Mar 31

Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019 Announces Winners

by richanthon in Entertainment, Festival, News, Youth 0 comments 1877 0

Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019 announces winners. Jane Foley, founder of Fresh Film Festival, second place finalist Cal Arnold O’Driscoll, 16 from Dublin 7, first place winner Sean Treacy, 14 from Wicklow and third place finalist Milosh Hughes, 18 from Malahide, Dublin and comedian Pat Shortt at the Senior Finals of Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year Awards 2019 in the Odeon, Castletroy on March 28th. Picture: Zoe Conway/ilovelimerick

Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019 announces winners

Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019 announced its Junior winners on Wednesday, March 27 and its Senior winners on Thursday, March 28 at the Fresh Film Festival 2019 in Limerick. The competition, which received a record of more than 1,700 entries this year, announced the winners at the Odeon Castletroy.

14-year-old Sean Treacy from Ashford in Wicklow took home the title of Ireland’s Young Senior Filmmaker of the year 2019 for his short film ‘Rue’, a story about a boy who regrets his last words to his best friend. Speaking about his win, Sean said, “To win here today is an absolute honour, especially considering the quality of the films that were entered! I think this year’s films are the highest quality that Fresh Film has ever received. They were all absolutely outstanding and any of them could have placed first. I am really honoured and chuffed that it was this film that won. It’s one the actors and I worked really hard on, I couldn’t have done it without them, and they were amazing. I can’t thank Fresh Film Festival enough for organising the whole event, it was just fantastic!”

Sean also directed the short film ‘Spark’, in which the body of a camera brings a young boy’s dream to life, which was also screened during the festival. Sean had previously come second in Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year 2018 for his film ‘Brother’ in which two kids become unlikely friends after they are forced to spend time together.

Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019 announces winners

Pictured are comedian Pat Shortt, first place finalist Rhianna Keane, 12, Fresh Film Festival Founder Jane Foley, Emma Sams, first place finalists Irina Daw, 12, Rowan Knox, 12, and Art O’Rourke, 13, at the Odeon, Castletroy on March 27th at the Fresh Film Festival 2019. Pictures: Zoe Conway/ilovelimerick

Students from Clare who were part of the Sparks Film Group took home the title of Ireland’s Young Junior Filmmaker of the year 2019 for their short film ‘CAT-astrophe’, in which a strange cat is found and weird things begin to happen. Emma Sams, the group’s mentor from the Spark’s Film Festival in Clare spoke about their win, “Well it’s brilliant! They put so much work into putting the film together. It came from a small festival held at the Scarriff public library in Scarriff, East Clare, called Spark’s Film Festival, which has been going for a few years. It’s a miniature version of Fresh Film Festival. These guys came and did some workshops during the week of the festival and put so much work and effort into putting the film together. It’s brilliant to see that they’ve been rewarded for all their hard work, thanks to Fresh Film Festival”.

At the Seniors, Cal Arnold O’Driscoll, aged 16 from Dublin was the second place winner for his film ‘Big Bad World’, in which two Irish teens from the ’90s, finally break the rules by going on their very own vacation. Milosh Hughes, aged 18 from Malahide in Dublin took home third place for his film ‘Descensus’, which is a story about a young who boy loses his grip on reality as constant nightmares cause him to spiral into madness. Waterford’s SWAY Project for Waterford city won Best Group at Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019 for their film ‘Big Trouble in Little John’s Park’.

At the Juniors, students of Kilcoona National School in Galway, were the second-place winners for their film ‘Some Time in the Woods’, which follows Anna and her five friends as they go into the woods for a picnic, where Anna stumbles upon an old pocket watch which leads to them travelling back in time. While Ivan Fair aged 11 from Westport, Mayo took home third place for his film ‘I Miss You’, a sad story about a boy who misses his brother that died, and how he copes with his grief.

Vigga Wagner from Copenhagen in Denmark won the International Film Award for her film Bubblehead which follows a girl who lives a solitary life with her pet fish that meets a cute boy when she visits the pet shop after her goldfish dies.

