A Finglas Story – project moves into editing

“A Finglas Story” is a three-part community television series about the sprawling Dublin suburb where Declan and his siblings grew up. The three episodes trace the recent history of the place – from scenic country village, through the Dublin Corporation building schemes of the 1950s, with its influx of young families, largely transplanted from the inner city flats , to the modern town that Finglas now is.

Funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, under it’s ‘Sound and Vision’ initiative, and supported by Finglas Credit Union, the story is told from the perspective of the Cassidy family, but interviews Finglassians of all generations, such as GAA enthusiast and ex-milkman Myles O’Connor (pictured).

“My Dad first came to Finglas in the 1940s for a ceili to raise funds for the Dick McKee monument that’s now standing at the taxi rank in the heart of Finglas Village,” Declan explained, “so he knew it as a country village before the housing estates. Then he came back as a newly married man with my Mum and they got a house on the North Road, where we were all raised. When he passed away, at the end of 2014, he was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in a plot that he’d chosen himself overlooking the Tolka River valley – a place that was very special to him as the environmentalist that he was. So, I refer to Dad’s experience in Finglas as a way of introducing the story that’s really the experience of so many Finglas families.”

Among those interviewed for the series were poet and writer Dermot Bolger, Joe and Ann Lynch whose family has been guardians of the old Finglas graveyard where the historic Nethercross stands, Samantha Libreri of RTE News, John Haughton who was a senior executive planner for Dublin City Council in the Finglas area, Tony Barrett of the Brilliant Trees, Brian Browning of the Finglas Festival, Nurse Annie Killock who brought half of Finglas into the world, Tom Bruen founder of the Finglas Memories Facebook group and many more.

The editing process is getting underway and the series is expected to screen in summer 2023, but you can follow its progress here.