Scratch Films and directed by five time IFTA winning director Maurice Sweeney, John Sheahan: A Dubliner is a treasure trove of rare Dubliners archive some of which has never been broadcast in Ireland before and contemporary performances with Damien Dempsey, Declan O’Rourke, Charlie McGettigan, Máire Breatnach, Seán Keane and Neil Martin.
http://vimeo.com/79985518

We Got Game: The Golden Age of Irish Basketball 2013
Directed by Garry Keane for Motive Television and one of the most enjoyable sports docs of recent times.
When droves of seven foot tall black ball players, who have just missed out on the NBA draft, arrive into a very white Ireland in the early 80’s, it makes for a very interesting story.
you can watch all of this superb documentary below

Gael Nua Eabhairc 2012
New York is the biggest city in the United States with a population defined by a long history of immigration. It has the largest number of Irish‐Americans of any city in America. The New York City St Patrick’s Day Parade is the biggest symbol of Irish American culture and the oldest and largest civic parade in the world. 2011 marks its 250th anniversary. The 250th New York City, St Patrick’s Day Parade, is a reminder that the history of the Irish in New York is actually a history of New York itself.
Gaeil Nua Eabhrac, is a two part documentary series which uses the parade on March 17th 2011 to provide a background, context and vehicle, to examine the modern realities of the Irish in New York. Seen through the eyes and the real life stories of first, second and third generation Irish Americans living in New York today.
The documentary goes behind the scenes of the world of Irish America, the NYPD, the FDNY, the GAA, the Church, Politics and the Arts and present a contemporary portrait of a community with a 250 year old legacy.

Episode 1

Episode 2

The Writing in The Sky 2011
his is the story of a writer and his place, his dog and three thousand migrating barnacle geese. the writer is Dermot Healy, an outstanding poet, playwright, novelist and autobiographer who is, according to Roddy Doyle, “Ireland’s greatest writer”. The place is Ballyconnell, on the wild coast of Sligo, the dog is Tiny, the horse is Lucky and the geese arrive from Greenland in October every year for a six month stay. Filmed over those six months,
‘The Writing in the Sky’ is both a portrait of an artist and of a magnificent landscape and its inhabitants, human and animal.

Part One

Part Two

John Connolly Of Blood and Lost Things 2009
Featuring dramatised readings from his work John Connolly: Of Blood and Lost Things examines the sense of place and atmosphere in Connolly’s work but also includes a biographical narrative of his Dublin childhood and journey toward becoming a writer. The documentary features interviews with iconic American crime writer George Pelecanos; David Simon, creator of TV’s The Wire; American novelist and friend Laura Lippman, and fellow Irish crime writer Declan Hughes. During the shoot the documentary was given unique access to accompany Connolly on a research visit to Maine State Prison, a Super-Max facility housing over 900 prisoners at Warren, Maine. The documentary also follows Connolly’s meeting with his first teacher, Kathleen Foley, who encouraged his writing at Loreto NS Crumlin 35 years ago.
here’s 2 clips from the doc
http://vimeo.com/79985345

Brief Encounters of the Sporting Mind 2008
One of twelve short films on Irish Sportsmen and women. This one looks at the sport of Fly Fishing

others in this IFTA nominated series
Kick Boxing, Horse Shoe Throwing, Hurl & Sliothar, <a

Flann O’Brien: The Lives of Brian 2006
Narrated by Brendan Gleeson and featuring contributions from Anthony Cronin, Tommy Tiernan, and O’Brien’s brother, Micheál O Nualláin, ‘Flann O’Brien: The Lives of Brian’ looks at the man behind his many faces on the 40th anniversary of his death.
Borrowing heavily from the writer’s own works, the documentary weaves together fact and fancy, with Tom Hickey playing one of Brian’s other alter egos, Myles na gCopaleen.

Directed by Maurice Sweeney for Mint Tv. This documentary won the IFTA for Best Documentary in 2007
http://vimeo.com/94852078

Micheal: The Sound of Sunday 2006
This IFTA award-winning documentary follows Micheál O Muircheartaigh through the championship summer of 2006 while accompanying him on a walk down memory lane. We learn of his early life, witness the meticulous preparations for RTE Sport, see his close family at first hand, see his easy rapport with players and officials alike and absorb his raw passion for the people and games of the GAA. This is the story of one man and a voice that is associated with the championship summer for generations.

Directed by Maurice Sweeney and produced by Cormac Hargaden, this popular documentary won the IFTA for Best Sports in 2007

The School 2009
The School, was a land mark documentary series for RTÉ Television, following the students and teachers of St Peters College Dunboyne over one academic year. Award winning company Scratch Films began filming the series in September 2008 after months of careful negotiations with County Meath VEC. Never before has an Irish school given such unlimited access to film makers, allowing camera crews to document every aspect of school life.
Directed by Liam McGrath and Paula Rouse, this 3 x40 observational documentary looked at the St Peters College Secondary School in Dunboyne, Co. Meath

Cromwell in Ireland 2008
CROMWELL IN IRELAND examines that great nemesis of Irish history: Oliver Cromwell.

Starring Owen Roe as Oliver Cromwell, Declan Conlon as Hugh Dubh O’Neill and Catherine Walker as Elizabeth Price, Cromwell in Ireland is directed by two-time IFTA winning director Maurice Sweeney and presented by leading historian Dr Micheál Ó Siochrú.

Airing to coincide with the 350th anniversary of Cromwell’s death on 3rd September 1658, the series consolidates Ó Siochrú’s fascinating take on this crucial time in Irish history. An estimated 500,000 Irish people died from war, plague and famine during Cromwell’s military campaign, making it one of the greatest catastrophes ever to befall the country. But strikingly, Micheál reveals how ‘God’s Englishman’ helped to lay the foundations for the modern Ireland that we know today.

Winner best documentary 2009 IFTA

Episode 1

Episode 2

Blood of the Travellers 2010
Winner Best Documentary 2012, directed by Liam McGrath
The origin of Ireland’s Travelling people is a subject that has been debated for many years. Some say they are related to Romany gypsies or some other ethnic group that arrived here over the past 1000 years, others say they have been a community in Ireland long before the arrival of the Celts and subsequent invaders, while more say they are ‘settled Irish people’ who ‘took to the road’ during times of famine and eviction in the years since Oliver Cromwell.

Now for the first time this subject has been approached using the tools of DNA technology. For over a year Olympian Francie Barrett collected 40 Traveller DNA samples from every corner of Ireland. This DNA has been analysed by a team of scientists from The Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, The University of Edinburgh and Ethnoancestory.com to unlock the history of Ireland’s Travelling people.

(clip is recorded off the tv)