Other entries received Highly Commended Awards on the day. In addition to the Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year awards, a number of specialist awards were presented for both the Juniors and the Seniors including the Radharc Trust Award (documentary), the Boulder Media Animation Award, the RTE 60 Second Short Film Award and the RTE Factual Award, in addition to the International and Audience awards.

Jane Foley, Artistic Director of @FreshIreland congratulated winner Seán for his film “Rue”! Congratulations to everyone! #ilovelimerick #irelandsyoungfilmmakeroftheyear pic.twitter.com/rgNpx1TQqy

— #LimerickTilliDie (@ilovelimerick) March 28, 2019

Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year is the highlight of Limerick’s Fresh Film Festival, which is now in its 23rd year. Other highlights of Fresh Film Festival 2019 include feature screenings and workshops including an Industry Master class with The National Youth Film School.

Fresh Film Festival encourages young people from Ireland and overseas, aged 7 to 18 years, to create, exhibit and share films. The festival provides an opportunity for these young filmmakers to have their work seen on a cinema screen for the first time and to compete for the title of Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year.

“Ireland’s Young Filmmaker has a very interesting approach,” says Jayne Foley, Director of Fresh Film Festival. “Storytelling is at the core,” she says, “because the budget is usually either low or non-existent, filmmakers have to be very inventive with plot and location.” Jayne adds, “The festival is a forum where young film-makers can meet each other. Even at that stage networking is important. You may end up meeting the same people again later in your career. As advocates of young filmmaking, we also try to showcase films abroad. We’ve brought Irish films and young filmmakers to Korea, Austria, Germany, and Edinburgh. This year we are excited to have a number of international young filmmakers coming to Fresh and sharing their filmmaking experience with us.”

For more information on the Fresh Film Festival, go here.

For more stories on the Fresh Film Festival, go here.

Mar 26

BNest Social Incubator Showcase 2019 gives a voice to Midwest Social Enterprises

by richanthon in Local Buisness, News 0 comments 1734 0

Pictured at the BNest Social Enterprise Incubator Showcase 2019 at Nexus Innovation Centre, UL was Eamon Ryan and Kasia Zabinska, BNest (4th and 5th back row left) with the graduates of the BNest 2018-2019 programme. Picture: Conor Owens/ilovelimerick.

PHOTOS – BNest Social Incubator Showcase 2019 gives a voice to Midwest Social Enterprises

BNest, the first dedicated Social Enterprise Incubator, is an initiative created specifically to support social entrepreneurs nurture their start-ups, and caters to all types of organisations from charities to businesses with a social conscience. On Tuesday, March 12, BNest held their Showcase Day 2019 at Nexus Innovation Centre in UL to highlight these enterprises and the substantial progress that has been made with the help of BNest, as well as to allow others to view the real social impact that each individual organisation is having on the broader community they are serving. BNest Social Incubator Showcase 2019

Since September 2016, in partnership with Nexus Centre UL, BNest have been running a six-month programme in which emerging social enterprises learn how to get their new organisations off to the best start by focusing on key areas related to developing their enterprises, in terms of business, social and personal aspects.

Eamon Ryan who founded and self-funded BNest said, “We are the first fully-fledged social incubator in Ireland, and the idea was to create a peer group which shared experiences that could help one another. BNest has been given a home by the University of Limerick, where participants have access to the full facilities of the Nexus Innovation Centre. Last year, eight enterprises completed the programme, and this year another ten enterprises took part.”

Pictured at the BNest Social Enterprise Incubator Showcase 2019 at Nexus Innovation Centre, UL was Shay Kinsella, Share A Dream Foundation, Pauline Gannon, BNest, Dr Sarah Miller, CEO of The Rediscovery Centre, Eamon Ryan and Kasia Zabinska, BNest and Professor Kerstin Mey, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Engagement at University of Limerick. Picture: Conor Owens/ilovelimerick.

At the BNest Social Incubator Showcase 2019, the graduates showcased their enterprises, which are achieving real social impact across the Midwest, dealing with various issues from mental health to the environment.

In addition to the display booths, a short informal presentation was made by each enterprise including Bereft.ie, a support service for families that provides an online resource, and Thinking Jobs, a specialist recruitment agency aimed at getting a significant number of adults with Disabilities into sustainable and long-term employment.

