the galley - PRESS KIT

The Galley has been a deeply personal project from the first day of myself and Tom putting pen to paper. Gentrification feels rife in many towns along Irelands coast, the world is constantly changing around us, and coastal towns can feel a hefty brunt of this change. Throughout The Galley we mean to hold a mirror up to this change through our use of mixing digital 6K footage and Hi8 interludes.  

Throughout Helens narrative she is faced with losing her job, what would be a disaster at the best of times although for Helen, like many of us, this is hardly the best of times; cost of living is up, rent is up, hell even the price of a chippie is up! We feel that following what happens in the wake of these changes to be a fascinating story and Helen to be a joyous character to experience it through. We aim to never villanize, victimise or venomise this change. It is only natural that people, places and businesses move on, that times change and so must we.

The North Coast is a critical player in this piece: it is the canvas through which our story is painted on. Every frame drinks in the beauty of the old and new of this wonderful place. However, what makes this piece personal to me is that we shot across my hometown of Portrush. This is something I take great pride in having done. The towns of the North Coast had more influence on the narrative than nearly anything else and for better or worse, without them being how they are The Galley would not exist in the form that it does. Throughout production I have had time to reflect on home as I never have, having explored every nook and cranny of the town to find the locations for our story: from the coastline to the arcades to the chippy. We hope this is a story whose sense of place will resonate not only to residents and those familiar with the town but to any who have a passing interest in the Irish coastline from holidays past.  

Beyond the place, this is a short made on the backs of incredible Irish people. I am beyond proud of the hard work of our wonderful diverse cast and crew. It was a privilege to work again with amazing local crew, all of whom we’ve worked with in previous productions. Simply put, the crew brought a sense of unstoppable teamwork to this project.  

It was a career highlight to work with a cast of such industry renown from prep to post and beyond. There is no other way to say it but Bríd Brennan and Seán T. Ó Meallaigh are powerhouse performers, bringing an entirely new sense of depth to the characters we had on the page giving them a new dimension of life on-screen. It has been nothing short of a privilege to have them involved so intrinsically throughout The Galley. Brendan Gibson and newcomer Aoife Riddell bring a sense of grounded, calm sweetness that locks our narrative in the floors of the chippies, halls of the arcades and the salty sea air of the marina, they show the normality of the people around Helen and Ciarán, the normality of those living day to day around the unstoppable machine of gentrification.   

The Galley is a project made from a place of love of where we’ve come from, deep passion for the medium of film and reflection of looking at the past while sailing forward to the future. We hope that you find the same and more from our tale of coastal resilience.  

• Niall McCloskey (Producer - The Galley)