National Library of Ireland

Locations featured in Solas: Awakening Ireland include the GPO and the Mansion House in Dublin, Trim Castle in Meath, Powerscourt Waterfall in Wicklow, Athenry Castle in Galway, Grianán of Aileach in Donegal and many more. These iconic locations and buildings will be illuminated with projections of reimagined, contemporary Irish imagery such as Ogham lettering, phrases and typography.
The displays will be captured on film and set to a specially commissioned spoken word performance and music composition, which calls on the nation to remain hopeful through these challenging times. These illumination films will be presented on SPF TV at stpatricksfestival.ie from March 12th to 17th.
Voiceovers : Aoibheann McCann & Patrick McBrearty
Director : Luke Leslie
Director of Photography : Andrew Cummins
Focus Puller : Sam Mulcahy
Second Camera Unit : Kev L Smith
Editor : Peter Madden
Composer : Jonathan Casey
Live Cellos : Ailbhe McDonagh
Script Writers : Leah Leslie, Luke Leslie & Gary Duggan
Aerial Unit : The Drone Guys
Festival Producer : Neil Burke
Project Lead : Callum Buchanan
Head of Production : Tony Killeen
Production & Logistics Coordinator : Darren Murphy
Production & Licensing Coordinator : Steph Farrell
Outdoor Event & Broadcast Coordinator : David ‘Spud’ Murphy
Lighting Design and Install : Tom Rohan, EventCo
Lighting Design / Powerscourt Waterfall : Conor Biddle
Project Assistant : Chloe Tully
Still Photographer : Donal Healy
Covid Compliance Officers : Siobhan Buffini & Niall Barrett
Site Managers : Ronan Conroy & Adam Fitzsimons.
Crew : Paul Kelly, Colm Robinson, Susan Collins, Keith Newman, Simon Kennedy, Keith Newman, Brian Murray, Gus McDonagh, Rob Usher Gunter Bleikss, Kevin Dermody, Tony Gunning, Paul Grace, Dougie McConnon, Matthew Kilmurry, & Ulick McAvaddey Lighting EventCo Session Hire With thanks to : Dublin City Council, Office of Public Works, Lord Mayor of Dublin’s Office, Monaghan County Council, Fingal County Council, Galway City Council, Galway County Council, An Post, Trinity College Dublin, Powerscourt Estates, Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, Shannon Heritage, Health 1st Pharmacy Monaghan, Ye Olde Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio, The Courts Service of Ireland
The Carrickmacross Workhouse was one of 130 Workhouses built throughout Ireland between 1841 and 1843 to house the poor, hence the Irish name of Teach na mBocht – The Poorhouse.
The poor had to apply for admission to the Workhouse and successful applicants had to surrender any land before entering as ‘inmates’.
Once admitted, they were subjected to a strict regime: families were segregated and forbidden from seeing each other without permission; their diet was meagre and unvarying; difficult, and often pointless, work had to be undertaken; there was little heat and no comfort.
These deliberately harsh conditions meant that Workhouses quickly became known as the Poor Man’s Jail, and the poor only applied for admission as their last resort.
Home is a deeply moving ‘imagining’ of a family’s experience in the Carrickmacross Workhouse during the Famine years. It describes their ‘fall’ as a result of successive crop failures due to potato blight, leading them inexorably to the Workhouse, and their lives within these walls.
The story also highlights the Earl Grey Scheme under which 4,114 girls between the ages of 14 and 18 were emigrated from Irish Workhouses to Australia as wives and servants of the settlers and convicts there.
This number included 38 girls from Carrickmacross Workhouse.
Client : Monaghan County Council
Voice Talent: Leah Leslie
Writer : Leah Leslie
Producer : Mark Leslie
Director : Luke Leslie
Illustrations : Holly Ingram
Storyboards : Matthew Shiell
Animations : Daniel McNicholl, Rafael Araújo de Medeiros & Luke Leslie
3D Models : Iván Pais Nieto
3D Model Textures : Alex Glenn Murray
Original Music : Jonathan Casey
Traditional Vocals : Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin
Violin : Anna Rice
Cello : Ailbhe McDonagh
Recording Studio : Red Box
Special thanks to : Mayo County Library Service, Maggie Land Blanck Collection, and Views of the Famine for their 19th Century Prints. With calligraphy by Christiane Foller.
It features stunning readings of favourites such as Raglan Road, A Christmas Childhood and Stony Grey Soil amongst others.
The Patrick Kavanagh Centre is located in a deconsecrated church in Inniskeen, County Monaghan which was re-opened in July 2020 following a €1.2 million restoration and development of a new visitor experience and event space.
Patrick Kavanagh, one of Ireland’s greatest poets, was born here in Inniskeen in 1904. He died in 1967 and is buried in the adjoining graveyard.
The exhibition centrepiece is a triple-projection titled ‘The Pincer Jaws of Heaven’, designed to “envelop visitors with a cinematic flying journey”, and connect them with the raw power of Kavanagh’s words and the landscapes that inspired them.
Key poetic works are read by Kavanagh, plus an eclectic selection of friends and fellow poets including Oliver Callan, Evelyn Conlon and John McArdle.
This 15 minute short film was recently awarded the prestigious European Heritage in Motion award for 2020 in the best Film & Video category.
The visitor experience at the Patrick Kavanagh Centre honours his life, his writing, and his continuing legacy. Kavanagh’s universal themes of Soul, Love, Beauty, Nature and God are timeless and will resonate in the hearts of readers of all ages for many generations to come.
Client : Monaghan County Council
Starring : Joe Purcell, Mark McAuley and Ava Farrell
Poem Readers : Evelyn Conlon, Joe Purcell, Art Agnew, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Una Agnew, Oliver Callan, Moya Cannon, John McArdle & Patrick Kavanagh
Director : Luke Leslie Cinematographer : Burschi Wojnar
Focus Puller : Mark Hannon
1st Assistant Camera : Sam Mulcahy
Original Score : Jonathan Casey
Musicians : Lynda O’Connor (Violin) Ailbhe MCDonagh (Cello)
Wardrobe : Róisín Kenny
Hair & Make-up : Julie Caulfield
Production Design : James Donnelly
Standby Props : Steven Kingston
Props : Michael Cummin
Locations : Colm Nolan
Post Production : Luke Leslie / Buckled Cranium
Aerial Footage : Theo Jebb / Sonder Visuals
AV Installation: John Anderson
Archive Footage : VideoHive, Shutterstock, iStock & RTÉ Archives
Special Thanks : Art Agnew, Ann Curtis, AMPM Hire, Tom Lennon, Leah Leslie, Noel Murphy at Northern Sound, Castle Leslie Estate, The Inniskeen Village Community & Kavanagh Family.