A year of awards and recognition makes 2024 a strong platform for the year ahead

Twenty-twenty-four was a year of awards for Declan. His film ‘Displaced’, featuring a cast and crew of both professionals and complete amateurs, sourced through a TikTok campaign, scooped over 10 awards in festivals around the world – including two ‘Best Director’ gongs for the film maker. And the Coimisiun na Mean-funded short wasn’t the only project that found recognition. The year ended on a high note for Declan, when first EurAV, the non-profit organisation that he founded, won a Media Literacy Ireland Award for its work in media literacy and, then, his documentary ‘Home thoughts from abroad: Italians in Ireland” scooped the winning prize in the Italian Fusion Festival which took place in Dublin.

“It was a perfect way to end the year after such a positive return to film making,” said Declan, who had been away from film for almost a decade as first he withdrew from film to take care of his parents. “I founded EurAV just as the pandemic hit, so it was particularly challenging from day one. To have received the award for our work from a national body is a real sign that we’re doing something right.

PICTURED: Moira, who managed the award winning project, receives the Media Literacy Ireland award at Virgin Media studios.

On a personal level, then, winning best film at the Italian Fusion Festival was fabulous on,” he continued. “I majored in Italian Studies at Trinity so I have a very strong link with that country and its people. To have the documentary recognised was really special. Looking back at the 2024 I guess I can mark it down as the year I really returned to making film. I had been fortunate enough to win a number of awards over my career, but these recent ones are particularly important. They suggest that I still have something to offer!”

So far, 2025 is shaping up to be another creative year for Declan.

“I’m in the middle of editing a TV series, ‘The Climate Challenge’, that was a collaboration with St Oliver’s Community College in Drogheda and The Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun,” the film maker revealed. “Then springtime sees us roll cameras on a new project – a six part TV series called ‘Fusion Kitchen’ with funding from Coimisiún na Meán and Louth Local Development, and with the much-loved TV chef Tara Walker in the driving seat.”

Another project in the pipeline is a three-part series about Drogheda – Ireland’s largest town.

“We’ve a funding application under consideration,” said Declan, “and it has the support of the key players in the Drogheda area, so we’re hopeful. Watch this space!”