Guest speakers included Shay Kinsella, founder and CEO of Share a Dream Foundation, Dr Sarah Miller, CEO of The Rediscovery Centre, a creative space connecting people, ideas and resources for greener living in Ireland and Professor Kerstin Mey, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Engagement at University of Limerick.

Professor Kerstin Mey spoke about the cohesive relationship the University of Limerick had with BNest saying, “I think you are fantastic role models for our students, the university is aiming to broaden out entrepreneurship education, including education for social entrepreneur to stimulate young people to direct their energy and their passion towards identifying and finding solutions for the issues we are facing in society, that is climate change, sustainability, or community cohesion, so it is great to see all the projects.”

Shay Kinsella spoke about his social enterprise, Share a Dream Foundation. Shay built an inclusive play centre that was suitable for all ages and abilities. Shay said, “Let’s build something in Limerick that no one else in the whole of Europe has, something really special, then all the kids, instead of going to Disney, can come to Limerick and we’ll look after them”. Share a Dream Foundation opened Dreamland, an inclusive play centre two years ago now and have had over 23,000 visitors across Ireland.

The next speaker was Dr Sarah Miller who spoke about the importance of creative social enterprises that connect people, ideas and resources. From an early age, Sarah looked at, “waste management and how we could be more resourceful.” Sarah said, “My real career as a social enterprise manager started when I moved to Ballymun.” Sarah was exposed to the, “surplus of furniture which was being disposed of to landfill also there is very high unemployment rates in Ballymun.” From there Sarah set up the Rediscovery Centre, which “rediscovers the value of waste materials” and employs the local people of Ballymun.

Current BNest Incubator participant, Project Inspire, led by Kelly Fitzgerald of Tait’s House Community Enterprise, helps young people to prepare for their future. Kelly says that working with BNest has, “Given us more confidence in how to grow our initiative. The ongoing support for our project will continue to be invaluable as we move into a brighter future.”

Limerick Gateway to Education, an educational support charity, was part of the BNest Incubator from 2016 to 2017. Founder, Suzanne Roche said, “I took part in the BNest Incubator programme and its content and ongoing support for our project has continued to be invaluable. It’s a fantastic programme as you have on the spot follow up if issues arise. A great programme to get involved in, if you’re a start-up.”

Eamon concluded, “These passionate people have worked on their projects for the past 6 months and it was so exciting to have a showcase event, so people could learn about each of the projects and meet the people behind them. It was a privilege to have people in this group working on real issues and problems facing our community and society in general.”

For more information visit or email Kasia Zabinska, BNest Manager at [email protected].

For more stories on BNest go here

Mar 26

Limerick’s All-Ireland Hurling Champions named Limerick Person of the Year 2018

by richanthon in Award, News 0 comments 1878 0

The All-Ireland Limerick Senior Hurling Champions were the winners of Limerick Person of the Year 2018. John Kiely, Limerick hurling manager, Richard Lynch, founder and editor of ilovelimerick.com and Paul Browne, Senior Hurler, pictured at the award ceremony for Limerick Person of the Year 2018.

PHOTOS – Limerick’s All-Ireland Hurling Champions named Limerick Person of the Year 2018

The All-Ireland Limerick Senior Hurling champions have been named Limerick Person of the Year 2018.

The team which brought the Liam MacCarthy Cup back to the Treaty City and County for the first time in 45 years last year have been honoured at this year’s awards.

Limerick was brought to a standstill last August when the hurlers competed in the All-Ireland Final in Croke Park. The city and county erupted in joy and celebration when the final whistle blew after an agonising final few minutes in the match against Galway.

Nearly 100,000 greeted the victorious team at their homecoming, while thousands of people continue to celebrate as the players accompany the Liam MacCarthy Cup as it travels to all corners of the county.

Accepting the award on behalf of the hurling panel, manager John Kiely paid tribute to all the monthly winners: “Having listened to the stories of all the other award recipients, we’re humbled to even considered on the same page as these people. Their stories are just incredible, they’re powerful, they are inspiring, they are just ladened with courage and determination and they epitomise the people of Limerick in a very very unique way.”

