Galway-based television and film production company, Abú Media, is this week hosting a series of screenings in New York of the award winning series 1916 Seachtar na Cásca.
Abú Media, located in Inverin, kicked off the tour with a gala screening, hosted by Professor Joe Lee, at New York University Glucksman House on Tuesday, April 10. The next screening was held at the Irish American Society of Nassau, Suffolk and Queens yesterday evening and this will be followed by further screenings at the Consulate General of Ireland offices tonight, the New York Irish Centre on Friday, April 13, and finishing up in the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany on Saturday, April 14. The series was produced in conjuction with Údarás na Gaeltachta and the Irish Consulate Office in New York.
Commenting on the screenings series producer Pierce Boyce said: “This is a huge honour and opportunity for us to showcase our work to the Irish American community in New York and we are very grateful to Údarás na Gaeltachta and The Irish Consular office in New York for facilitating us in our endeavour. We have some serious players attending our screenings and we would hope that during the trip we can garner some international sales for our series through our New York contacts. The feedback from America has already been very positive and we have had many requests for DVDs and downloads from America since the series was first aired on TG4 back in 2010. And it’s great to have a chance to showcase it out there for them now, especially during Easter Week.
“The format is that we show one episode each night in different venues followed by a Q&A session so we should really get a good insight into the American reaction each night. Irish America was very influential in the Rising itself so it’s only fitting really that we bring it out to celebrate it with them during Easter. Father of the Rising Thomas Clarke lived in America for years, James Connolly lived and worked in the States, Patrick Pearse toured, lectured and raised money in the States so it is very relevant to the whole story and we hope to even find out more about that when we are there.”
Abú Media is currently in pre-production with a follow up series, again funded by TG4, the BAI and Section 481, that will start production in May and air on TG4 in 2013. This new series looks at the other seven men executed in Kilmainham along with the seven signatories but who have been forgotten about by many people.
1916 Seachtar na Cásca which won an IFTA in 2011 in the Special Irish Language category as well as the Celtic Media Festival “Best Factual Series” will be available on DVD from September 2012 in Ireland in both the original Irish and now in English also.
