Director Patrick O’Shea on his new docuseries and tips for attracting media attention

Almost exactly a year ago I headed to the stunningly gorgeous Riverstown House to shoot some reconstruction scenes for a docuseries about Ireland’s Greatest Loves. I depicted Yeats, opposite Ciara Fitzgerald as Maud Gonne.  It was freezing, with snow and rain forcing us to grab the outdoor shots during brief gaps in the weather—not that you’d know it from the footage as those gaps then tended to be absolutely beautiful.  Freezing, but beautiful. We were able to work relatively quickly indoors, with the decor at Riverstown House providing the perfect backdrop as we moved from room to room to represent different locations. It was a great, supportive crew, with Patrick O’Shea (or Paddy as I will refer to him from now on) directing and Rupert McCarthy Morogh as DOP.  I knew I was in good hands, having worked with Paddy and Rupert previously,  That series, Scéalta Grá na hÉireann, has been airing on TG4 over the last few weeks and the final episode airs on Wednesday the 17th of February 2021.  Given that today is Valentine’s Day I thought Paddy would make the perfect guest this month to chat about the series.  Paddy is an award winning director with two features under his belt, a drama and a documentary. He has also directed multiple short films, also in both drama and documentary form. We had a great chat about Scéalta Grá na hÉireann, and Paddy very generously shared some invaluable tips he has picked up while being involved in the marketing and PR of his work.  We chatted about some of the things you have to be aware of to increase your chances of getting into the media.  And the importance of raising awareness and contextualising your work for your audience—regardless of how uncomfortable it might feel blowing your own trumpet (that’s a real saying right? It’s not just something my dad says…?). I also asked Paddy about his choice to stay in Cork and make work from here, and he made some excellent points about how that choice enables him to make work he might not be able to otherwise.  You can check out Paddy’s IMDb here, connect with him on Twitter or Instagram, and view some of his work on his website Southernman Films.  Scéalta Grá na hÉireann was produced by Bo Media, and you can see it on the TG4 Player (at the time of posting at least). As always, let me know what you think of the episode on Twitter (@frankiep) and if you want a quick, easy and affordable actor’s website check out www.mysite.actor.