“At the same time, I hope that our journey made their road and other people’s road a little bit easier this last year. To have been where we were last August and ended that phase of our history, I think, it’s a wonderful thing for us all and it opens up the door to an even brighter future.”

“On behalf of the team and the management I would like to thank you all for your support over the last number of years, it’s been incredible and inspiring for lots of young kids running around with hurleys in their hands.”

At the gala event in the Clayton Hotel in Limerick today (Thursday 21 February 2019) Cervical Cancer campaigner Vicky Phelan was also honoured with a Special Achievement Award.

Vicky, who unfortunately wasn’t able to make the Limerick Person of the Year 2018 ceremony was honoured for her work in uncovering the Cervical Check scandal and her tireless support of other women who have been affected and are fighting for justice.

Details of a new Limerick Hall of Fame were announced at the gala ceremony, with the late Cranberries lead singer Dolores O’Riordan being the first inductee.

Dolores’s mother Eileen was presented with a special framed front page of the Limerick Leader to mark the announcement.

Richard Lynch, founder and editor of ilovelimerick.com, and Eileen O’Riordan pictured at the award ceremony for Limerick Person of the Year 2018.

PJ O’Riordan, Dolores’s brother said this award was something very special. “It’s a huge honour to be here for her induction into the Limerick Hall of Fame. Dolores was a very proud Limerick woman right to the end. Anyone who might have doubted that at any time need only to listen to any of her songs, you’ll hear that fine County Limerick accent, something her fans and music critics remarked upon.”

“It’s a pity she wasn’t here last year to witness the Limerick Hurlers All-Ireland win. She was a huge hurling fan all her life, not many people realise that. She is with us in spirit and I’m sure she would be delighted with this induction and she’d be very proud with this.

Now in its 18th year and sponsored by The Limerick Leader, Southern Marketing Design & Media and the Clayton Hotel and supported by Limerick City and County Council, the Limerick Person of the Year Award was set up to honour the achievements and success of local people.

Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr James Collins said “Congratulations to the Limerick Senior Hurlers and Vicky Phelan on receiving their awards today. In their own way, they have helped to make Limerick a better place. The hurlers contributed to a summer to remember for all Limerick people. The way they conducted themselves on and off the pitch is a credit to all and the confidence they have shown mirrors the new-found confidence and renaissance of Limerick hurling.

Vicky Phelan’s bravery has been incredible. From the first moment she spoke out about the Cervical Check issues to her support of other women, she has been an inspiration to all.”

“I would also like to congratulate all the other monthly recipients for their hard work and dedication in promoting Limerick. You are doing extraordinary things and are making Limerick a much better place for everyone.”

Eugene Phelan, Editor of the Limerick Leader said “The 12 nominees have, in various different ways, made a vast contribution to Limerick and its people in the past year, from the joy of the Limerick hurlers and Ladies Football team to the bravery of women like Vicky Phelan and Leona O’Callaghan.

Pat Reddan, General Manager, Clayton Limerick Hotel said “Clayton Hotel Limerick is honoured to be a sponsor of The Limerick Person of the Year Awards. It gives us the occasion to recognise extraordinary achievements by amazing, selfless individuals, living in the Limerick area, that seize the opportunity to make our county and country a better place.”

Congratulating all nominees, Dave O’Hora, Managing Director of Creative and Media Agency Southern said “As a company, we work with branding and creativity every day and these individuals and groups do incredibly creative things to add to the depth and meaning of brand Limerick, and we salute them for that.”

Past winners of the title include philanthropist JP McManus, world champion boxer Andy Lee, rugby stars Paul O’Connell and Tony Ward, and anti-bullying campaigner Luke Culhane.

The judging panel for Limerick Person of the Year 2018 consisted of Cllr. James Collins, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Eugene Phelan, Editor of the Limerick Leader and Conn Murray, Chief Executive of Limerick City and County Council.

