Navan trio pick up gongs at the IFTAs
Navan, well-known for producing talented entertainment and musical figures, was celebrating success again at the weekend with a number of award winners from the town taking to the stage of the National Convention Centre in Dublin to receive Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs). Writer Stuart Carolan and composer Brian Byrne were among those receiving gongs at the ceremony, while Michael McDonagh of Navan Travellers' Workshop joined Liam McGrath of Scrath Films and boxer Francie McGrath to receive an award for the documentary 'Blood of The Travellers'. Carolan is writer of RTE drama series 'Love/Hate', which swept the boards at the awards ceremony, which was attended by President Michael D Higgins. RTE recently announced it was commissioning a third series of 'Love/Hate', set amidst the drug wars of gangland Dublin, depicting the drug addiction, squalor and violence of organised crime in post-boom Ireland. In December, viewing figures had reached 600,000 per episode. The drama series stars Aidan Gillen, Robert Sheehan, Ruth Bradley, Ruth Negga and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, and it took home seven awards, including IFTAs for Best Drama, Best Director (David Caffrey) and Televison Writer Carolan. 'Love/Hate' actors Aidan Gillen, Denise McCormack and Tom Vaughan Lawlor received IFTAs for Actor Lead TV Drama, Actress Support TV Drama and Actor Support TV Drama, respectively, with the series' seventh IFTA going to editor Isobel Stephenson. Carolan, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, started his broadcasting career as a researcher on the RTE children's programme 'Echo Island', and went on to produce 'The Last Word' for Today FM when Eamon Dunphy was in the presenter's chair. He later worked with the veteran broadcaster again, helping to develop and launch The Dunphy Show on TV3, which was axed after a season. He turned to writing and his writing for the stage was immediately successful. 'Defender of the Faith' played at the Peacock Theatre in 2004, and 'Empress of India' was produced by Druid in Galway in 2006. Defender of the Faith was also staged off-Broadway and in the UK, earning Carolan the 2005 George Devine Award for the most promising playwright in Britain and Ireland. For television, he wrote one episode of RTE's 'Raw' in 2008. The idea of 'Love/Hate' was building in his mind for years, and was influenced by the murder in 1996 of the journalist Veronica Guerin. His mother's work as an emergency department nurse, treating the stabbed and the shot, also gave him an insight into the human stories behind gangland violence. Brian Byrne received an award for Original Score in Film and TV Drama for his work on the 'Albert Nobbs' film starring Glenn Close. Byrne co-wrote 'Lay Your Head Down' with Close, which is performed by Sinead O'Connor in the movie, filmed in Dublin last year. Close was awarded the Best International Actress award for her role in Albert Nobbs over Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin) and Kirsten Wiig (Bridesmaids). Michael McDonagh was involved in the research and putting together of 'Blood of the Travellers' a Scratch Films Production for RTE made with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. It examined the DNA of the Travelling community over generations, and the origin of Ireland's Travelling people, a subject that has been debated for many years. For the first time this subject was been approached using the tools of DNA technology. Also performing at the awards ceremony on Saturday night were Prodijig, which includes Dane McKiernan from Rath Chairn, currently taking part in 'Got To Dance' on Sky TV.