For more information on the Limerick Senior Hurling team, click here

For more stories about Limerick person of the year award, click here

Mar 26

Cliona’s Foundation receives Mayoral Reception for helping Irish families

by richanthon in Charity, News 0 comments 1633 0

Mayoral Reception for Cliona’s Foundation – Pictured are Alan McGrath, Terry Ring, co-founder Clionas Foundation, Daniel Butler, Mayor of the Metropolitan District of Limerick, Fionn O’Hehir, Jimmy Crowe and Brendan Ring, co-founder Clionas Foundation. Picture: Conor Owens/ilovelimerick.

At the Mayoral Reception for @ClionasFDN we talked to the charity's founder @CEOClionasFDN about the positive response they received for their great work for families across Ireland. #ilovelimerick #lovelimerick #lovinlimerick pic.twitter.com/8BLwkn7GtW

— #LimerickTilliDie (@ilovelimerick) February 8, 2019

Cliona’s Foundation receives Mayoral Reception for helping Irish families

By I Love Limerick correspondent Conor Owens

Limerick City Hall hosted a Mayoral Reception on Tuesday for the Cliona’s Foundation in order to acknowledge their incredible work in supporting families of children with life-limiting illness, as well as present awards to Fionn O’Hehir, Alan McGrath and Jimmy Crowe for their amazing courage while caring for a very sick brother or sister.

Speaking at the reception was Mayor of the Metropolitan District of Limerick, Daniel Butler, who presented the awards to each of the three youngsters, as a way of recognizing their incredible selflessness in caring for their siblings. Also speaking at the event were the founders of Cliona’s Foundation, Brendan and Terry Ring, who thanked the Limerick County Council for the reception and their support to the charity.

Family and friends of Adam McGrath, Jimmy Crowe and Fionn O’Hehir attended the event to show their support to the three brave young boys who showed tremendous love to their sick family members and went above and beyond in supporting them despite their young age. The boys were each awarded certificates by the Mayor as a way of congratulating them on behalf of the County Council.

At the Mayoral Reception for @ClionasFDN we talked to the charity's co-founder Terry Ring about why they started this wonderful charity that helps so many families across Ireland. #ilovelimerick #lovelimerick #lovinlimerick pic.twitter.com/LjIb1QWyAV

— #LimerickTilliDie (@ilovelimerick) February 8, 2019

The reception aimed to raise awareness of the incredible work being done by the Limerick charity, Cliona’s Foundation. The Foundation is the only charity in Ireland providing financial support to the families of children with a life-limiting condition all over the country from birth up to the age of 16 years of age to help with the nonmedical costs of caring for their child. These costs can include accommodation, car parking, travel, child-care, and specialist equipment. They have supported over 530 families over the past 11 years. The incredible growth of the charity over the years has surprised even its founders. “It just goes to show the real need for this Foundation,” says Terry Ring.

Mayoral Reception for Cliona's Foundation

Terry Ring, co-founder, Mayor Daniel Butler and Brendan Ring, co-founder at the Mayoral Reception for the Cliona’s Foundation. Picture: Conor Owens/ilovelimerick.

The Foundation was set up by Brendan and Terry Ring, following the death of their daughter Cliona, from an inoperable brain tumour in 2006. Brendan and Terry were shocked by the expenses needed to care for a seriously ill child and were struck by the number of families that were also facing this enormous financial hardship as they were blindsided by non-medical expenses. They set up the charity to help relieve these families of the stress of these costs. These costs can include accommodation, food, petrol and other miscellaneous expenses incurred by families who must take sick children to hospitals or other medical facilities for frequent treatments. “The financial strain to the families in these situations is what people often overlook,” says Brendan, “so it’s great for Limerick city to know the work that we do.”

Since its inception, Cliona’s Foundation has raised over €1 million and helped more than 550 families across 29 counties. It is Brendan and Terry’s intimate understanding of the stress brought upon these families that explains the diversity of expenses covered by Cliona’s Foundation – from rent, food, utility bills to transportation for chemotherapy or alternative therapies, to a treat for a sibling and even covering the cost of a child’s funeral.

For more stories featuring the Cliona’s Foundation, click here

For more information on the Cliona’s Foundation, click here

Mar 20